In 1941, the Blue Funnel Line was regularly losing merchant ships to
German U-Boat torpedoes. The loss of life among thousands of seamen who
went down with their ships was horrific. But there were also hundreds
of preventable deaths among survivors in lifeboats.
Surprisingly it was discovered that the survival rate of young sailors in lifeboats was dramatically worse than that
of
the older and presumably less fit men. Lawrence Holt, Chairman of the
Blue Funnel Line sought help from Kurt Hahn, a noted academic and
educationalist and founder of Gordonstoun School. Hahn recognised that
the young men had not yet developed an understanding of their own
physical, emotional and psychological resources.
The older men
were able to draw on their life experiences and inner resources to
survive the hardships of the Atlantic in an open lifeboat.
To
address this tragic problem Hahn founded the first Outward Bound School
to educate the young sailors of the Blue Funnel Line to better handle
the hardships they might face.
His program of experiential
outdoor education raised the self-confidence of participants who later,
when put to the test, were successful in saving their own lives and
those of others.
From these unique beginnings, Outward Bound has spread to 30 countries throughout the world.