Wharton sailing "Learning Team" secures third place in MBA Regatta
Katerina Cai, WG'07
Issue date: 10/16/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The MBA Sailing Team left for the MBA sailing regatta in Portofino, Italy, and six almost did not return. "Italy is beautiful," said Fabio Vassal WG'07, "It really puts Philadelphia in perspective. I wanted to stay."
The weather was perfect for aperitifs and sunbathing, but alas, that was not the purpose of our trip. We made the transatlantic journey to participate in the annual MBA sailing regatta, attended by over twenty business schools and more than forty teams from both the US and Europe. The event was held over three days, and provided plenty of social as well as competitive opportunities to meet the other participants.
An ideal competitive sailing team consists of more than good experienced sailors, but people who have actually sailed together and gotten to know each others' idiosyncrasies. We were more like a Wharton learning team, thrown together with the same optimism before an all night marketing case. Even though each of us had extensive sailing experience, it has been a while since we last sailed, and more importantly, we have never been out on the water together.
Jetlagged after a seven-hour flight, the team took out our boat, a beautiful Beneteau First 36.7. Things got chaotic on the water, as leadership styles clashed, and our captain was in dismay. We came back, opened a few bottles of Barbaresco, and debriefed. It all boiled down to a simple concept: how to leverage individual strengths to create a winning combination.
Over the next two days, we really came together as a team to overcome true crucibles of leadership, including being rammed into by a fellow competitor boat and almost zero wind. Katerina Cai WG'07 said, "I skillfully used my weight to tip the boat in our favor." After five races, the total score had the Wharton sailing team in third place, closely behind Columbia and Bocconi, the cup organizer.
The entire weekend culminated in an open-air banquet located in the terraced gardens of a magnificent 13th century monastery. As we sipped Prosecco overlooking the Mediterranean lights, we reflected on the weekend. As one participant put it best, "instead of sailing off into the sunset, we sailed into the world."
The weather was perfect for aperitifs and sunbathing, but alas, that was not the purpose of our trip. We made the transatlantic journey to participate in the annual MBA sailing regatta, attended by over twenty business schools and more than forty teams from both the US and Europe. The event was held over three days, and provided plenty of social as well as competitive opportunities to meet the other participants.
An ideal competitive sailing team consists of more than good experienced sailors, but people who have actually sailed together and gotten to know each others' idiosyncrasies. We were more like a Wharton learning team, thrown together with the same optimism before an all night marketing case. Even though each of us had extensive sailing experience, it has been a while since we last sailed, and more importantly, we have never been out on the water together.
Jetlagged after a seven-hour flight, the team took out our boat, a beautiful Beneteau First 36.7. Things got chaotic on the water, as leadership styles clashed, and our captain was in dismay. We came back, opened a few bottles of Barbaresco, and debriefed. It all boiled down to a simple concept: how to leverage individual strengths to create a winning combination.
Over the next two days, we really came together as a team to overcome true crucibles of leadership, including being rammed into by a fellow competitor boat and almost zero wind. Katerina Cai WG'07 said, "I skillfully used my weight to tip the boat in our favor." After five races, the total score had the Wharton sailing team in third place, closely behind Columbia and Bocconi, the cup organizer.
The entire weekend culminated in an open-air banquet located in the terraced gardens of a magnificent 13th century monastery. As we sipped Prosecco overlooking the Mediterranean lights, we reflected on the weekend. As one participant put it best, "instead of sailing off into the sunset, we sailed into the world."
Be the first to comment on this story