Harbus

Issue date: 10/14/08 Section: News

The HBS Sailing crew prepares for their first race by latching an HBS centennial banner to the back of their vessel

It was around 9:00 AM on Thursday, September 18th when I opened my eyes as the pilot announced our imminent descent to Milan airport. As I gazed through the window, the idea of sailing on the Italian Riviera with a group of six other HBS students, some of whom I had never met, began to materialize.

After a soft-landing, I exited the plane to meet Josh Pierce (OE), one of our team members who was waiting for me with a rental car that we drove from Milan to Santa Margherita Ligure.

We arrived in Santa Margherita Ligure around lunch time and basked in the off-season rhythm of the town seduced by its architecture and local delicacies. As we approach the harbor, our excitement grew as we noticed the three dozens sailing yachts that each of the 18 participating teams would use to compete in the annual 2008 MBA Regatta Cup, a two-day racing event for students from top MBA programs around the world. As Josh and I entered the main tent to check-in, we ran into our teammate Adam Chepenik (OI) who arrived a few hours earlier. There was an indescribable air of excitement under the professionally-set tent as teams from Europe, North America and Mexico were gathering and given access to their sailing yacht by staff from both hosting organizations, SDA Bocconi School of Management and the prestigious Yacht Club Italiano. In late afternoon, Skipper Jose Maria Pertusa Honrubia (OE), Lawrence Yu (OG) and Zhong Li (OB) arrived and within moments, we were boarding the "Big Mollica," our 37 foot sailing boat, which we revamped with the HBS flag before going off for a practice run. Right around sunset and seconds before we sailed off, Marcin Karnowski (OI) joined. The team was now complete and off we went to test the Italian water.

On board, Jose Maria gracefully guided the non-initiated individuals and gradually assigned responsibilities. We then embarked on the most interesting team building exercise I've ever been a part of where a team of seven individuals from 5 different countries made a boat move with the wind using communication, coordination and camaraderie as their main instruments. This is perhaps a new 3-C model or at least a more glamorous alternative to the Shad exercise? As we returned to the port, we shared a team meal al fresco to discuss the following day race among many things. After dinner, we returned to the harbor where we were greeted by 300 Regatta participants that easily convinced us to join the pre-race party, we obliged and sipped wine under the stars while meeting new friends.

Continued...

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