There was a great result for the host business school at the 24th Cranfield MBA Regatta as one of its six crews secured overall victory. The annual event, organised by MBA students from Cranfield School of Management, is the longest-running business school regatta in Europe. More than 150 MBA and MSc students and alumni from some of the world’s top institutions converged on the Solent, located off the South Coast, over the weekend (11 – 12 July).
Ten leading business schools and 18 matched 40-foot yachts competed in the two-day sailing extravaganza with a Cranfield crew edging out Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO into second and INSEAD into third spot. The Russians were attempting to complete a notable hat-trick after recent wins in Greece and France.
The 2015 Cranfield Regatta trophy was claimed by a crew comprising four current MBA students – Kilian Gilbert, Gary Thomas, Ghalume Obi and Vladimir Pryakhin – and two MSc in Finance and Management students, Aris Ziogas and Kuda Kamushinda. Each crew was accompanied by experienced certified racing skippers with the Cranfield winners assisted by Sunsail’s Mason King and Tom Ouvry. The boats participated in five races during the two days, with four of the results counting towards their final score.
Jubilant team captain Kilian Gilbert was one of the three-strong Cranfield MBA organising committee along with Steve Harper and Henry Baker. He said: “It was very close, with a solid 2nd/1st/1st at the end of the first day’s racing we were leading by two points. In the fourth race we were tied with Skolkovo and it all came down to the fifth and final race. Fortunately the windy conditions favoured us and we just edged out the Russian crew. After a tough weekend of racing we’re all thrilled to get the Cranfield name on the trophy and look forward to defending the title next year.”
Steve Harper, head of the organising committee, added: “It was an excellent weekend and a fantastic networking opportunity, especially at the dinner on the Saturday night, with so many students and alumni coming from all over the world.
“There were near perfect sailing conditions on the first day with clear blue skies but then, thanks to the good old British weather, it was not the same story the next day with cloudy skies, light drizzle at times and a strong, gusty wind!
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