The MBA Global Sailing League

Insead and Bocconi return to the Cranfield regatta, and one or the other will finish the weekend at the top of the MBA world rankings if they can manage 7th place or better.

This is the 20th edition of the Cranfield regatta, which has taken place in the Solent, on England’s South Coast every year since the early 90s. The regatta will have a massive 36 boats lining up at the start of the races, 17 of whom from the host school Cranfield. The regatta is made up of up to five races over two days in a fleet of identical Benneteau F40s. The crews will be spending Friday night in Port Solent, and Saturday night in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

Insead are first in the 2011 MBA sailing league after two events, but have not attended the Cranfield regatta in the last few years. As a result, they have lost out in their league placing and world rankings. Any schools that do not attend a regatta are scored one more than the number of participants in the regatta. Last year, this meant that Insead  and Bocconi got 37 points for missing Cranfield, which pushed them right out of the running.

Insead’s consistent form so far in 2011, and Bocconi’s strong showing at Sta Margharita last year and Rhodes in April mean that a good result for either here will make them the top ranked school.

As for the 2011 sailing league, Insead need to come less than three places behind LBS or MIP to be sure of remaining top.

This years fleet will again be 36 strong, so the league will be heavily influenced by the results of this regatta. Chigago, winners in Rhodes will drop a long way further down the league as will IMD and Columbia, two others who can’t make it to the Solent.

Apart from the 17 Cranfield crews, and the defending champions, Exeter, there will be three from Imperial, 2 each from Bath, Manchester and London Business Schools, and one each from Warwick, Henley, Smurfit, Bocconi, MIP, RSM, Leeds, Glasgow and Insead.