By Shariq Kochhar
Posted on 25th July 2024
I experienced my first ever Yacht Week this July. I met a journalist who loves the films of Francois Truffaut, two Latin American musicians who’ve taken the Belgian dance scene by storm, a lawyer who’s harnessing AI to expedite civil law matters and a wellness coach who distils her own therapy-grade essential oils.
Over the course of one week, we sailed monohulls and learned what ‘fending’ was. We set up DJ decks on catamarans and built an iconic ‘circle raft’ on the Mediterranean waters. We ate together, rode ATVs across islands in the Athenian riviera and danced till the clubs wouldn’t let us anymore.
All through this wonderful and often intense experience of living on the water for seven days, we each understood what made us choose the careers we did. It was networking opportunity unlike any other.
Reflecting on it, I have to confess that I had not expected to encounter such diverse skill sets, interests and careers come together over a sailing experience. The nature of the week we spent together in this unique bubble, experiencing all its highs and lows, forged an authentic connection. One that’s hard to replicate in your standard networking setting. It very quickly went beyond the superficial, and became a network I’d cherish. Even count on. For years to come.
I recently came across a mini campaign a Yacht Week guest, Madison Gersoki, ran on her instagram stories. She wanted to see just how far her networking opportunities had come during her time sailing with us. It really resonated with me.
“I feel confident I can reach out to my Yacht Week network if ever I need to leverage the expertise in one of these fields and I am thankful for the opportunity to have met so many brilliant minds in one place. After this past week, two of the girls from my crew even took the time to come shop at my boutique, and I have been able to connect with others in NY, Dallas, Switzerland, Germany, and more! I hope to maintain this network and expand even further in the future!” - Madison Gersoki
Thanks Madison, for sharing your unique experience with the Yacht Week team. We’re looking forward to more networking opportunities on the water. Will you be joining us?