Photography courtesy Jahn Tihansky
Annapolis, Maryland, is synonymous with sailing and the United States Naval Academy. It’s on our waters, where Midshipmen learn the art and science of seamanship, navigation, the rules of the road, and leadership. The lessons learned during practical training on the water and in the classroom prepare our future naval officers for a career that always presents unexpected situations at sea.
The Academy’s extremely challenging curriculum teaches mathematics, science, computers, physics, engineering, and naval architecture to name a few majors. In addition, the Midshipman are expected to compete at a high level in sports and/or participate in extra-curricular activities while adhering to a rigorous military routine 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The goal is to make sure that graduating Midshipmen are ready for any task they are assigned. As modern technology has drifted away from the practical lessons of being at sea, there have been a few unfortunate events that have warranted a review of training methods. Reading about these calamities made me think about the importance of safety-at-sea training and the necessity of practical sailing lessons.
In 2017, two U.S. Naval vessels, the USS John S. McCain and the USS Fitzgerald, collided with merchant ships causing fatalities and serious damage. One accident took place off the coast of Japan and the other accident was off Singapore. The National Transportation Safety Board’s report on the McCain was brutal. “The Navy failed to provide effective oversight of the John S. McCain in the areas of the bridge operating procedures, crew training, and fatigue mitigation.” The report went on to state, “A lack of effective operational oversight of the destroyer resulted in insufficient training and inadequate bridge operating procedures.” A report on the Fitzgerald’s collision was equally critical. “The collision was avoidable and resulted from an accumulation of smaller errors over time, ultimately resulting in a lack of adherence to sound navigational practices.”
To its credit, the U.S. Navy has worked hard to correct these kinds of problems. Several months after the collisions, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John M. Richardson, stated in the introduction of a 72-page Comprehensive Review that significant actions were needed to fix the larger problems and their causes leading up to these incidents. The report targeted several breakdowns in seamanship and navigation including; not operating at a safe speed, failing to maneuver early as required with risk of collision present, failure to notify other ships of danger, failure to properly operate the radar, crew was unaware of existing traffic schemes, and did not utilize the Automated Identification System (AIS). These are sobering documents that specify many remedies. It made me think of numerous times during my career in yacht races or on cruises when situations developed that could have turned out badly. My own training at the New York Maritime College helped me avoid these kinds of problems.
I have to admit it is easy to run aground, make an error in judgement when docking a boat, ending up in a collision at a turning mark during a race, or stressing a sail or piece of equipment to the breaking point in a strong breeze. These errors sometimes take place when a fleet of boats competes, but the good news is that sailors learn from their mistakes and usually don’t repeat them. This is why practical experience on the water is so important. Many mistakes are made when aspiring young sailors first start sailing. I could write a whole book on mistakes I’ve made over the years. The important routine is to discuss what went right and what went wrong after every race, cruise, or day on the water.
One personal experience I still think about happened in a long-distance race in 1984 on Long Island Sound. At 0630 on a very foggy morning we were racing back to Stamford after rounding Block Island. We could hear a fog-horn in the distance. Every two minutes we heard the fog-horn and it was getting louder. Our 54-foot sloop was sailing at about 10 knots under a spinnaker on a westerly course. I was at the helm when a huge black object appeared out of the mist in front of our bow. As the vessel passed, I noticed a large hawser rope extending off the stern into the water. I instantly knew it was towing something. Without hesitation I tacked the boat 180 degrees to avoid an eminent collision. The crew was confused by my abrupt action. About 20 seconds later a barge with containers stacked high off the deck passed by. A disaster was averted. After the race we talked about the near calamity. The lessons we learned were that we should have taken careful bearings on the fog horn, we should have tried communicating with the vessel on the VHF radio, and we should have altered course or lowered the spinnaker to slow down. The episode was somewhat similar to the mistakes made by the Naval ships in Asia. It was an experience that convinced me to be safer on the water ever since.
John Wright, who is in the America’s Cup Hall of Fame, serves as the Vanderstar Chair at the U.S. Naval Academy providing guidance on safe practices for the Offshore Sail Training Squadron and Varsity Offshore Sailing Team. He explained the philosophy the academy uses for sail training, “Mistakes when sailing are the best way to learn. In fact, our role as coaches is to stand back and only step in when safety or material damage becomes an issue. When an incident occurs, we shortly thereafter stop and discuss it with the entire crew and determine what went wrong and how it should have been handled.”
Some important people in American history have benefited from the lessons learned from sailing and serving in the Navy. In September 2017, former astronaut Captain Jim Lovell, who sailed all four years when he attended the Academy, spoke at a christening ceremony for a newly-donated sailboat to be named, Apollo. During his passionate remarks, he told a large crowd about the importance of his sailing experiences and how they helped his later work as an astronaut.
President John F. Kennedy was a passionate and skilled racing sailor. In 1938, he and his brother Joseph led the Harvard Sailing Team to victory in the McMillan Cup. This regatta continues to this day. Kennedy’s sailing knowledge was an asset when he commanded two PT boats during World War II. As Commander-in-Chief and the commencement speaker at the Naval Academy’s graduation on June 7, 1961 Kennedy said, “Today we expect all of you—in fact, you must, of necessity—be prepared not only to handle a ship in a storm or a landing party on a beach, but to make great determinations, which affect the survival of the country.” U.S. Naval Captain Tazewell Shepard, Jr. wrote a book, John F. Kennedy Man of the Sea (William Morrow & Company, 1965) that includes several of Kennedy’s speeches about his love for sea, the importance of sail training, the America’s Cup, and need for qualified Naval and Coast Guard officers. I read all these addresses and learned about how passionate he was for sailing. Further proving this point in a more recent book, Victura The Kennedys, A Sailboat and the Sea by James W. Graham (ForeEdge, 2014) the author writes, “Jack Kennedy often drew sailboats during White House meetings or while on the phone. Somewhere in his mind, throughout his life, Jack was always at sea. Sailing influenced how he thought, how he completed the content of public speeches, or managed happy events or managed grief.”
Another President who used his sailing experience to help his remarkable career was Franklin D. Roosevelt. Robert F. Cross author of, Sailing in the White House: The Seafaring Life of FDR (US Naval Institute Press, 2003), says, “Roosevelt’s extraordinary skill as a blue-water sailor and love of the sea shaped his approach to public service and even influenced the course of events in World War II.” Cross described FDR as a master of dealing with the unexpected, allowing him to excel in the Navy Department. I should add that President Jimmy Carter was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy (Class of 1946) and was proficient at sailing. Presidents Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and George H.W. Bush also served as Naval Officers. Clearly there is a long history of Naval leaders gaining sea experience before arriving at the White House.
Art Pine wrote an article for the magazine Proceedings, published by the U.S. Naval Institute arguing, “Providing Midshipman, Coast Guard Cadets, and maritime academy students with intensive training on sailboats offers unparalleled opportunities for teaching seamanship, ship handling, navigation, and leadership skills—at a depth that they’re unlikely to get on board warships.” John Wright adds, “During a passage to Newport (from Annapolis) they experience real world situations that they would never get in the classroom, on a simulator, or even on the bridge of ship. There is nothing like handling a small boat to teach you wind awareness, navigation and piloting, boat handling, rules of the road, or collision avoidance.”
The Naval Academy features an Offshore Sail Training Squadron (OSTS) for summer training that falls under it’s professional development program. The sailing portion is led by Round the World Race veteran, Renee Mehl. She says, “OSTS sends out 10 boats over three summer blocks for four weeks that includes about 240–250 Midshipmen. There are eight Mids and two instructors per boat. Some of the instructors are Midshipmen that have gone through the training program. They learn about leading peers and sometimes dealing with a stressful environment. It definitely prepares them for becoming a better officer.” The standards of the OSTS are reviewed and updated regularly by an advisory group to the Academy’s superintendent known as the Fales Committee. This group was formed in the 1960s and is named in honor of DeCoursey Fales who lent his support to the sailing program for many years according to author, Rear Admiral Robert W. McNitt, who wrote, Sailing At The U.S. Naval Academy (Naval Institute Press, 1996).
The Naval Academy’s sailing program also enjoys the support of about 30 volunteer coaches who spend time serving as safety officers, mentors, and advisors when the Midshipmen are out practicing on the water or heading off on summer cruises. The program’s leadership is diligent in preparing the volunteer coaching squad to use effective training methods.
The Varsity Offshore Sailing Team coach, Jahn Tihanksy, says that at least 27 admirals, and Marine Corps generals (active duty and retired) are alumni of the Academy’s Offshore Sailing Team. He reports, “Alumni tell us their experience on the team placed them far ahead of most of their peers once in the Fleet in many critical areas including: situational awareness, peer leadership, problem solving, and handling high-stress situations. They often posit that the experience they gained was the most pertinent and valuable training they received during their time at the Academy.” John Wright is a veteran crew on three winning America’s Cup teams and adds, “The biggest takeaway from my racing career is to always think about what’s next. I have the same mindset when coaching the Midshipmen.”
I’ve long felt that what you learn from a race is more important than how you finish. Common sense is an important factor in any endeavor. When aspiring sailors see good practices in action they learn and follow the routine. The overall goal, says Tihansky, is to compel the crew to think for themselves. “The value of the experience the Mids gain in the absence of an authoritative figure (coach) far outweighs their presence,” he says. “Interestingly, both the frequency and severity of incidents has diminished since implementing this policy.”
Throughout Plebe Summer, the Fall, and the Spring sailing seasons there are usually quite a few sailing boats on the Severn River and out on the Bay loaded with Midshipmen learning to sharpen their skills. It is heart-warming to know that the sailing adventures they experience are helping America’s future officers keep our country safe.
