Midshipmen Sail
Forty midshipmen and their instructors from the United States Naval
Academy will be on Nantucket from Friday, July 13 to Monday, July 16. Along
with Academy instructors, the midshipmen will sail here from Annapolis,
Maryland on five 44-foot sail training vessels and are participating in an offshore
professional development program designed to provide experience in
navigation, seamanship, and small unit leadership responsibilities to the
male and female students.
One of the U.S. Naval Academy Sailing Squadron boats docked at the
Brant Point Coast Guard Station at 10 Easton Street will be open for tours,
with midshipmen available for comment and conversation. Visiting hours
are Saturday, July 14 from 1 to 4 pm. In addition, a group of midshipmen will
offer a presentation at the Atheneum on Saturday, July 14 at 5 pm. The program
is geared for families, but open to anyone interested in the U.S. Naval
Academy. The midshipmen will also be offering a family presentation at the
Nantucket Boys & Girls Club on Friday, July 13 from 3 to 4 pm.
Founded in 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy today is a prestigious 4-year
service academy that prepares midshipmen morally, mentally and physically
to be professional officers in the naval service. More than 4,400 men and
women representing every state in the U.S. and several foreign countries
make up the student body, known as the Brigade of Midshipmen. These
young men and women are participating in an offshore professional development
program designed to provide experience in navigation, seamanship,
and small unit leadership responsibilities. This experience allows them to
integrate skills learned at the Academy during their first year of study.
The sailing craft in which these midshipmen train are the latest of four
generations of one-design offshore cruiser-racers to be authorized for the
training of midshipmen, the Navy 44, designed by David Pedrick. The first
boat of this series was delivered in 2007. The Navy 44 has proven to be a
very successful design, and a fitting successor to the famous Luders yawls
which gave generations of midshipmen a professional appreciation for
wind, waves, weather and command responsibility, and introduced them to
the pleasure and excitement of going to sea under sail.
For more about the Naval Academy, visit www.usna.edu.
