US Naval Academy Midshipmen Take ‘Driver’s Ed’ on Training Boats

Training is held both in the classroom and aboard yard patrol craft during the school year. In the summertime, midshipmen embark on longer trips where they manage every aspect of the journey, from navigation to cooking.

While underway, midshipmen are supervised by experienced craftmasters, who are responsible for the safe operation of the vessels but largely take a hands-off approach to the training.

YP 700 measures 108 feet long and can hold around 30 people. With two diesel engines, it can reach a maximum speed of about 12 knots (about 14 mph). It has a range of 1,800 nautical miles and can remain underway for up to five days without refueling.

In July, midshipmen sailed four yard patrol craft to Baltimore and New York City as part of the International Naval Review for America’s 250th anniversary. Aside from special events such as Fleet Weeks, yard patrol craft aren’t usually open for public tours.

The wildcat is the one piece of machinery that midshipmen don’t operate themselves since doing so incorrectly can, as one craftmaster told me, result in losing a finger. However, midshipmen do practice other aspects of anchoring, such as positioning the boat correctly.

The main helm controls the ship’s rudder.

Midshipmen learn how to maneuver the vessel using the engines if normal rudder steering is lost.

The table itself is a holdover from an era when paper charts were central to maritime navigation. Midshipmen today train extensively on electronic navigation systems, though they also learn traditional chart plotting.

Through AIS, vessels broadcast their name, call sign, speed, course, and other key information that can help other ships contact and navigate around them.

AIS complements radar by providing identification information on vessels transmitting a signal. The VMS displays that data, as well as useful chart information, including shallow or shoal water that could pose a grounding risk.

The craftmaster serving as my tour guide said he offers the sound tube to midshipmen as a place where they can scream out their frustration and relieve some stress before returning to their duties. He said it works very well.

Midshipmen stay in bunks, known as racks, on another level further below deck, with six to 12 people to a room.

A midshipman designated as the supply officer creates the meal plan and assigns cooking duties.

The galley features all of the basics, including a stove, oven, toaster, and microwave. Sometimes, crews will also bring an air fryer or a grill.

The galley is the coldest space on the ship in the summertime, so midshipmen often eat their meals downstairs.

When the boat is underway, midshipmen learn to expect the unexpected.

Craftmasters will throw a life ring overboard and see how long it takes them to notice, or suddenly declare “Man overboard!” to test their reaction time and knowledge of the correct procedures.

The classroom space on board, it turns out, is barely used at all.