Basic Seamanship Training

Basic Seamanship Training (BST)
Naval Academy Plebe Summer Sail Training

BST trains over 1,250 incoming freshmen midshipmen (or "plebes") during each summer. The training provided involves the basics of damage control, signals and sailing. The program operates out of the Robert Crown Sailing Center located at the United States Naval Academy.

The BST program's design is two-fold: to provide a safe training environment for introducing the professional seamanship skills required of the Naval Officer and to introduce the nautical environment. The BST program is the logical foundation for the Academy's course, Fundamentals of Naval Science, as well as for the CSNTS and VOST sailing programs. Each plebe is exposed to shipboard damage control techniques, signals and especially sailing, all of which support the Academy's mission of training officers for the fleet.

The program runs from the first part of July to mid-August. Damage control training consists of classroom instruction plus hands-on demonstrations of fire fighting, fire hose operation, pipe plugging and Oxygen Breathing Apparatus use. Signals training consists of classroom instruction on Morse code signaling, flag hoist signaling and various kinds of signal equipment. Utilizing enlisted instructors with fleet experience, each plebe receives a total of 14 hours of damage control/signals instruction. Sailing instruction is further broken down into two groups: Lasers and Navy 26s. Employing a fleet of thirty Lasers and thirty Navy 26s, each plebe accumulates nine hours on dinghies and twenty hours on keel boats, respectively for a total of twenty-eight hours of sailing instruction. Successful completion of the program ends with the Navy 26 Skipper qualification for the plebe.

Photos of BST in action.

For further information, contact the BST director: Allan Terhune, 601 Brownson Rd., USNA, Annapolis, MD 21402, (410) 293-5603 or send e-mail to Terhune@usna.edu

- This page last updated 08/11/2005 -