Page 18: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 2006)

Chief Dreis) doesn't have one."

SN Keshab Bhatta is one of the deck- hands on the 689 boat. This is his first tour. He performs a variety of tasks from handling lines and fenders to painting the wooden hull and preserving deck tackle.

He is from Nepal and joined the Navy for a better life.

YP 700

EN2 Aaron Richter likes having a big job. "When I reported for duty, my wife asked me what my new job was." He said, "You're not going to believe this, but I'm the Chief Engineer." In reply, Richter's wife said she thought he was going to be a mechanic. "So did I."

BMC Rickie Regan, a native of Lum- berton, N.C., likes driving YPs, although he admits it took a while to grow on him.

As he arrives from the Naval Station at the

Academy across the Severn River, Regan speaks into the 1MC. "Moored. Shift Col- ors." He then runs around to the flag hal- yards and hauls down the ensign. He cred- its the strong training program for bring- ing crewmembers up to speed, because he says, "I was straight raw." "Fake down that line on the fantail,"

Regan yells from the bridge wing of YP 700. He smiles when I ask him if he's try- ing to turn his deck seaman into

Boatswain's Mates. "No," he laughs, "but they think I am."

OSCM Gilbert Ortiz from Douglass,

Ariz., schedules the YPs. "They meet all the commitments. We do whatever we need to do to get underway," he says. "The Small Craft Repair Facility here is our maintenance activity," Ortiz says. "They do our major repairs." "This is shore duty," Ortiz says. "But we spend a lot of time underway, including most of the summer." The YPs travel to ports such as Philadelphia for the Army-

Navy game, or on summer cruise to Balti- more, Williamsburg, or New York City.

The 108-foot wooden boats were built by Peterson Builders of Sturgeon Bay,

Wis., and Marinette Marine of Marinette,

Wis. The bridge is equipped with radar,

GPS, and a chart table. One of the YPs (YP 686) is used for oceanographic pur- poses, operated by the Naval Research

Laboratory.

BMC Ralph Romano from Kent Island,

Md., grew up within sight of the YPs cruising on the Chesapeake, yet never thought about sailing on them. Today he not only cruises his home waters, he helps train the new craftmasters. "Craftmasters have 90 days to qualify after reporting aboard," Romano says.

Candidates get underway on the various boats with the different craftmasters as often as possible." Candidates must past a written test, then a practical underway evaluation, followed by an oral board, demonstrating knowledge of their boats, navigation and the rules of the road. The

Commanding Officer of the Naval Station convenes the qualification board.

YP 694

Midshipmen come aboard YP 694 for their classroom on the Chesapeake. With them is LTJG Mark Leskoff, the instructor for Seamanship and Navigation 204.

The students have different labs throughout the year, complimenting class- room training. Naval Science 100 is taught to first year "Plebes," where they learn nautical terms, positions and duties of the bridge team, and standard com- mands. The NS 204 lab includes an emphasis on navigation and piloting.

Leskoff was a Second Class Storekeep- er before earning his commission through the Enlisted Commissioning Program and getting qualified aboard USS Ponce (LPD 15). "Today we're working on man over- board drills," says Leskoff. "This is their last big underway lab of the semester."

Besides the regular classes, the Mid- shipmen have extracurricular opportuni- ties to work with the YPs. Each company has a YP Team that competes for the honor of "Color Company," flying a streamer on their company guidon as the best shiphandlers at the Academy. The

Power Squadron is an extracurricular stu- dent activity with its own "commodore," and is organized like a yacht club.

BM1 Ron Spencer watches the wind gust to 26 and 30 knots as the Midship- men get his YP 694 underway. "This is a crucial part of the Academy's training," says Spencer, from Canton, Pa. Along with Leskoff, they conduct man over- board drills, throwing a life ring into the choppy water on this brisk November afternoon. "I've learned more about what the Mid- shipmen go through in my year with YPs than I ever knew in my 12 years in the fleet," Spencer says.

Edward Lundquist is a senior science advisor and naval analyst with Alion Sci- ence and Technology, Washington, D.C..

A retired U.S. Navy captain, he currently supports the Navy's Surface Warfare

Directorate. 18 • MarineNews • July, 2006

Navy

QMC Randi Dreis is Officer-In-Charge of YP 689. "Having my own boat is amazing. I've got a great crew.

You couldn't ask for a better deal."

Seaman Keshab Bhatta, a native of Nepal, performs a variety of tasks aboard YP 689, from handling lines and fenders to painting the wooden hull and preserving deck tackle.

JULY MN2006 3(17-24).qxd 7/6/2006 11:36 AM Page 18