Navy Sailing is one of the broadest and most distinctive collegiate sailing programs in the country. It begins on day one of a midshipman’s career and extends to international ocean racing against the best competitors in the world. Every year, more than 1,200 incoming midshipmen learn to sail during Plebe Summer, and the most committed go on to compete at the varsity level in dinghies and offshore, representing the United States Naval Academy on the water from Annapolis to Bermuda, from Newport to Brest, France.
The program operates under the Commandant of Midshipmen through the Division of Professional Development, reflecting its role as both competitive sport and professional military training.
Every incoming fourth-class midshipman, roughly 1,200 per class, learns to sail during Plebe Summer. This is not an elective. It is a core component of the Naval Academy experience, and for many midshipmen, it is their first time on a sailboat.
Over the six-week summer program on the Severn River and Annapolis Harbor, midshipmen complete six to ten lessons covering the fundamentals: points of sail, tacking, jibing, sail trim, crew coordination, man-overboard recovery, basic navigation, and weather awareness. Instruction is delivered by a mix of civilian sailing instructors and newly commissioned ensigns and second lieutenants.
The training area stretches from Greenbury Point to the Severn Sailing Association to the Naval Academy Bridge, the same waters where midshipmen have learned seamanship for generations.
The program culminates in the Basic Qualification, known as B-Qual. Earning a B-Qual permits a midshipman to sail a Navy 26 with family and friends, a rite of passage and a tangible mark of competence on the water.
Beyond its training value, Plebe Summer sailing serves as the talent pipeline for Navy’s competitive teams. Coaches and instructors identify midshipmen with aptitude and passion, guiding them toward the intercollegiate dinghy team or the Varsity Offshore Sailing Team.
Navy intercollegiate sailing is a varsity sport competing in the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA) and the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA). The team races FJs, 420s, and Lasers against programs including Georgetown, Yale, Brown, Boston College, and the College of Charleston, consistently ranked among the top programs in the nation.
Head Coach Ian Burman, now in his 18th season leading the program, and Associate Head Coach Dillon Paiva, in his 11th season on staff, have built Navy into a perennial national contender.
The Offshore Team represents Navy in big-boat and ocean racing, competing across the country and around the world. Midshipmen race a dynamic offshore fleet: TRITON (Mills Retro 41), SEAWOLF (Farr 400), AVENGER and CONSTELLATION (J/105s), POSEIDON (Swan 45), WAHOO (KER 50), and TACONIC (Swan 601), with HEDGEHOG (Protector Targa 28) serving as the team’s coach boat. These vessels demand advanced seamanship, tactical acumen, and total crew coordination.
Head Coach Ken Luczynski, hired in February 2025, leads the offshore program into its next era of competition.
The Offshore Team gives midshipmen the opportunity to compete at the highest level of collegiate offshore sailing while representing the United States in international military sailing competitions in France, Chile, and Bermuda.
The Command & Seamanship Training Squadron (CSTS) is the Naval Academy’s mark of commitment to training midshipmen in the full scope of seamanship, navigation, and small-unit leadership at sea. Each summer, crews of midshipmen embark on month-long cruises aboard Navy 44s: rugged, 44-foot sloops designed specifically for the Academy by David Pedrick Designs.
The fleet of 20 Navy 44s sails in legs of approximately ten days, with crews of ten per vessel: experienced skippers joined by midshipmen and cadets from West Point and VMI. Together, they navigate the Chesapeake Bay and beyond, circumnavigating the Delmarva Peninsula, sailing to Oyster Bay and Newport, and building the seamanship and leadership skills that define the Naval Academy experience.
CSTS is not a racing program. It is an immersive leadership experience. Midshipmen rotate through every role aboard (helm, navigation, watch standing, galley), learning to lead and follow in equal measure. Decisions are real. Consequences are immediate. And the lessons are carried into the fleet for a career.
For midshipmen who may never race competitively, CSTS offers something equally valuable: the irreplaceable experience of commanding a vessel at sea, solving problems with available resources, and leading a crew through uncertainty and fatigue. It is, by any measure, the ultimate small-unit leadership laboratory.
