US Naval Reserve Midshipmens School - Capstan Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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But these were the lighter moments. Wle knew that seamanship was vastly important. Wie re- called the letter to a member of the department from a friend with the Pacihc Fleet. The letter read in part: UTell your boys to learn their Seamanship wellf' 4WVe have a young Reserve ensign, the First Lieutenant, aboard this destroyer and he has to anchor and handle boats and lines in a gale with a green crew and a brand new boatswainis matef' The course is comprehensive in its scope and bound to be Confusing at times, even to the IUOSL mechanical of men. Rather than confessing I don't know, which they told us is a cardinal taboo, capable of doing devastating things to an instructor's spleen, the Biidshipmen, in their mo- ments of desperation, frequently resorted to im- provised answers, rather than giving up without a fight and allowing an Hunsatw grade to be recorded in the red book uncontested. Representative of our not uncommon bewilder- inent was the response of a long, lean, Louisianan, when asked what he'd do with the side boys if an Admiral came aboard. The big fellow reflected confidence in himself and as he prepared to drawl his answer you could suspect that he knew what this was all about. 'iSir, he said, HAh'd just take 'em and toss 'em over the side? There were other weird answers. Herels one gem: When the relation of two vessels to each other is such as to involve risk of collision, the one re- quired by the rules to keep clear is called the 'underprivilegedl vessel? And then there was the lad who noted that the most eflicient way to go alongside a wharf with the current from astern was to back engines slowly and turn in. The instructor writhed and we all went to see 'tPatience,' that night. l55l

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OR CENTURIES upon centuries mariners the world over have been establishing customs and preserving traditions which are unparallelled by other services. And come hell, high water, or a Philosophy major to the lXfIidshipmen's school, every one of their number must be thoroughly familiar with these customs before they qualify as salts of the sea. Seamanship is the type of course which embraces everything pertaining to the Navy which is not covered by other departments. In it you run the gamut from discovering how to tow, maneuver, and anchor a ship to ascertaining who gets the wettest seat in a motor launch when there are two Admirals, a General, a Commander, and an En- sign embarking. CAS if we didn't already knowlj Assuming you are blessed with a just portion of common sense, flavored by attributes of forehand- edness and leadership, the technical knowledge is provided by lectures and drills, supplemented by an indispensable copy of Knightis and a handy pocket-sized compendium explaining the life, loves, and obligations of a YVatch Officer in every im- aginable predicament. Xvhen you can prove satis- factorily that you know what they contain your commission wafts through in the form of a cirro- cumulus halo. Seamanship also meant lforse Code, Hag hoist and movies. The movies were held in somnolent Vlashington Hall and usually featured a deathless serial entitled uShip Construction. Here we watched, spellbound, movies depicting the birth and development of a vessel. Climax of each movie occured when the workmen snapped a chalk line. lt invariably happened and never failed to provide a thrill, YVell-heated XYashington Hall often gave us cause to struggle with Morpheus. Even Lt. Lord, head of the Seamanship Department, once publicly ad- mitted that he drifted off to sleep almost every time he sat in XVashington Hall. l54l

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