The Mission Bay Aquatic Center has been awarded a 5-year contract to be the west coast school charged with training the next generation of naval officers in the tradition of sailing. Between mid-May and mid-June 500 midshipmen will qualify as United States Navy Sailing Association Skipper ‘B’ during their training at MBAC. There are just two schools in the nation where midshipmen receive this training; the Big Blue Sailing Academy at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia on the east coast, and Mission Bay Aquatic Center on the west coast.
MBAC Assistant Director, Kevin Waldick, shared, “It’s great to support the development of future US Navy officers and share in the long-held tradition that naval officers learn to sail.” He noted that the involvement in the contract has enabled MBAC to upgrade some of its sailing fleet, including replacing MBAC’s fleet of Hobie 16s later this summer.
The first class of midshipmen to receive the training at MBAC was in 2015 where about 200 midshipmen went through the training. Midshipmen from ROTC units from across the country took part in their summer training exercises at locations throughout San Diego. This year we expect to train about 500 midshipmen.
Due to the training and availability of equipment, there will be no sailing rentals available the last two weekends in May and the first two weekends in June.