Communications Relay

From Culverpedia

The Communications Relay is a competition held at 4pm on the final Wednesday afternoon of camp every summer at Culver Upper Camps. An elaborate relay meant to encompass every aspect of the Naval School's Curriculum, the race pits each naval company against the others and awards 100 naval points to the winner, 20 to second place, and so on down the line.

Event Order

The Communications Relay is deisgned to test naval units on every element of Seamanship. As such it is composed of:

1. Code Flags
2. Push-Pull Wherry Race w/ one Wherry Holder
3. A speedwalking race along the pier
4. Bucket Brigade consisting of 10 midshipmen
5. Another Speedwalking race
6. Single Pull w/Coxswain Wherry Race
7. Wherry Sculling Race
8. Single Push Wherry Race
9. 2-man Kayak Race
10. A run of about 800 meters from the woodcraft pier to the wherry beach.
11. Surfboat Pulling race, half a mile out from shore, around a buoy to port, back across the line formed by home island and Ledbetter. Boats include 8 rowers and a cowswain.
12. A Lightning Race with a skipper and 1 or two crew in each boat.
13. A 300 yard swim from home island to the kayak beach.
14. A short sprint from the kayak beach behind the naval building to the retreat field.
15. Crypto consisting of 1 team of 5 midshipman who encode a message using the Viginere Encryption System, a team of signallers who send the message across the parade field, and a group of 5 midshipmen who decode the message back into its original language. When correct the mesage is handed to a...
16. Runner who sprints from the flag poles to the base of the Riding Hall Terrace with the completed message.

A full Communications Relay Team requires 51midshipmen. Students are not allowed to repeat events though in recent years due to low numbers in the naval band they have had to do so.

The winner of the Communications Relay is signalled by raising the international code flag (Band signified by 5 for numeration purposes) of the relevant naval unit up the mast of the naval building. Usually upon completion of the race by all five squads the winning squad will celebrate with a jump into the lake.

Winning Units by Year

• 2007-Naval One
• 2006-Naval Two
• 2005-Naval Band
• 2004-Naval Two
• 2003-Naval One
• 2002-Naval Band
• 2001-Naval One
• 2000- Naval One
• 1999-
• 1998-Naval One
• 1997-Naval Band
• 1996-Naval One
• 1995
• 1994
• 1993
• 1992
• 1991
• 1990
• 1989

Thoughts on Comm. Relay

• In the late 1970's/80's the final runner would take the message and would have to run all the way to the post office.He had a bunch of dimes taped to his leg. He would then have to call the academy operator on one of the payphones located in the lobby with the message. One year in 1977 the operator disconnected our runner/messenger, and right behind us was the band. They ended up winning the race because their call went through and ours didn't.

Phil Higginbotham
Naval 2 1977-1979

Related Links

• Video of 2005 Communications Relay (from a Naval Two perspective) at YouTube.com [1]