Naval Academy YP 676 Squadron runs aground approaching Kings Point

YP 676 Class Patrol Craft - Training , at Severn River, Annapolis - full dress review

Led by YP 692 a squadron of four Naval Academy YP Class training ships made a courtesy call and tied up for the night at the Yocum Sailing Center of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point.  We were approaching Hart Island when Fred spied them.  They were passing Execution Rocks when he identified them as naval.  They were greeted by NYPD and Coast Guard ribbies.  Here are a couple of shots.  Specs for them are below.  They closely resemble the 110 foot sub-chasers like the SC 1355 on which my father, Lt. George W. Conk, Jr., was executive officer, then captain on convoy escort duty 1942 - 1945.  Based in Norfolk, VA., their patrols ranged from Iceland to Puerto Rico.
Update: USNA YP Squadron runs aground at Kings Point
Official statement:
On July 2, 2012, during a routine summer training cruise, a Naval Academy training vessel (YP) ran aground in shoal water near Kings Point, NY. This vessel was part of a squadron of four YPs on a month-long midshipman summer training cruise. There were no injuries. The training vessel suffered minor damage to the propeller and rudder. A formal investigation into this incident was immediately launched and is ongoing. Following an operational and material assessment, three YPs returned to USNA while one YP remains in NY for further assessment and possible repairs. 

The Naval Academy is a training command with a mission of developing the next generation of leaders for the Fleet. We are committed to providing the safest and best practical hands-on training to our Midshipmen while utilizing our YPs. Insights into the cause of this incident reported out by the investigation will be used to better prepare and train all personnel involved with YP operations so that similar future incidents can be avoided.

Like teaching the navigator to look at the chart?  Not every rock in the ocean is marked.  But these are. There is a reason it is called Stepping Stones light.

Two YPs approach Stepping Stones side by side

Heavy fuel barge in the channel passes two YPs starboard to starboard

Two YPs approaching Kings Point, Willetts Point at
1 O;Clock

As we observed it two ships appeared to be lashed together.  They were in perfect tandem - that's why you see only one in front of the lighthouse. One of them must already have ran aground - perhaps a couple of miles east near Execution Rocks lighthouse, or perhaps where we saw them at Stepping Stones light. We heard a radio call by a former YP commander - who warned them to mind the channel.  Here and below is a series of shots of the two YPs as they approach  and pass Stepping Stones one mile from Willetts Point and  the Throgs Neck Bridge. 

YP 680  passing Stepping Stones Light - click to enlarge

Of course it's not the first time in naval history. The worst is the loss of seven destroyers in 1923 at Point Arguello.  But they didn't have a GPS.  Not that you need one when you are right off the light house.  Just look at the chart!

YP 692  off Hart I. click to enlarge

YP- 676 Class Patrol Craft, Training

Laid down, 10 December 1986, at Marinette Marine, Marinette, WI.

Launched, 18 June 1987

Delivered and placed in service, 27 July 1987 at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.

Status, active in service assigned to the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.

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Specifications: 
Displacement 176 t. (max.) Length 108'  Beam 24' 

Draft 8' 
Speed 12 kts.  Armament none 

Complement

Officers 2

Enlisted 4
Range 1800 nm
Propulsion

two 12V-71N Detroit Diesel engines

two propellers, 437shp @ 2,100 RPM

WW II 110 footer

The disaster at Point Arguello - 1923