MWR yacht club sails into the future.

Patrons of the 32nd Street Yacht Club, operated by the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department at Naval Station San Diego, rarely talk about hoisting the jib or luffing the mainsail but do tell tons of sea stories.

The 32nd Street Yacht Club Enlisted Recreation Center is a unique alcohol- and tobacco-free club serving the young, active-duty sailor. When sailors open the doors (not the hatch), they find a wealth of free services, games, high quality equipment, innovative programming, information and an interactive staff.

Staff pay attention to every last detail in the Yacht Club down to the bright, clean decor. Patrons walk into a club with soft neon lights and inviting leather chairs. There is no loud music unless a patron chooses to play it on headphones. Friendly competitions of looseball and pool are going on in the game room. Enter one of the five theme rooms and become Steven Speilberg making videos or Steven Job designing software.

Named the Yacht Club to let each and every sailor know they are elite, it is a one-of-a-kind facility offering programs to a diverse group from every race, gender, region of the country and beyond and every background. With a steady flow of single sailors, the Yacht Club has found a niche in a crowded sea of night clubs, restaurants, concerts, Southern California amusement parks and on-base special events.

Opened in October of 1990, this facility provided a permanent home for the Young Adult Program (YAP)at Naval Station San Diego. YAP, developed by the Navy in 1988, was conceived to meet the recreation needs of the junior enlisted sailor (E-1 to E-4). These sailors generally fall into the 18 to 24 age group and account for 33 percent of the Navy's personnel, the largest single segment of the Navy's population.

Funding is generated exclusively from profits of other Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs such as Navy food service outlets, the bowling center and golf courses. Captain Martin K. Collins, Commanding Officer, Naval Station San Diego, says "Facilities like the Yacht Club are important because they meet a need...to provide a full range of programs in an alcohol- and tobacco-free environment. Naval Station is committed to supporting these alternative recreational opportunities for our sailors."

Lounge Facilities

Located near the piers on the largest Naval Station in the free world, this facility has pool tables and video games like most Navy clubs. But, it also has warm, leather chairs and sofas where guests can lounge and listen to CDs, tapes and radio stations on individual headphones. You won't find skin magazines here, but you will find issues of Popular Mechanics, Ebony, Cosmopolitan, and Rolling Stone available for reading at no cost to the sailors. A lending library is also available.

Sailors stationed on one of the 65 ships homeported at the Naval Station can make videos in the "Take 1" Room for family members and friends back home. The Yacht Club staff provides at no charge a video camera and a free 15- minute blank video tape to any authorized patron. The "Output Center" is equipped with six IBM PCs loaded with a wide variety of software and computer games. The required orientation class is free of charge and offered three times a week.

Sailors watch movies in the "Big Picture Room" complete with a 42-inch TV, VCR and the requisite cable with 42 channels. Sailors lounge around on bean bag chairs and couches while watching current videos and TV. The staff also issues movies, again, free of charge. The "Game Room" is equipped with ping pong tables, darts, pool tables, table soccer, video games and more for the sailor's enjoyment. Also located within the Club is "Snax and Stuff" with snack food and drinks. The rooms' inviting names are specifically designed to make the Yacht Club different from military worksites. Kelly Smith, Fleet Recreation Director, emphasized that this was intentional. "While we whole-heartedly support the Navy and the dedicated work the sailors perform, we wanted to give them a place that did not sound or look military." Most of the sailors visiting the Yacht Club live on or near their worksites in barracks or on ships in very close quarters.

The Programs

Naming each room helps create the relaxed, fun environment, but "programming is definitely what makes the 32nd Street Yacht Club shine throughout the Navy community," says John Dowdy, MWR Director.

Focus Groups formed in 1988 discovered that young sailors wanted activities, not competitions. The MWR Athletics Program offered hundreds of athletic competitions a year, but young sailors wanted another option, something more relaxed.

As a result of focus group and patron input, the staff developed a four-tier program consisting of no-skills and no-talent contests, theme nights, mini tours to local attractions and special events.

The Yacht Club hosts a no-talent, no-skills contest or a theme night every evening of the month. The contests range from Bubble Gum Blowing Contests to an adult Easter Egg Roulette complete with bunny ears. "Initially, the contests were well-attended but lacked participation," said Smith.

"I remember the first Bubble Gum Blowing competition we had. A staff member and I stood in front of the room with the microphone and blew bubbles coaxing patrons to enter the contest. The first guy brave enough to enter was about 5'10" and weighed about 250 pounds. He looked like a linebacker for the San Diego Chargers. He turned his baseball cap backwards, puffed his chest, popped in a piece of Bazooka Bubble Gum, stood in front of the room and... blew a half inch bubble! The crowd burst out laughing and the games began," remembers Smith. Word of mouth and the stress-free competitions constantly attract sailors to the Club.

The programming continues with nightly contests and festivals. The daily programs range from "Taxed Out"--patrons had to find alternative uses for their tax forms; to "Hoppin' Jalapenos"--the heartiest hombres had to eat the most jalapenos and chips to "Watermelon Seed Spitting"--17 feet won; to "Cow Tippin'" (no need to call the Humane Society!)--patrons took their best shot at knocking over plastic heifers with rubber bands. Cow Tippin' and Bubble Gum Blowing are just one segment of the programming. Sailors in the original focus group also wanted activities off base. They wanted to attend local events but had a transportation problem. Many young sailors did not have cars due to limited finances.

The Yacht Club offers Mini Tours every weekend for the sailors. A brightly painted Yacht Club Van shutties sailors and their guests on local day and weekend trips. Transportation is almost always free of charge to the sailors and their guests. Recent trips have included a tour to the San Diego County Fair, a trip to the Pro Beach Volleyball Tournament at Mission Bay in San Diego and a rock climbing weekend trip in the Joshua Tree National Forest.

"The trips are sellouts and everyone has a blast," says Mary Higuet, Yacht Club Program Coordinator. One sailor wrote on a recent comment card that he enjoyed the "Cuyamaca Backpacking Weekend" but thought muscle ointment should have been added to the "What to Bring List."

The Yacht Club staff always prepares a list of what to bring and local information for each participant. Additionally, the staff takes time to work with sailors on how to budget their money to pay for a trip. For the costlier trips, the staff will set up a payment plan allowing them to pay every week or on paydays.

Special Events

The last segment of the Yacht Club's four-tier programming is special events. Every month, Yacht Club programmers offer a special event. The Off-the-Wall Movie this past June showed Wayne's World on the wall of the barracks while sailors and guests watched alfresco from the lawns. A Dive-In Movie had sailors and guests floating in inner tubes in the Naval Station Pool watching, what else, Jaws. A Mother's Day Flower Bouquet Drawing gave each sailor a chance to send a bouquet of flowers to mom.

The annual Stuff-a-Sailor Program headlines the special events program every year. The Yacht Club staff coordinates this program where local San Diego families, military and non-military, invite sailors to their homes for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Staff carefully match up sailors and families sometimes finding a common link such as the same hometown or interests. One retired Navy officer who stuffed-a-sailor, recruited his guest into the Navy four years ago. The program is advertised through San Diego community newspapers and Naval Station ships and barracks.

"The response has been tremendous to this ongoing program," says Smith. One 1992 host family wrote, "We had so much fun with Jeff, Josh and Scott--the whole day was a high point. They were the best group we have hosted yet--thanks. It has been a really great Christmas with the Stuff-a-Sailor Program again. Keep up the good work."

The special events are designed to attract larger crowds and introduce new personnel to the Yacht Club and its activities. The Yacht Club's customer pool changes almost daily. In the Navy, sailors deploy to sea and move to new duty stations with great frequency thus creating the need for constant promotion.

Information is another key to the success of the Yacht Club. The staff goes to great lengths to maintain extensive and up-to-date files on area attractions and events. If someone wants to know where to go roller blading or horseback riding in San Diego, the information is available from where to rent skates or horses to information on how to get there. Recently, Petty Officer Dwayne Smith needed information on finding a low cost honeymoon spot in San Diego. Higuet and staff found Smith and his bride a bed and breakfast in San Diego and a day cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, all within his budget.

User-Friendly Design

"Striving for total customer service, the Yacht Club receives high marks from our customers," says Kelly Smith. "We have great management and command support which is essential in any operation," says Smith. The facility is designed to be user friendly --no locks on doors and cabinets, no cash deposits to check out items. Other staffing policies that support the high level of customer satisfaction include:

* Not giving a NO answer over the telephone. The staff is always encouraged to find answers to questions if possible or put the patron in touch with someone who can answer their question.

* Always using first names in the Club. In the military, everyone is referred to by their rank and/or last name. Using first names creates a leisure environment to try to take away the work atmosphere without showing a lack of respect.

* "Hiring those with a background in recreation. Workers tend to be recreation students with an added interest of their own," said Dowdy. The Yacht Club also tries to have at least one active duty person on staff. The active duty person helps to keep the staff abreast of the needs of Navy personnel.

In the Beginning

The results of the 1988 focus group showed the needs of the sailors and their peers. They wanted activities and programs that promoted socialization with others, mainly of the opposite sex and programs that are low cost (relative to the activity). Ideas for programming that came out of the meeting included fishing, hiking, climbing, frisbee, beaches, horseback riding and informal socials.

With the focus group report in mind, MWR staff decided on a "1989 Kick-off-the-Summer Picnic" to promote YAP at Naval Station. The picnic was not a great success. "Actually, it was a bust," said Smith. It did, however, serve to further define the needs of a successful Young Adult Program.

If YAP was to be successful, it needed a home--a place where sailors felt comfortable and relaxed. Planning for a new facility began in 1989. Using an area in the Naval Station Theater Building and funds generated from other MWR facilities, the 32nd Street Yacht Club began to take shape. The goal, as stated in early memos, was "to create a facility that appeals to the young, active duty male and female sailor by providing an attractive, fun atmosphere with a variety of programs and activities."

The funds to construct the facility were generated from other MWR operations such as clubs, golf courses and food and beverage outlets. With the addition of new walls, lighting and equipment, the plans called for three specific areas: a central control area, an active area and a passive area.

The central area was to act as a buffer zone between the active and passive areas, a place to conduct business and distribute information. The active area encompassed the game room, video arcade and eating area. The passive area was divided into five different rooms including a music listening lounge, computer room, study/library, video room and large TV room. The Yacht Club officially opened its doors to eagerly waiting patrons on October 30, 1990--with patronage steadily increasing since the grand opening.

The last contribution of the 1988 focus group was a refinement of the communications network for the Yacht Club. Originally, the information was given out by junior enlisted sailors to their shipmates and friends on the base. The focus group felt that all information should come from MWR and the enlisted sailors' supervisors. They believed it would give the program more validity and demonstrate the base commitment to the young adult and the Yacht Club Program.

Today, the Yacht Club publishes a monthly calendar and special events flyer. The promotional material is just as the group requested--colorful, graphically pleasing, easy to read and easy to find. Distribution of the information is constantly being refined to ensure visibility. Every ship, barracks, galley, food outlet, bus stop and MWR facility are distribution points.

The Yacht Club now attracts over 4,000 patrons a month, showing a steady increase since the opening three years ago. The Club constantly faces new challenges--a target market that moves with great frequency and the ever changing tastes of the 18 to 24 market--hot CDs and videos, weekend trips. The reasons for the success of the Yacht Club appear to be a combination of great demand for recreation in the target group, a topnotch facility, enthusiastic staff and unique programming.

"The Naval Station MWR staff is constantly evaluating and assessing the programs and will continue to provide recreation to meet the changing trends of the 18 to 24 year old sailor," said Dowdy. Electricians Mate Fireman David V. Chau summed it up simply when he said "It's a nice, quiet place to spend some free time and it's got all the things you might want to do."