The men of Hillsdale College proved their naval prowess on the waters of Baw Beese Lake last weekend.

Dozens of student participants and spectators gathered at the local lake on Sept. 30 for the first Naval Battle, a version of capture the flag on water, since 2016. 

Sophomore Sophia Schlegel helped organize the event. She explained why Campus Rec revived the tradition after its six-year hiatus. 

“This year for Campus Rec, one of our main goals was to promote dorm culture as a whole,” Schlegel said. “We thought this would be a really great way for the dorms to bond.”

Sophomore and Campus Rec member Ethan Bourgeois considered Campus Rec’s goal accomplished. 

“Naval Battle was a staple at Hillsdale that was gone for too long,” Bourgeois said. 

Of the logistical hurdles Campus Rec faced, Bourgeois was most concerned about participation. 

“I was worried that Simpson was not going to have that big of a turnout,” Bourgeois said. “Obviously, I was completely wrong.”

Simpson Residence competed against the “Coalition,” a team of non-Simpson competitors. Both teams had almost an even turnout, with 30-40 men each. 

Ryan Perkins, a ’22 grad and director of Campus Rec, was instrumental in reviving the Naval Battle tradition. 

“We got ideas from people who helped with this in the past to find out what was successful and got a lot of support from the deans,” Perkins said. “We were excited to bring an old tradition back.”

Campus Rec gave the groups two hours to build their boats before battle. They supplied cardboard, pool noodles, tarps, and duct tape to each team.

Each team received three flags, each of which they raced to bring around a buoy to the other team’s shore before the 90 minute time limit was up. Teams were allowed to sink each other’s boats and defend their own, but not to steal flags. If a flag got wet, the team had to return to their own shore and begin again. 

“No maiming, no drowning, and no complaining,” Bourgeois said. “Have fun and don’t kill each other.”

The teams charged into the water dragging their cardboard vessels. Within five minutes, Simpson brought two of its three flags to the enemy shore. 

Neither team advanced quickly, and several cardboard boats found a new life as second-rate submarines. Several times, the teams lined up for a bout of hand-to-hand combat. 

“Push! Push!” their leaders yelled. 

Campus Rec called a 15-minute halftime, and both teams returned to shore to strategize. 

Many men abandoned their vessels the second half of the battle. The rules allowed participants to carry a teammate on their shoulders as a substitute ship.

After more rounds of hand-to-hand combat, the 90 minutes allotted for battle were up. Simpson emerged victorious, boasting two flags to the Coalition’s zero. 

Naval Battle was not without its perils, according to junior Paul Sri, whose contact lens fell out in battle, leaving him vision impaired for the rest of the conflict. 

“One casualty: my contact,” Sri said. 

Some men sustained bloody scratches, but no one was seriously injured.

Both organizers and participants said the event was a success. 

“Naval Battle was really fun, but probably the most exhausted I’ve ever been,” said sophomore Brian Curtin, a member of the Coalition. “I didn’t expect to ever be wrestling Simpson guys.”

Jack Dickinson, a high school sophomore visiting Hillsdale, said watching Naval Battle gave him greater appreciation of Hillsdale’s dorm culture. 

“I love the manly spirit of it all, all of these shirtless guys in the water” Dickinson said. 

Joseph Cox, an Ave Maria University senior visiting friends, participated in Naval Battle. He said it reminded him of medieval culture with its celebration of heroism.

“There’s a lot of school pride here,” Cox said. 

Both teams amassed a significant number of onlookers, many of them female Hillsdale students. 

Sophomore Lucy Treene observed the watery tumult in Baw Beese with a smile. 

“Testosterone,” Treene said, “it just makes men do wild things.”