Tall Ship Eagle Announces Summer Sailing Schedule

 

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Coast Guard Barque Eagle has finalized its training schedule for 2014.  During the year, Eagle will sail to the Caribbean, along the East Coast, to Canada, and throughout New England.

In late March, Eagle will sail to North Carolina with the Coast Guard and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Officer Candidates.  The voyage will include a port call in Morehead City, N.C.

The Eagle will return to New London in early April and will depart for the annual summer deployment in May to train Coast Guard Academy cadets.  While in New London in April, the Eagle plans to moor downtown at City Pier and open for local tours on a daily basis.

Following cadet final examinations, Eagle will set sail in early May and is scheduled to travel to the following ports: San Juan, Puerto Rico; Oranjestad, Aruba; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami; Sydney, Canada; St. Johns, Canada; New York City, N.Y.; Bourne, Mass.; and Rockland, Maine.  Eagle will return to New London City Pier in early August.  During these voyages, Eagle will train four different groups of approximately 150 cadets each.

In late August, Eagle will depart with the fall Coast Guard and NOAA Officer Candidate classes, traveling to Yorktown, Va. and then to Baltimore. While in Baltimore, Eagle will take part in the celebration of the 200 year anniversary of Francis Scott Key’s penning of the Star Spangled Banner.

Following the celebration, Eagle will transit to the Coast Guard Yard facility in Baltimore and commence work on its upcoming Service Life Extension Project.  Eagle will remain at the Yard facility until the spring of 2015, when the Barque will travel to New London to commence the 2015 training program.

Specific port call dates are:

Morehead City, N.C.           March 27-30

San Juan, Puerto Rico         May 21-24

Oranjestad, Aruba              May 28-31

Cozumel, Mexico               June 7-10

Miami, Fla.                        June 14-17

Sydney, Canada                 June 28-July 1

St. Johns, Canada              July 4-7

New York City, N.Y.        July 18-21

Bourne, Mass.                   July 24-28

Rockland, Maine               Aug. 1-4

Yorktown, Va.                   Sept. 4-6

Baltimore, Md.                  Sept. 11-15

At 295 feet in length, the Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service.

Constructed in 1936 by the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and originally commissioned as the Horst Wessel by the German Navy, the Eagle was taken by the United States as a war reparation following World War II.

With more than 23,500 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging, the Eagle has served as a classroom at sea to future Coast Guard officers since 1946, offering an at-sea leadership and professional development experience.

A permanent crew of seven officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship and guide the trainees through an underway and in-port training schedule, dedicated to learning the skills of navigation, damage control, watchstanding, engineering and deck seamanship.

To follow the adventure onboard Eagle, visit the ship’s Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/CoastGuardCutterEagle.

While inport in February and March, the Eagle will be available for tours at the Ft. Trumbull pier most days from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.  For more information, call 860-439-1562.