BOSTON – The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle is scheduled to arrive at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, in Bourne, Massachusetts, July 24, at 2:40 p.m. as part of their 2014 cadet summer training deployment.
The Eagle is visiting Bourne for the Cape Cod Canal Centennial celebration.
The Eagle will be open for free public tours on:
- Friday, July 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Saturday, July 26 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Sunday, July 27 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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.
Currently, there are 135 cadets from the Coast Guard Academy embarked. The summer deployment for the Barque spans 13-weeks, and stops at nine port calls in four countries, with four different groups of cadets and officer candidates training onboard.
A permanent crew of eight officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship and guide the cadets through an underway and in-port training schedule, dedicated to learning the skills of navigation, damage control, watchstanding, engineering and deck seamanship.
