“America’s Tall Ship,” Coast Guard Cutter Eagle to visit Portsmouth, Va.

CARIBBEAN OCEAN - The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle transits the Caribbean Ocean under full sail Monday, June 7, 2010. Crewmembers assigned to the Eagle "America's Tall Ship" set sail from New London, Conn., in April for the annual Summer Training Program. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jetta H. Disco.PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle is scheduled to arrive Wednesday in Portsmouth and will be open for public tours Thursday.

The service’s famous tall ship is scheduled to be moored Wednesday behind Portsmouth City Hall, located at 801 Crawford St., by about 2 p.m.

The Eagle will be open for free public tours Thursday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Representatives from the U.S. Postal Service will have the new Coast Guard Forever stamp available and offer a special cancellation on the pier from 10 a.m. – 2 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.

To follow the Eagle’s summer cruise, visit the ship’s Facebook page at http://ift.tt/1ijVPHb


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