Coast Guard Cutter Eagle file photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley.
NORFOLK, Va. — Coast Guard Cutter Barque Eagle arrived at Nauticus Pier in Norfolk, Virginia, Friday.
Free public tours are available both Saturday and Sunday before Eagle’s departure on Monday.
- Tour Schedule:
Saturday, Aug. 4 – DOD, DHS and first responder tours from 9 to 10 a.m.; Public tours from 10 a.m., to 4 p.m. - Sunday, Aug. 5 – DOD, DHS and first responder tours from 9 to 10 a.m.; Public tours from 10 a.m., to 7 p.m.
At 295 feet, Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes, and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service. Eagle was constructed in 1936 in Hamburg, Germany and originally commissioned as the Horst Wessel by the German Navy. The United States took Eagle as a war reparation following World War II.
With more than 22,300 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging, Eagle has served as an afloat classroom to future Coast Guard officers since 1946. A permanent crew of eight officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship and train up to 150 cadets at a time in the skills of navigation, damage control, engineering and deck seamanship.
