SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle and First Book, the Coast Guard’s signature charity, today hosted children’s story time and tours aboard the Eagle upon its visit to San Francisco for the Festival of Sail celebration. For every person who visits the Eagle during its port call in San Francisco, Scholastic, Inc. will donate a book to a disadvantaged child in the community. The Eagle had 12,000 visitors during its recent port call in Tacoma, Wash. while San Francisco had 5,000 visitors as of 6 p.m. on Friday, with thousands of visitors expected this weekend. The Eagle is docked at San Francisco’s Pier 30/32 through Sunday, July 27 and open for free public tours from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
To celebrate the U.S. Coast Guard and its continued commitment to reading, First Book will donate 400,000 new books from Scholastic, Inc. to recipient groups nationwide.
The Eagle, homeported in New London, Conn., is a three-masted barque that carries square-rigged sails on the fore and main masts. The 295-foot long sailing vessel has served the Coast Guard since 1946 and is used as a training platform for cadets and officer candidates to learn leadership, teamwork, seamanship and navigation skills. 200 lines and five miles of rigging control the Eagle’s more than 22,000 square feet of sail. As the largest tall ship flying the American flag, the Eagle is the only square-rigger in U.S. military service.
