Coast Guard Tall Ship Eagle file photo by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ruben Reed
KEY WEST, Fla. — U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle (WIX 327), America’s Tall Ship, is scheduled to arrive in Key West, Thursday, at Mallory Square.
The Eagle will be open for free and public tours on the following dates and times:
Saturday:
10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Military (active and retired) and first responders
11 a.m. – 7 p.m. General public
Sunday:
10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Military (active and retired) and first responders
11 a.m. – 7 p.m. General public
The Eagle is a three-masted barque with more than 6,797 square meters (22,300 square feet) of sail and 9.7 kilometers (6 miles) of rigging. At 90 meters (295 feet) in length, the Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes and the only active square-rigger in United States 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 a war reparation for the United States following World War II.
The Eagle is currently conducting summer Coast Guard Academy cadet training in at-sea leadership and professional development. Their first port call was Miami, in late May, followed by stops in Pensacola and Galveston, Texas. 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 as part of the Coast Guard Academy curriculum.
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