NEW LONDON, Conn. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle is scheduled to depart New London Saturday, May 11, 2013, to begin a summer of training for more than 600 U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets.
Eagle serves as a training platform for the cadets, where they will learn navigation, engineering and sailing principles.
“We are excited about this summer and playing this integral role in the development of these young men and women,” said Capt. Wes Pulver, Eagle’s commanding officer. “Sail training not only exposes the cadets to the sea, but more importantly, it plays a key role in fostering the leadership and teamwork skills they will need as future officers in the Coast Guard.”
The crew of Eagle thanks the City of New London for the warm welcome and support while moored at City Pier. Eagle has hosted more than 2,300 guests for tours while moored in downtown New London over the past three weeks.
At 295 feet in length, the Eagle, known as “America’s Tall Ship,” 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 floating classroom to future Coast Guard officers since 1946, offering an at-sea developmental experience. A permanent crew of seven officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship and guide the trainees through an underway and in-port training schedule, dedicated to learning the skills of navigation, damage control, watchstanding, engineering and deck seamanship.
Eagle will make port calls in St. Maarten; Aruba; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Florida; Bermuda; St. Pierre; Nova Scotia; Massachusetts; and New Hampshire before returning to New London Aug. 9, 2013.
To follow the Eagle’s cruise, visit the ship’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CoastGuardCutterEagle.
