SAN PEDRO, Calif. – The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, “America’s Tall Ship,” is scheduled to arrive in the Port of Los Angeles as a part of its West Coast tour Aug. 1.
Free tours of the 295-foot, three-masted sailing ship are scheduled to be available to the public Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The ship will be moored at the Port of Los Angeles, Berth 87 for the tours.
This is the Eagle’s first trip to the West Coast in four years. The ship was a war prize from Nazi Germany, and is the only square-rigged sailing ship in the United States government service. It was originally commissioned the Horst Wessel in 1936 by Nazi Germany where it was one of three training ships used to train navy cadets. Taken as a war prize by the United States in 1946 and renamed, the Eagle now allows the Coast Guard’s future officers to apply the navigation, engineering, and leadership training they receive in classes at the Coast Guard Academy to real-life challenges on the sea.
The Eagle’s sailing schedule, daily photo and journal entries, and other information about the vessel can be found on the Eagle’s website at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/uscga/eagle/eagle.htm. The cutter is also scheduled to sail into Los Angeles Aug. 15 for a second port call here.
