PORTSMOUTH, Va. — America’s Tall Ship, the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, has rescheduled its port visit to arrive Friday in Morehead City, N.C., due to an approaching storm.
The Eagle’s itinerary, subject to change, is as follows:
- Friday, March 28, 11 a.m., welcome ceremony and pier-side press conference (open to the public)
- Friday, March 28, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., public tours
- Saturday, March 29, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., public tours
- Sunday, March 30, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., public tours
- Monday, March 31, 10:40 a.m., Eagle departs Morehead City
The Eagle will be moored at the Morehead City Port Authority Pier at the Port of Morehead City, 113 Arendell St. Tours are free and open to the public.
Eagle’s 2014 spring deployment is the first underway training for 60 Coast Guard and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration officer candidates currently working their way through the Officer Candidate School program at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. Upon graduation May 7, the trainees will become officers in the Coast Guard and NOAA assuming operational duties throughout the country.
The Eagle’s unique position as America’s only active square rigger in government service allows cadets and officer candidates the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and apply the navigation, engineering and other professional theories learned in the classroom.
“These are the rich learning experiences critical for cadets and officer candidates to become effective as leaders in the Coast Guard and NOAA’s operational units,” said Lt. Kristopher R. Ensley, Cutter Eagle’s operations officer.
At 295 feet in length, the Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes.
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 serves as a classroom at sea to future Coast Guard officers since 1946, offering an at-sea leadership and professional development experience.
A permanent crew of seven officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship, guiding cadets and officer candidates through an underway and in-port training schedule, dedicated to learning the skills of navigation, damage control, watchstanding, engineering and deck seamanship.
