BOSTON – The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle is scheduled to arrive in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Friday, at 1:30 p.m. as part of the 30th Annual Gloucester Schooner Festival.
The Eagle will be open for free public tours on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., at 1 Rowe Square, in Gloucester. Also open for tours is the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Gloucester on Harbor Loop from noon to 4 p.m.
At 295 feet in length, the Eagle 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 classroom at sea to future Coast Guard officers since 1946, offering an at-sea leadership and professional development experience.
The summer deployment for the Barque spans 13-weeks, and stops at nine port calls in four countries, with four different groups of cadets and officer candidates training onboard. More than 600 cadets and officer candidates have trained onboard this summer. Just in the First Coast Guard District, she has made port calls in New York City, Bourne, Mass, Rockland, Maine and their final stop for the summer is in Gloucester, Mass. for Schooner Fest.
A permanent crew of eight officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship and guide the cadets through an underway and in-port training schedule, dedicated to learning the skills of navigation, damage control, watchstanding, engineering and deck seamanship.
To follow the Eagle’s summer cruise, visit the ship’s Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/CoastGuardCutterEagle