"USCGC Eagle" The Maine Windjammer Project

"USCGC Eagle" by Doug Mills

The USCGC Eagle at Rockland Maine.

Photos provided by Maine Windjammer Project

The Maine Windjammer Project started in 2007 to preserve the modern history of the Maine Windjammer and to make it available to the generations to come.

This historical archive is available to museums and for historical research.

For more info contact: dougmills@shootmainestudios.com

Coast Guard tall ship Eagle coming to Portland, Maine

BOSTON — Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, 'America's Tall Ship,' is scheduled to visit Portland, Maine Aug. 4-7.
The 295-foot Barque Eagle is set to dock downtown at Portland Ocean Terminal and will be giving free tours. They are scheduled to arrive Friday, Aug. 4 around 10 a.m. and will be open for viewing on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
"We are thrilled with the chance to host the crew and cadets of 'America's Tall ship,'" said Capt. Michael Baroody, commander of Coast Guard Sector Northern New England. "Portland has a strong maritime heritage, and I hope the entire community takes advantage of the opportunity to visit the ship and meet the cadets and crew."
The Eagle is the Coast Guard Academy's training ship based in New London, Connecticut. The ship travels the world with cadets in the summer months as a goodwill ambassador for the United States. Commanded by Capt. Matthew Meilstrup, the officers and permanent crew provide a strong foundation in seafaring by returning to the basics of wind power and navigation by the sun and stars.
Cadets sail on the Eagle for one to eight weeks, along with their instructors. Eagle recently toured Canada to celebrate the country's 150th anniversary. Their next port of call is New York City.

U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle to lead Grand Parade of Sail, arrival of tall ships for Sail Boston

BOSTON — The U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle, "America's Tall Ship," will begin the Grand Parade of Sail into Boston Harbor at 9 a.m. Saturday when 56 sailing ships from around the world arrive for Sail Boston 2017.

Led by Eagle, the parade of majestic tall ships will arrive in flotillas beginning from Broad Sound into the main channel of Boston Harbor, along the Boston waterfront, turning at Charlestown, before proceeding to their assigned berthing areas.

The Eagle will be moored at the Charlestown Navy Yard and open for free public tours June 18-21 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Built during the twilight era of sail, the design and construction of Eagle embody centuries of development in the shipbuilder's art. 

Originally operated by Nazi Germany to train cadets for the German Navy, the ship was taken by the United States as a war prize after World War II. In 1946, a U.S. Coast Guard crew – aided by the German crew still on board – sailed the tall ship from Bremerhaven to its new homeport in New London, Connecticut. 

To maneuver Eagle under sail, the crew must handle more than 22,000 square feet of sail and five miles of rigging. Over 200 lines control the sails and yards, and every crew member, cadet and officer candidate, must become intimately familiar with the name, operation, and function of each line. 

A permanent crew of eight assigned officers and 50 assigned enlisted personnel maintain the ship year round. They provide a strong base of knowledge and seamanship for the training of up to 150 U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets or officer candidates at a time. 

Eagle is scheduled to depart Boston June 22. From Boston, the ship will head north to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. 

Thousands of people are expected to view the ships within the harbor, and the U.S. Coast Guard has issued timelines and guidelines that apply to all spectator vessels during the Grand Parade of Sail and the traffic pattern for the event from June 17-21.

"America's Tall Ship" The Maine Windjammer Project

"America's Tall Ship" by Doug Mills

America's tall ship the USCGC Eagle, port of call Rockland, Maine.

"USCGC Eagle" The Maine Windjammer Project

"USCGC Eagle" by Doug Mills

The tall ship USCGC Eagle returns to Rockland, Maine. [08-02-2014]

www.mainewindjammerproject.com

"USCGC Eagle" The Maine Windjammer Project

"USCGC Eagle" by Doug Mills

The USCGC Eagle makes her first visit to Rockland, Maine. [07-24-2009]

www.mainewindjammerproject.com

Tall Ship Eagle Announces Summer Sailing Schedule

 

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Coast Guard Barque Eagle has finalized its training schedule for 2014.  During the year, Eagle will sail to the Caribbean, along the East Coast, to Canada, and throughout New England.

In late March, Eagle will sail to North Carolina with the Coast Guard and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Officer Candidates.  The voyage will include a port call in Morehead City, N.C.

The Eagle will return to New London in early April and will depart for the annual summer deployment in May to train Coast Guard Academy cadets.  While in New London in April, the Eagle plans to moor downtown at City Pier and open for local tours on a daily basis.

Following cadet final examinations, Eagle will set sail in early May and is scheduled to travel to the following ports: San Juan, Puerto Rico; Oranjestad, Aruba; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami; Sydney, Canada; St. Johns, Canada; New York City, N.Y.; Bourne, Mass.; and Rockland, Maine.  Eagle will return to New London City Pier in early August.  During these voyages, Eagle will train four different groups of approximately 150 cadets each.

In late August, Eagle will depart with the fall Coast Guard and NOAA Officer Candidate classes, traveling to Yorktown, Va. and then to Baltimore. While in Baltimore, Eagle will take part in the celebration of the 200 year anniversary of Francis Scott Key’s penning of the Star Spangled Banner.

Following the celebration, Eagle will transit to the Coast Guard Yard facility in Baltimore and commence work on its upcoming Service Life Extension Project.  Eagle will remain at the Yard facility until the spring of 2015, when the Barque will travel to New London to commence the 2015 training program.

Specific port call dates are:

Morehead City, N.C.           March 27-30

San Juan, Puerto Rico         May 21-24

Oranjestad, Aruba              May 28-31

Cozumel, Mexico               June 7-10

Miami, Fla.                        June 14-17

Sydney, Canada                 June 28-July 1

St. Johns, Canada              July 4-7

New York City, N.Y.        July 18-21

Bourne, Mass.                   July 24-28

Rockland, Maine               Aug. 1-4

Yorktown, Va.                   Sept. 4-6

Baltimore, Md.                  Sept. 11-15

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.

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.

To follow the adventure onboard Eagle, visit the ship’s Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/CoastGuardCutterEagle.

While inport in February and March, the Eagle will be available for tours at the Ft. Trumbull pier most days from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.  For more information, call 860-439-1562.

Coast Guard Barque Eagle announces training schedule for 2014, Rockland is on the list!

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Coast Guard Barque Eagle has finalized its training schedule for 2014.  During the year, Eagle will sail to the Caribbean, along the East Coast, to Canada, and throughout New England.

In late March, Eagle will sail to North Carolina with the Coast Guard and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Officer Candidates.  The voyage will include a port call in Morehead City, N.C.

The Eagle will return to New London in early April and will depart for the annual summer deployment in May to train Coast Guard Academy cadets.  While in New London in April, the Eagle plans to moor downtown at City Pier and open for local tours on a daily basis.

Following cadet final examinations, Eagle will set sail in early May and is scheduled to travel to the following ports: San Juan, Puerto Rico; Oranjestad, Aruba; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami; Sydney, Canada; St. Johns, Canada; New York City, N.Y.; Bourne, Mass.; and Rockland, Maine.  Eagle will return to New London City Pier in early August.  During these voyages, Eagle will train four different groups of approximately 150 cadets each.

America's Tall Ship to visit St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle sails toward the island of St. Maarten during its first two weeks underway for the cadet training deployment May 20, 2013. Eagle departed New London, Conn., May 11 for a 11-week cadet training deployment stopping at nine port calls in five countries, with four different groups of cadets training onboard. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2rd Class Erik Swanson)

2013 EAGLE SUMMER TRAINING SCHEDULE

14-17 June         St. Petersburg, FL Portcall  

 

29 June-2 July   Bermuda Portcall 

 

11 July-14 July St. Pierre, France Portcall 

 

19 July-22 July Halifax, Canada Portcall 

 

26 July-29 July Boston, MA Portcall 

 

27 July-9 August 4/c Cadet Deployment 

 

2 August-5 August Portsmouth, NH Portcall 

 

September         Fall OCS Deployment (Portcall TBD) 

Left to right, Third class cadets Joaquin Reyes Carreno, Zachary Frohn, Paul Puddington and Petty Officer 3rd Class Garrett Henderson, a boatswain’s mate, furl the foremast upper square sail as the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle transits into Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, June 7. Crew and cadets enjoyed a short port call at the naval base, as part of the cadet training deployment, to take on fuel, restock food stores and rest before getting underway the following day for St. Petersburg, Fla. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson)

Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon DeVore, an operations specialist, assists third class cadet Hayden Hughes locate the star Arcturus using a sextant during a celestial navigation session held on the fantail of the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, May 19. Eagle navigated primarily using celestial navigation techniques during the 2013 cadet training deployment. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2rd Class Erik Swanson)

Seaman John Colucci (right) leads third class cadets Paul Puddington and Nicholas Trefonides on the helm of the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, May 23. Cadets work with crew to earn their helm and lookout qualification during their cadet training deployment aboard Eagle. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2rd Class Erik Swanson)

Eagle’s crew and cadets help build a school for children in need at St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – During Eagle’s first port call in St. Maarten, crew and cadets helped renovate a school building for children in need at Philipsburg Saturday, May 25, 2013.

Working with the St. Maarten Chapter of the United States Navy League, more than 40 crew and cadets painted, repaired and cleaned a planned school building property located on the corner of L.B. Scott Rd. and Red Rose Rd. “We appreciate the opportunity to help children in need at St. Maarten.” said Capt. Wes Pulver, Commanding Officer of the Cutter Eagle. “Community service projects enrich the deployment experience where the crew and cadets learn to foster a meaningful relationship with the community.”

 “We thank the Eagle’s crew for supporting the Navy League-sponsored community service project to help make a difference in children’s lives,” said Jack Stevens, President of the Navy League’s Caribbean and Latin American Region. “The Navy League’s partnership with the Coast Guard and the other sea services helps to strengthen relationships between nations and within the immediate community they serve in.”

On its cadet summer training deployment, the Eagle arrived in Philipsburg Friday for a port call lasting through the Memorial Day weekend. Their arrival marks the end of the first week underway after departing New London, Conn., May 11.

Eagle serves as a classroom at sea to future Coast Guard officers since 1946, offering a maritime leadership and professional development experience.  Currently, there are 145 cadets from the Coast Guard Academy embarked.  The summer deployment spans 11-weeks, stopping at nine port calls in five countries, with four different groups of cadets training onboard.

At 295 feet, the Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service.

Cutter Eagle’s First Week Underway

UNDERWAY ABOARD BARQUE EAGLE – The Coast Guard Barque Eagle successfully completed its first week of 11 of the cadet summer training deployment in the Atlantic Ocean, Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Eagle left its homeport in New London, Conn., and sailed more than 600 miles headed to the Caribbean while under sail power and using celestial navigation. Serving as an afloat training platform for more 140 Coast Guard Academy cadets at a time, Eagle’s summer deployment spans 11 weeks, visiting at nine port calls in five countries, with four different groups of cadets training onboard.

"The Eagle crew has challenged these future officers, especially the upper class cadets, to assume the leadership roles of junior officers while sailing the Barque, and they have truly taken ownership of this responsibility, said Capt. Wes Pulver, Commanding Officer of Eagle. “Upperclass cadets are leading the rising sophomores during navigation, engineering, bridge, and deck watches, and are helping them understand how a Coast Guard cutter operates while at sea. The challenges of living aboard and manning a square-rigger on the open ocean are building the teamwork, character, and leadership skills necessary for success as officers in the Coast Guard."

There are currently 24 upper class cadets from the Coast Guard Academy and 120 cadets who just completed their freshman year.  

The cadets have faced a myriad of challenges since stepping aboard Eagle working through nearly 12-foot seas to set and handle the 23 sails onboard as thet acquire their sea legs. They have climbed the barque’s 147-ft. tall masts through harsh weather and stood bridge, command in control, and engine room watches in the 24-hour classroom. Cadets are learning and training in fire fighting, celestial navigation and weather forecasting.  The ship’s navigator secured all means of electronic navigation, leaving the cadets to ensure they arrive at their next portcall with only a sextant and the stars.

“Eagle has been a good introduction into the Coast Guard and has given us the opportunity to apply many of the things we've learned at the Academy,” said 4^thClass cadet Townsend Hirst.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Franklin Johnson, a damage controlman, instructs
 fourth class cadets how to don a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus,
 May 13, 2013. This equipment is used on all Coast Guard Cutters to
 help Coast Guardsmen fight fires.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson.

With more than 23,500 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging, Eagle has been a classroom at sea for future Coast Guard officers since 1946, providing in-depth leadership and professional development experience.

A permanent crew of seven officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship throughout the winter and are now guiding the cadets in an extensive underway and in-port training schedule.  Instruction is focused on teaching the skills of navigation, damage control, watchstanding, engineering and deck seamanship. 

The Eagle is on schedule to arrive at its first foreign port call of St. Martin, Friday, May 24.

 A fourth class cadet carefully makes up a taught line after hauling
 around in the rain during sail stations aboard the Coast Guard
 Barque Eagle, May 14, 2013. second and fourth class cadets are
underway for their summer training deployment to further develop their
teamwork and leadership skills.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson.

At 295 feet, 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.

More on Eagle's port call schedule: http://www.uscga.edu/eagle  

To follow the Eagle’s summer cruise, visit the ship’s Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/CoastGuardCutterEagle

"USCGC Eagle" The Maine Windjammer Project

"USCGC Eagle" By Doug Mills

The USCGC Eagle visits Rockland in July of 2009.

www.mainewindjammerproject.com

Eagle Departs For Spring Training Deployment

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The crew aboard the U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle is scheduled to depart Friday, with Coast Guard officer candidates for a 17-day training deployment.  Due to current budget reductions,  crewmembers aboard the Eagle will not make a previously scheduled port call to Savannah, Ga., March 15 – 18.  The Eagle crew will now stop for logistics only in Charleston, S.C., where the ship will moor and take on supplies and Coast Guard trainees at a government pier.

Before departing Charleston, Eagle will take on enlisted students from the Coast Guard boatswain’s mate A-school for the first time. Training together offers mutual benefits to both the officer candidates and enlisted students.  The officer candidates will build experience and learn how the ship functions during their first week aboard, and then will utilize that experience to help guide the A-school students assigned to their divisions during the second week of the deployment. Simultaneously, the officer candidates and the enlisted trainees will receive instruction in navigation, deck seamanship, line handling, damage control, medical techniques, and other basic elements of life aboard Coast Guard cutters.

“The Coast Guard Academy and the Leadership Development Center are academic institutions with collective missions to ensure the best and complete learning experience for our trainees, and the Eagle is a significant part of that experience,” said Capt. Wes Pulver, Eagle’s commanding officer. “We understand budget reductions are required and we remain committed to our highest priorities in providing academic and training excellence to the future leaders of our service.”

The Coast Guard decides upon locations for Eagle training deployments based on ideal weather and sea conditions at different times of the year for students to perform training under challenging circumstances. Trainees are required to handle more than 200 lines and practice marlinspike seamanship to bolster a teamwork ethic as part of their professional development in leadership.

The boatswains mate A-school in Yorktown, Va., is the central educational facility where students learn to perform almost any task in connection with deck maintenance, small boat operations, and navigation. Graduates become third class petty officers in the boatswain’s mate rating.

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 United States acquired Eagle as a war reparation following World War II.

To follow the Eagle’s cruise, visit the ship’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CoastGuardCutterEagle.

Tall Ship Eagle at Operation Sail 2012 Fireworks Gallery

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, a 295-foot barque homeported in New London, Conn., is moored to the pier as the crew watch fireworks during Operation Sail 2012 in Norfolk, Va., June 9, 2012.

U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 2nd Class Walter Shinn.

Eagle's Nest View Fireworks During Operation Sail 2012

EAGLE NEST VIEW - Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle watch fireworks during Operation Sail 2012 in Norfolk, Va., June 9, 2012. Operation Sail 2012 Virginia is commemorating the bicentennial anniversary of the War of 1812. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Walter Shinn

Tall Ship Eagle Announces 2013 Sailing Schedule

NEW LONDON, Conn. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle's 2013 sailing schedule has been released.

In March 2013, Eagle will depart New London, Conn., and the spring officer candidate class will sail to Savannah, Ga. While in Savannah, the officer candidates will have the opportunity to represent the Coast Guard in the annual St. Patrick's Day parade.

The annual cadet summer training deployment will depart New London on May 11, 2013, and head to the Caribbean. Riding the trade winds, Eagle will visit Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and Aruba before turning north. The third class cadets will phase change in St. Petersburg, Fla., in mid-June. Eagle will then round the tip of Florida and turn northeast. Following a portcall in Bermuda, Eagle will visit St. Pierre, a French island off the coast of Newfoundland. Sailing southwest, Eagle will then transit along the coast to Halifax, Canada, and Boston throughout July. In Boston, the third class cadets and their first class cadet division officers will depart and the new swabs and their second class cadre will join the crew.

Built at the Blohm + Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, in 1936 and commissioned as Horst Wessel, Eagle is one of three sail-training ships operated by the pre-World War II German navy. At the close of the war, the ship was taken as a war reparation by the U.S., re-commissioned as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle and sailed to New London, Conn., which has been its homeport ever since. Eagle has offered generations of U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets, and more recently officer candidates, an unparalleled leadership experience at sea, teaching them practical seamanship skills while indoctrinating them in the Coast Guard's afloat leadership laboratory.

Port calls for Eagle:

  8-24 March         Spring OCS Deployment
  15-18 March       Savannah, Ga. Portcall
  11 May-27 July      3/c Cadet Deployment
  24-27 May       Tortola, British Virgin Islands Portcall
  31 May-3 June       Aruba Portcall
  7-8 June               Guantanamo Bay Portcall
  14-17 June       St. Petersburg, Fla. Portcall
  28 June-1 July       Bermuda Portcall
  11 July-14 July       St. Pierre, France Portcall
  19 July-22 July       Halifax, Canada Portcall
  26 July-29 July        Boston Portcall
  27 July-16 August 4/c Cadet Deployment (Portcalls TBD)
  September        Fall OCS Deployment (Portcall TBD)
*Portcalls subject to change based upon pier availability and logistical considerations. For more information, check out http://www.cga.edu/eagle/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CoastGuardCutterEagle.