U.S. Coast Guard tall ship Eagle to arrive in Norfolk, Va.

U.S. Coast Guard tall ship Eagle to arrive in Norfolk, Va.

NORFOLK, Va. – The Coast Guard Cutter Barque Eagle, “America’s Tall Ship,” is scheduled to arrive in Norfolk, and be open to the public for tours, this Friday, April 6.

The summer 2018 deployment spans eight months and 20 ports and including Barbados, Santa Domingo, San Juan, Roatán, Cartagena, and Curacao.

At 295-feet in length, Eagle is the largest tall-ship flying the stars and stripes and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service. It was constructed in 1936 in Hamburg, Germany, and originally commissioned as the Horst Wessel by the German Navy. The United States took the Eagle as a war reparation following World War II.

With more than 22,300 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging, the Eagle has served as an afloat classroom to future Coast Guard officers since 1946. A permanent crew of eight officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship and train up to 150 cadets at a time in the skills of navigation, damage control, engineering, and deck seamanship.

Media interested in welcoming the crew should please contact the Lt. Hillary Smith at [email protected].

WHO:             U.S. Coast Guard

WHAT:           Public tours of Eagle

WHEN:           1:00 p.m., to 7:00 p.m., tours open to the public, Friday, April 6

9:00 a.m., to 10:00 a.m., for DOD, DHS and first responders, Saturday, April 7

10:00 a.m., to 7:00 p.m., tours open to the public, Saturday, April 8

WHERE:         Nauticus Pier, Waterside

For the most up-to-date information about the Eagle, including port calls, tour schedules, current events, as well as cadet, officer candidate, public affairs specialist and active duty crewmember photographs, follow the United States Coast Guard Barque EAGLE Facebook page!