BOSTON – The U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle is scheduled to arrive and moor at the Cruise Terminal on 10 Blaney Street, in Salem on Friday, July 29, as part of the 2016 cadet summer training deployment.
Barque Eagle will be open for free public tours on the following dates and times:
- Friday, July 29 from 1 to 7 p.m.
- Saturday, July 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, July 31 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The summer 2016 deployment will span five months and 11 ports, including Bermuda and three European ports. This year Eagle has somewhat followed the same route charted by Eagle crewmembers when the tall ship first came to the United States after WWII, 70 years ago.
Barque Eagle last visited Salem in 2002 and the cadets and crew are excited to return after a 14 year absence. After departing Salem, the Eagle crew will set a course for New York City.
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, Eagle was originally commissioned as the Horst Wessel by the German Navy. The United States took Eagle as a war reparation following World War II.
With more than 23,500 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging, Eagle has served as a classroom at-sea to future Coast Guard officers, offering leadership and professional development experiences since 1946. A permanent crew of six officers and 55 enlisted personnel maintain the ship and train up to 150 cadets at a time in the skills of navigation, damage control, watch-standing, engineering, and deck seamanship.
For a continuous stream of information about the Eagle, including port cities, tour schedules, current events, as well as cadet and active duty crewmember photographs, follow the United States Coast Guard Barque Eagle Facebook page.
