The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle Returns to Wilmington, NC

The Eagle is “America’s Tall Ship” and is the training ship for future Coast Guard Officers. It is a beautiful, historic Barque and is based at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT.

The Eagle will come to the foot of Market Street on August 6 for three days, a short stroll from our Wilmington, NC bed and breakfast.

Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the Stars and Stripes and the only square-rigger in U.S. government service. A three-masted barque, Eagle’s foremast and mainmast carry square sails and her mizzenmast carries fore-and-aft sails. The ship was built in 1936 in Germany, and commissioned as Horst Wessel, one of three sail training ships operated by the pre-World War II German navy. At the close of World War II, Horst Wessel was taken as a war reparation by the United States, recommissioned as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle and sailed to New London, Connecticut, their home port ever since.

Eagle provides an unparalleled at-sea leadership and professional development experience for future officers of the U.S. Coast Guard, the smallest but arguably the busiest of the U.S. Armed Forces. A seasoned permanent crew of six officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship and provide a strong base of knowledge and seamanship for the training of up to 150 cadets or officer candidates at a time. Augmented by temporary crew during our training deployments, Eagle routinely sails with over 230 hands on board.

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