The U.S. Coast Guard's Eagle, also known as "America's Tall Ship," will return to San Diego today for the first time since 2008, offering tours of its deck.
The ship, 295 feet in length, is the largest tall ship in service for the United States and the only square-rigger. Eagle is a three-masted barque with more than 22,300 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging. It will be moored at the B Street Pier, 1140 North Harbor Drive, and will offer free public tours this weekend.
Tours are available:
- Friday, Aug. 8 from 1 to 4 p.m.;
- Saturday, Aug. 9 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and
- Sunday, Aug. 10 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The ship was constructed in 1936 by the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and originally commissioned as the Horst Wessel by the German Navy, and named after a deceased Nazi "Brownshirt" officer. The vessel was a war reparation for the United States following World War II and was recommissioned the Eagle in 1946.
Since then, the Eagle has been used as a classroom at sea for Coast Guard officers since 1946. Each summer, it deploys with cadets from the United States Coast Guard Academy and candidates from the Officer Candidate School.
"Many Coast Guard Academy practices are steeped in what the academy mission refers to as "the sea and its lore," a Coast Guard statement reads. "These traditions date back to the golden age of sail, when vessels like Eagle made up the Navy and Revenue Cutter Service, the precursor of the modern United States Coast Guard."
Eagle sometimes makes calls at foreign ports to "foster relations with partner nations."
San Diego marks the 11th port call of Eagle's 14-week journey along the West Coast.
