America’s Tall Ship to Visit Portsmouth, Va.

The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle is scheduled to arrive in Portsmouth Friday, at 10 a.m. as part of their 2013 officer candidate training deployment.

The Eagle will be moored at 100 High Street in downtown Portsmouth, behind Admirals Landing apartments.

The Eagle will be open for free public tours on the following dates and times.

•    Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
•    Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
•    Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Eagle, a 295-foot square-rigged barque, is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes in U.S. military service.

Constructed in 1936 by the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, the Eagle was originally commissioned as the Horst Wessel by the German Kriegsmarine as part of their sail training fleet.  At the conclusion of the war, the United States Coast Guard took procession of the Horst Wessel as a war reparation and renamed the ship Eagle.  Since 1946 the Eagle has served as the Coast Guard Academy's training vessel for future officers.

Currently there are 54 Coast Guard and 10 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Officer Candidates.  All 64 trainees are working to earn their commissions at the Coast Guard Academy’s Leadership Development Center and are scheduled to graduate in December.  As part of their training, the candidates will spend between 7-14 days aboard the Eagle.  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.

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.