Displaying items by tag: US Coastguard Tallship

26th May 2016

US Coastguard Tallship 'Eagle' Joins Disney's Cruiseship in Dublin

United States Coast Guard Cutter barque, USCGC Eagle is a trainee vessel that is to be open for free public tours during a visit to Dublin Port

#TallshipPublicTours - The United States Coast Guard Cutter trainee tallship USCGC Eagle sailed into Dublin Port this morning following the maiden Irish port of call of cruiseship Disney Magic.

The USS Eagle is on a summer tour training schedule and the last port of call was New London, Connecticut – Fort Trumbull. The barque is on a five day visit to Dublin before heading to London.

According to the US Embassy, the tallship is to moor upriver at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay and be open for free public tours on the following dates and times:

Thursday, May 26th: 3:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Friday, May 27th: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 28th: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 29th: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Monday, May 30th: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

At 90 meters (295ft) in length, Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes and the only active square-rigger in United States government service.

Constructed in 1936 by the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and originally commissioned as Horst Wessell by the German Navy, Eagle was a war reparation for the United States following World War II. The vessel is a three-masted barque with more than 6797 square meters (22,300 sqFt) of sail and 9.7 kilometers (6-mi) of rigging.

Eagle has served as a classroom at sea to future Coast Guard officers since 1946, offering an at-sea leadership and professional development experience as part of the Coast Guard Academy curriculum. During this sail, Eagle also hosts cadets from the Royal Malaysian, and Honduran Navies who, after they graduate with a 4-year degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, will return to their respective countries to share the lessons learned with their services.

The last time Eagle visited Dublin, Ireland was 1996. After 20 years, Eagle is crossing the North Atlantic to visit this historical city again. After departing Dublin, Eagle will set her course for London, England.

For a continuous stream of information about Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, including port cities, tour schedules, current events and cadet and active duty crew-member photographs, follow the “U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle” Facebook page. All U.S. Coast Guard imagery is public domain and can be shared widely.

Published in Tall Ships

Tagged under

About Conor O'Brien, Irish Circumnavigator

In 1923-25, Conor O'Brien became the first amateur skipper to circle the world south of the Great Capes. O'Brien's boat Saoirse was reputedly the first small boat (42-foot, 13 metres long) to sail around the world since Joshua Slocum completed his voyage in the 'Spray' during 1895 to 1898. It is a journey that O' Brien documented in his book Across Three Oceans. O'Brien's voyage began and ended at the Port of Foynes, County Limerick, Ireland, where he lived.

Saoirse, under O'Brien's command and with three crew, was the first yacht to circumnavigate the world by way of the three great capes: Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin; and was the first boat flying the Irish tri-colour to enter many of the world's ports and harbours. He ran down his easting in the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties between the years 1923 to 1925.

Up until O'Brien's circumnavigation, this route was the preserve of square-rigged grain ships taking part in the grain race from Australia to England via Cape Horn (also known as the clipper route).

At a Glance - Conor O'Brien's Circumnavigation

In June 1923, Limerick man Conor O’Brien set off on his yacht, the Saoirse — named after the then newly created Irish Free State — on the two-year voyage from Dun Laoghaire Harbour that was to make him the first Irish amateur to sail around the world.

June 1923 - Saoirse’s arrival in Madeira after her maiden passage out from Dublin Bay

2nd December 1924 - Saoirse crossed the longitude of Cape Horn

June 20th 1925 - O’Brien’s return to Dun Laoghaire Harbour