US Coast Guard tall ship to visit Bermuda

Gareth Finighan

Created: Jul 18, 2023 11:29 AM (Updated: Jul 18, 2023 11:08 PM)

Flying visit: The US Coast Guard tall ship Eagle will call in on Bermuda as part of a three-month training exercise (Photograph supplied)

A US Coast Guard tall ship will be docked in Hamilton and open to visitors at the weekend.

The Eagle — a “classroom at sea“ — is the only sailing vessel in service by the US government, and has operated as a training ship for US Coast Guard cadets for more than 75 years.

Members of the crew of Eagle (photograph supplied)

The three-masted barque is currently on a three-month tour around the world and Bermuda will be its seventh port of call. It has spent the last five weeks in Scandinavian waters before sailing to the Portuguese territory of Madeira in the North Atlantic.

The ship has spent the last two weeks at sea, allowing cadets and officer candidates to practice leadership and technical skills.

It will arrive here on Friday for a three-day stay before heading back to the US on Monday.

Eagle will be berthed on Front Street and open for public tours from midday until 4pm on Friday and between 10am and 7pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Eagle was built in 1936 in Hamburg, Germany and originally served in the German navy. The ship was handed over to the US as a reparation payment following the end of the Second World War in 1945.