The Royal Bermuda Regiment lent a hand to a visiting tall ship, working with the US Coast Guard to transport cadets and crew between the airport and the Eagle, docked on Front Street.

The 295ft 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 US Coast Guard Academy curriculum.

During its recent port call in Bermuda, the Eagle conducted a change of cadets and crew to continue its 2023 summer training deployment.

The RBR assisted by organising transport for the 170 cadets and crew members disembarking the Eagle and a similar number arriving to report for duty on the vessel.

Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Beasley, the commanding officer of the RBR, said that the regiment was fortunate to have a “longstanding and meaningful” relationship with the US armed services.

“In particular, the RBR has worked with the US Coast Guard in training and operations for decades and they were instrumental in positively shaping our Coast Guard,” Colonel Beasley said.

“We were pleased that we were able to assist our friends and demonstrate that we will always honour our relationship with the Eagle and the wider US Coast Guard.

“More generally, this is just one small example of how the RBR delivers an essential capability in supporting Bermuda’s interests.”

Karen Grissette, the US Consul General, thanked the RBR for its assistance.

“Eagle called on Bermuda after a challenging transatlantic journey as a planned port call during its 2023 summer training here in Bermuda,” she said.

“The regiment safely transported hundreds of US Coast Guard crew and cadets between the City of Hamilton and the LF Wade International Airport.”

The Eagle is a three-masted ship with more than 22,300 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging.

It was constructed in 1936 by the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany and was commissioned by the German navy, but the ship later became a war reparation for the US after the Second World War.