The U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle, known as “America’s Tall Ship,” is returning to San Diego and will be open for public tours beginning Friday.
Free public tours are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday at 1140 North Harbor Drive at the B Street Pier. The dates and times are:
- Friday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Saturday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Sunday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
No tickets are required.
The Eagle was built in 1936 by the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and originally commissioned as the Horst Wessel by the German Navy.
At 295 feet in length, with more than 22,300 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging, the Eagle was a war reparation for the United States after World War II.
It is the largest tall ship flying the Stars and Stripes and the only active square-rigger in United States government service.
She is a three-masted barque that has served as a classroom at sea for future Coast Guard officers since 1946 – offering an “at-sea leadership and professional development” as part of the Coast Guard Academy’s curriculum.
“Many Coast Guard Academy practices are steeped in what the Academy mission refers to as ‘the sea and its lore,'” the Coast Guard said in a release. “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.”
That lore can be learned aboard the Eagle, which also serves as a goodwill ambassador for the United States and Coast Guard, making calls at foreign ports in order to foster relations with partner nations.
San Diego marks the 12th port call of the Eagle’s journey along the West Coast since it was last moored here in 2008.
More information about the Eagle can be found here.
City News Service contributed to this report.
