The Tall Ship Experience
Training on EAGLE
The USCGC EAGLE serves as a seagoing classroom for Coast Guard Academy cadets and instructors. Aboard the EAGLE, a barque-rigged tall ship, cadets are able to apply navigation, ship-handling and engineering training they have previously learned in the classroom.
Tall Ship Training
In this modern age of computers and global positioning satellites, it may look old-fashioned, but lessons learned sailing aboard a large square-rigger are invaluable. On the decks and in the rigging of EAGLE, young cadets are tested and challenged, often to the limits of endurance. Everyone depends on the others to know their job and do it.
The old saying, “We’re all in the same boat,” comes from a ship like this. Because EAGLE is so labor-intensive, it’s a demanding trainer. It’s an intense, humbling experience that instills teamwork, builds confidence and conquers fear – all traits as welcome on board ship as in a corporate boardroom.
Roles Aboard EAGLE
To maneuver EAGLE under sail, the crew must handle more than 22,000 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging. Upper class cadets perform the leadership responsibilities normally handled by junior officers. Underclass cadets fill positions normally taken by the enlisted crew of the ship, including helm watch at the huge brass and wood wheels used to steer the vessel. It is a rigorous, character-building experience for all who train on EAGLE.