The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle has canceled its upcoming port call Thursday in Charleston.
Due to health and safety concerns, the Eagle will no longer arrive in Charleston as expected.
“Eagle always enjoys visiting Charleston and interacting with the community,” said Capt. Michael Turdo, the Eagle’s Commanding Officer. “Out of an abundance of caution for the crew and trainees currently embarked, the Coast Guard has chosen to cancel the planned port call for this weekend. Eagle looks forward to a future visit.”
The Eagle was scheduled to arrive in Charleston for three days starting Friday and be open for free public tours through Sunday.
At 90 meters (295 feet) 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 the Horst Wessel by the German Navy, Eagle was a war reparation for the United States following World War II. Eagle is a three-masted barque with more than 6,797 square meters (22,300 square feet) of sail and 9.7 kilometers (6 miles) 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 and Officer Candidate School curriculum.
Additional information about the Eagle can be found here. The Eagle’s design dimensions can be found here.
The Eagle’s commanding officer, Capt. Michael A. Turdo’s biography can be found here.
For a continuous stream of information about Coast Guard Tall Ship Eagle, including port cities, tour schedules, current events, as well as cadet and active duty crewmember photographs, follow the “United States Coast Guard Barque EAGLE” Facebook page.
