Aboard the Eagle: Mattituck graduate gets taste of life at sea on voyage home

Ryan Harned peered out as Mitchell Park Marina slowly came into view Friday morning while he pulled into the dock aboard “America’s Tall Ship,” the U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle.

Escorting the ship was a much smaller police boat carrying his parents, Steven, a Southold police officer, and Diane. 

“It fills me with such a sense of pride that I can say I’m on a U.S. Coast Guard cutter coming into my hometown — where there is a little bit of a welcome committee waiting for me,” Mr. Harned said with a smile. “To have this, where everything culminates, is the greatest privilege that I could have ever asked for.”

Mr. Harned was salutatorian of Mattituck High School’s Class of 2026, where he spent years in the district’s NJROTC program. He competed in drill competitions and underwent uniform inspections, and fell in love with the program’s structure.

But he wanted more.

“I was definitely looking for a school with military structure to it because I love the fact that everything is very ordered, everything has its place, and everything is where it’s supposed to be,” he said.

He decided to attend the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. Before his official education starts in the fall, he’s spent the last few weeks in “Swab Summer,” an intense seven-week boot camp during which trainees learn seamanship, damage control, navigation, engineering, meteorology and more.

It culminates with a week aboard the Eagle.

A day for Mr. Harned and the roughly 150 other trainees doesn’t necessarily have a “start time,” as swabs accompany crew members for overnight watches. 

“You may either be on the wheel or toward the bell, looking out to see what other ships might be in the area,” he said, “or you might be in the engine room, which is far below deck, and you might be there to make sure there are no there’s no flooding, no fires, no safety hazards. Everyone has a different watch schedule, and the times change throughout the day.”

Once 6:30 a.m. hits, however, everyone takes part in the morning workout, doing push-ups, sit-ups and squats. Then the cadets clean the deck — sometimes twice a day — help hoist the sails and continue learning anything and everything they can on board.

The evenings are a little more fun, with karaoke and talent shows for the trainees.

“We’re applying what they’re learning in their navigation classes and their engineering classes in a real way throughout the day to help them understand those things,” Commanding Officer Kristopher Ensley said. “Not every day is going to be fun; not every day are you going to be with your best friends. Our mission statement is to provide a valuable and positive training experience, and we do that.”

Capt. Ensley has been with the Coast Guard since he joined as a cadet in 2000. He knows firsthand how hard it can be at times for the cadets, but believes it provides valuable experience they can’t learn anywhere else.

During his 26-year Coast Guard career, Capt. Ensley has served on seven ships, commanding four of them. He was aboard the Eagle the last time it pulled into Greenport in 2012.

He’s been aboard the Eagle for its Sail 250 adventure, docking in several seaside communities along the way. But for him, being back in Greenport for the first time in 14 years is special.

“This is a nautical community, and we celebrate our nautical communities,” he said. “Part of this ship’s mission is to represent the Coast Guard in America’s maritime heritage, and we do that all over the world and domestically in places like Greenport.”

The Eagle’s return is also a homecoming of sorts for Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Clausen, the Sector Long Island Sound inspections division chief, who is serving as the Eagle’s project officer during its visit.

While not on the ship with Mr. Harned and Capt. Ensley, the time spent in Greenport is special to Lieutenant Commander Kyle Clausen, who’s the Sector Long Island Sound inspections division chief, and is acting as the Eagle’s product officer during its visit. 

Lt. Cmdr. Clausen lived in Greenport until second grade, when his family moved one town over to Southold, where he still lives with his wife, Evelyn.

Always connected to the water, he started as a commercial shellfisherman at 14. He didn’t have a name for his business then, but he would sell to several North Fork seafood markets. He’s kept it up all these years later, still spending weekends fishing and selling to places like Braun Seafood Co. in Cutchogue and Southold Fish Market.

He was in Greenport when the Eagle visited in 2010, and after touring the vessel, he knew he wanted more from the water. He believes his time in the Coast Guard has given him everything. 

“It’s given me my entire life. It gave me my four years of college; it’s given me the opportunity to come back to my hometown,” he said. “I met my wife here and bought a house in Southold a year ago. It’s given me that full circle lifestyle, and to be able to bring my experiences back to my hometown has been everything.”

The Eagle will remain in Greenport through Monday, Aug. 10, and will be open for free public tours during its stay.

Public tours on Saturday and Sunday will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ship leadership will hold a panel at the North Fork Art Center Friday at 7 p.m., and cadets will participate in a community service landscaping and renovation project at the East End Seaport Museum Sunday at 9 a.m.

A Coast Guard recruiting station will also be set up on the pier throughout the visit. Between 3,000 and 4,000 visitors are expected during its stay.