The Eagle soared into Greenport early Friday morning
The U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle — a 295-foot sailing ship — arrived Friday, Aug. 7, and docked at the long pier east of the North Ferry terminal.
The Eagle will remain in Greenport through Monday, Aug. 10, and will be open for free public tours during its stay. Saturday tours will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A Coast Guard recruiting station will also be set up on the pier throughout the visit.
Photos by Jeremy Garretson
Built in Germany in 1936, the Eagle was commissioned as the Horst Wessel before the United States took possession of it as a war reparation after World War II. The Coast Guard put it into service in 1946, and it has trained cadets and officer candidates at sea ever since.
It remains the largest tall ship flying the American flag — and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service, carrying six miles of rigging and more than 22,000 square feet of sail.
Capt. Kristopher Ensley, the ship’s commanding officer, and other crew members will take part in a public discussion Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the North Fork Arts Center’s Sapan Greenport Theatre.
The program will feature stories from the Eagle’s summer voyage, including its Fourth of July entrance into New York Harbor and the Five Sisters Trophy race from New York to Boston. The July 9 competition against its three sister ships was the first such race since 1976, according to the Coast Guard.
Sea-shanty group Ethel’s Mermen will open and close the program. Admission is free, although a $30 donation is suggested.
More than 20 cadets will head ashore Sunday morning to help the East End Seaport Museum with a landscaping renovation project beginning at 9 a.m.
