Welcome Aboard The CG Barque Eagle
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Click on chart for Eagle's current position
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600 miles west of Scotland
57o16.1'N 24o09.3'W
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Sailing on board Barque Eagle high in latitude in the summer,
sunset and sunrise are not far apart. This makes the days last very long
and the nights very short.
All photos are credited: U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer Second Class Andrea Rask.
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May 24, 2005
The Coast Guard Barque Eagle, homeported in New London, Conn.
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Captain's Log by 1/c Morgan Roy for Capt. E. J. Shaw
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Another couple of days underway in the North Atlantic, and what a great few days we have had! Sunday was holiday routine, a time to take a break in cadet training and give the crew and cadets a chance to relax. Many took the opportunity to get some extra shut eye, read a book, or write a journal. In the afternoon, the decks were lively with cadets doing pushups, sit-ups, playing guitar, chatting, and generally lounging and enjoying the sunshine which finally joined the party. Everyone was all smiles as most have gotten used to, and even dependent on the sea swells to support their “sea legs.” Sunday evening was the commemoration of crossing over Titanic’s final resting place. 1/c Brian Sattler was the resident Titanic trivia expert and challenged others to test his skill. Other firsties served up iceberg floats, cookies, and popcorn. The festival continued for hours while the mess deck was overfull with cadets and crew watching "Titanic."
Monday brought more beautiful weather. Even though the air remains crisp and cool, the sun shining in the sky gives everyone energy to go about the workday with a positive attitude. Two weeks after leaving New London, Conn., real progress can be seen in every aspect. Everyone is starting to work together in keeping the ship clean and moving rapidly toward Germany. Monday brought favorable winds to set sails, the first time since St. John’s. Truth be told, the wind wasn’t in the most favorable direction, however we are all aspiring sailors and couldn’t wait for mother nature any longer. Sails were set, disregarding the fact Germany was not in the direction we were headed on this day. It did not seem to matter, however. The three sail stations that were held today we very productive. In the morning, we all worked together to set 13 of the 23 sails. After lunch we attempted a wear (the same thing as a jibe but on a larger ship). The attempt was a complete success. A wear is one of the harder evolutions that is done on Eagle, and it was great to see the final result. After the evening meal another wear was completed and then most of the sails were doused. It is somewhat humorous to see some of the cadets, who have never grown up near boats or water, scurry up the rigging to sea furl the sails. It is almost as if they have a “salty” sixth sense and Eagle is bringing it out in them.
Another positive thing that the sun has brought is a chance to practice celestial navigation. Each day a different group of cadets shoot local apparent noon (LAN). Their noon-time shots are then compared to Eagle’s position acquired by global positioning system (GPS). Several cadets have landed within one nautical mile of our actual position, which is excellent for open ocean. There are other cadets, however…well let’s just say that is a good thing they are not our primary navigators.
As Eagle continues across the North Atlantic the sun is making the days grow longer, the sailing is becoming more fun, and spirits of the crew and cadets continue to be phenomenal
23 May 05 by Cmdr. Andrea Marcille, Eagle's Executive Officer
(L to R) 3/c Decarol Davis is assisted by Boatswain's mate 2nd class Mark Dunham in updating Eagle's chart position.
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Ahhh, to be sailing again. I had almost (not really) forgotten after too many days of motoring, how the ship glides quietly through the water under sail. We had a spectacular day of sailing today, after a bit of a dry spell. Most people have heard the well known Irish Blessing -- May the sun rise up to meet you, may the wind always be at your back. Well the wind has not been at our back or even our stern. It has been on our noses, or bow, for the better part of a week. However, this morning, we decided that enough was enough. If the wind won't come to us, we will go to the wind...And so we did. From about 600 miles West of Ireland, our track line to the North Sea and Bremerhaven is north east. When we set sail this morning we were heading south east...Three more weeks and we would have landed Morocco. But we were SAILING and it felt wonderful. We decided to wear ship midday so we didn't get too close to Moroccan shores, and all hands were clicking like a well-oiled machine. Everyone wanted to go aloft to furl sails at the end of the day...yes, our day of sail came to an end much too soon. A day of sailing in every direction but the one direction we needed to go, was over. The winds were still howling out of the Northeast, and tempting us to head south to warmer climates...when the temperature that greets you each day is a steady 43 degrees, the warm climates of Conception Island, EAGLE's favorite Bahamian haunt, call out to you. And you respond back, "Not if I have anything to say about it!" The glorious waters of the North Sea, sail races, historic ports of call, festivals of the sea...all are anticipating America's Tall Ship sailing into their port. And we must not disappoint.
23 May 05 by 1/c Jeffrey D. West
3/c Blevins enjoys the sun for a moment while aloft during sail stations.
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This morning started bright and early with the 4 to 8 a.m. CIC watch. Few would argue with a 4 a.m. wakeup being early. But bright? You bet. Sailing as high in latitude as we are at this point in the summer, sunset and sunrise are not far apart. This makes the days last very long and the nights very short. During the CIC watch, I taught chart symbols, maneuvering board problems, and variation/deviation corrections. All of these topics are review for the 3/c cadets from their nautical science coursework.
After getting relieved from watch and sitting down to a hot meal, it was time for morning muster, followed by sail stations! For the first time in 12 days, the main diesel engine was placed on standby as we started filling the sky with canvas. Being a while since our last sail stations, it took some time to get back into the routine, but everything went off safely and without error.
(L to R) 1/c Majeska, Davison, and Roy, dressed in civies with music blaring, make cleaning dishes fun on cadre pizza night.
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Other than that, the day went as routinely as a day can go aboard America’s Tall Ship in the middle of the North Atlantic. My division was tasked with cleanups during the morning training period. This consisted of a thorough cleaning of officer’s country, the laundry room, and the aft cadet berthing areas. Then, after a great Mexican Monday fiesta put on by the food service staff, we attended basic first aid training. Unfortunately, during this training, my right arm was “temporarily” severed above the elbow. But, have no fear, my freshly trained division jumped to the rescue and successfully stabilized me with the assistance of HS2 Morgan. While these cadets won’t leave the Eagle with an MD degree, thanks to the health services crew they will have the knowledge to be great first responders in the event of a medical emergency.
Well, the saga continues tomorrow with mess cooking and possibly more sail stations!
23 May 05 by 3/c Kotowitz
(L to R) Boatswain's mate 3rd class Chris Summers, Seaman Jacob Latour, and Seaman Clay Wilbanks take a break after sail stations.
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Well, it has been a while since the last time I have written and a lot has gone on. The main reason is that I have been getting up for early watches. Yesterday, I saw the sun come up at 3:45 a.m. in the morning. It is so weird how much day light there is when you get this far north. I went to sleep at 10:15 p.m. and got up at 3:15 a.m., and it was still the same brightness it was when I went to my berth. Some say that it got dark around one in the morning but it didn't seem like it. It was pretty tough getting up at 3:15 a.m. because we had a morale root beer float party because a few days ago we passed the area where the Titanitic sank. That was pretty cool. Today was the first day that we have actually set sail since leaving St. John's.
The helmsmen steer by the wind or "full and by" with the sails set.
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Therefore we have had some time on our hands so I decided to take up a little new hobby. I found a real interesting book about knot tying. So the last few days I have been practicing tying knots. Slowly but surely I am getting better at it. The little hobby took a side seat today because we had sail stations today--actually three sail stations--today. This ship has a ton of line on it and now my hands are killing me. Oh, the best part about sail stations was that we went in complete circles. In the morning we were heading for Morocco and then we turned on a starboard wear during the afternoon sail stations and headed to Iceland in the complete opposite direction. It was funny. I looked at the GPS and it looked like we were going straight back the way we had been going. So, at evening sail stations we doused (took down) all the sails and now we are motoring throughout the night. I can't complain though, today was the first day I was able to climb, which I haven't done in a while. I climbed to the upper topsail to sea furl it, which is an awesome experience. Just to climb up the rigging is awesome each time. The view is amazing.
Electrician's mate 3rd class Joshua Eck emerges from a scuttle after checking the space during rounds.
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The other days have been the same day in and day out. The daily routine has been training in the morning and afternoon, then an hour work out, dinner, movie, and then the rack. There is some spare time in there, though. The training has been pretty interesting lately. Pipe patching, rules of the road, celestial navigation, and PPE (personal protection equipment) training. We had the PPE training today and the enlisted crew member that gave it was awesome. I almost wish I could have the chance to do what he did in his career. We had time to tell sea stories and his were unbelievable. The cold weather gear he was issued, too, was top of the line. The life saving device in the PPE was good to learn about, too, such as the different flares, mirror, whistle, etc. The layering you are required to wear under your PPE is something that everyone should know--not just us Coasties. I'm learning so much in so little time it is like drinking from a fire hose. It is kind of hard because I want to learn so much but you don't want to look like a nerd when trying, and you only have so much time. Well, I'm off to sleep, only to wake up to another adventure on the Barque!
23 May 05 by SN Aaron E. Brown
Electrician's mate 1st class Andrey Serdyuk works in the Aux shop.
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The crew lounge on board Eagle is a sacred ground. It is a “family room” for the crew, if you will. It’s one of few places on the ship the crew can steal a few moments for ourselves and mellow out. The lounge is used by E2 to E5 enlisted crewmembers, which is a fireman or seaman apprentice on up to a petty officer 2nd class. The petty officers 1st class have lounge of their own, as do the Chiefs. The crew lounge is about 32 by 15 feet. The bulkheads are light blue and the decks are faux wood. Eagle's call sign, NRCB, in signal flags adorn the portholes. There are three couches that can hold between four to six people each, depending how much we want to scrunch together. We have a full entertainment center with DVD, VCR, Direct TV and 8MM players. The two computers, our link to the outside world, are in highest demand during lunch. We have a modest library and quite a few reference books.
(L to R) 1/c Jameson Saviano and 1/c Chris Cart take pride in their creation on cadre pizza night.
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Between personal DVD collections and the ship's movie locker, the crew has around 1,400 movies to choose from. We always, however, seem to watch the same movies over and over. Also, with a combination of watch schedules, sail stations, and work during the day, it is difficult to complete a movie in one sitting. Most of us catch a movie somewhere about midway through and over the next five or six times it plays will catch the rest of it in bits and pieces. So much for the theatrical experience.
One of the things new crewmembers learn quickly about the lounge is the power of FIVES. Fives is a reservation on a seat you’ve been sitting in and have to get up from. The seat is yours for the next five minutes. It gives you a chance to run to the soda or vending machines, use the head, etc. Be cautious, however, as there are clock-watchers, swarming like vultures ready to take your seat if time expires.
I hope this can give you a glimpse of the crews’ life and where we spend some of our time.
22 May 05 by 3/c Megan Durbin
While working aloft on a yard, cadets and crew stand on lines known as footropes.
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Last night was a lot of fun. On commemoration of crossing the Titanic’s lost longitude a couple of days ago, we had “iceberg floats” (root beer floats) and watched "Titanic" on the mess deck. It was a really good time, but it really reminded me of the sea’s dangerous and unforgivable nature.
Today started off with our first sail stations since we left St. John’s. Although I don’t know much, if anything at all about sailing, I am learning a lot. After all, that is the purpose of Eagle--to train the cadets. Many people complain about doing sail stations, but they really just don’t have a grasp at the fact that it is because of us and our work during these times, that actually makes the ship move. Besides, this little journey of ours was not intended to be a pleasure cruise.
This afternoon we “wore” ship. This basically means that we turned the ship around so that the wind would come through the opposite side. Apparently, we did a very good job because the mast captain congratulated us on our efficiency, even though many of us, including myself, had never done it before.
An 1938 photo of Eagle, then "Horst Wessel," under full sail.
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Besides training us in seamanship, I have realized that Eagle is also aimed at helping us grow closer to our classmates and develop stronger bonds. Living in a very close berthing area, you are bound to discover what you like and dislike about others. We are also stuck out in the middle of the north Atlantic on a 295-foot ship; we definitely see the same faces day in and day out. Character develops from being placed in adverse, unfamiliar, and uncomfortable situations--much like our present circumstance.
Well, six days of our Atlantic crossing are over and 10 days are left. It is really exciting for me to be going to Europe. What is even more exciting is our mode of travel. Sailing across the Atlantic! I would never have imagined that I would be doing this in my life! It is definitely an opportunity that not many people can ever dream of experiencing, and I am proud to be living that dream.
22 May 05 by 3/c George Borger
The Sunday routine was nice for everyone except if you had the 8 a.m. to noon watch, which I did. But it actually turned out to be nice, regardless. After watch, I napped from noon to 4 p.m. Still no sailing, the wind wasn't right just yet. We tried to set some staysails but had to douse them 30 minutes later. It was a lot of work, and being aloft between the ratlines was eerie because the ship was up and down a lot on the large sea swells. The temperature is warmer now that we are in the stream. For all of you non-boaters, the Gulf Stream is where we are now. It circulates warm tropical water to the East Coast of the United States, North America, and northern Europe. The water went from 35F to 58F in the stream, and the air temperature rose as well (still in the 40’s though). The only thing that I have seen since St. John’s was a few whales. It is lovely out in the middle of the ocean, but I am hoping these next two weeks “sail” by. You like that pun? Most cadets miss family and friends as I do.
With the time changes we are slowly doing as we sail east and the latitude we're at, it stays light out until 10:30 p.m., and the sun rises around 4 a.m., so the days are very long. I am not complaining about this extra light, because it makes it easier to stay awake on watch.
They showed "Titanic" tonight, and we had root beer floats. The first class cadets are doing well with making morale events, but who watches "Titanic" as you cross the North Atlantic during iceberg season? It was funny anyways.
Besides being cold, the weather has been good, with calm seas and sunny skies. Only if I did not need five layers for watch--then it would be great. I hope the weather improves, I am tired of winter. Hopefully it is warmer in Germany.
To all back home, keep us in your thoughts and prayers, for you are always in mine. I also hope your summer is a little warmer than mine.
22 May 05 by 3/c Kathryn Gartland
Sunday. Fortunately, the duty section we were on today didn’t have anything for us to do, so we basically had the day off. Went to a little Protestant service on the fantail where we sang some songs and read a bit of Scripture. Good stuff.
Today was kind of a lazy day, but still productive. Spent some time with my friends, worked out, got several more sign-offs. This evening was a morale event with “iceberg floats” (root beer floats), popcorn, and the showing of the "Titanic" on the mess deck. This was a belated celebration for passing over the longitude where the actual TITANIC sank. Crazy to be so close to such a large piece of nautical history. I’m definitely beefing up my bragging rights during this trip, haha!
21 May 05 by 3/c Keith Blevins
Today, like the past several days, we motored all day because the wind was not at our back, but hitting us head on. In the morning we had celestial navigation training, followed by a field day. It went well, the whole ship was clean in just over an hour and the MAA, Senior Chief Vickerman and the XO were very happy with the results. In the afternoon we had watch on deck from noon until 4 p.m. During watch I went to the engine room were I was able to get my ship’s fuel system drawing and my drawing of the ship’s generator raw water system done. The raw water system was very easy to draw, because it is a simple system that brings water in through the ship’s hull to cool the generator and sends it back out. The fuel drawing was a bit more complicated, and it took me and another cadet the better part of an hour to do it. While we were down in the engine room, the crew conducted four drills in which things went wrong and they had to kill the engine, turn some valve or inspect for damage. Even though we were not participating in the drills, they gave us papers describing what would happen during the drill. It was pretty cool to see how well trained the crew is and how they know what to do in any situation. At dinnertime the cadre served pizza and were all wearing crazy civilian clothes with trucker hats. It was a good way to end the week.
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