Welcome Aboard The CG Barque Eagle
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25 June 2005
110 miles from Portsmouth, England, in the English Channel
We join Eagle as she slowly motors through a thin fog and batches of oil rigs making way through the English Channel and past the famous White Cliffs of Dover.
Soon Eagle will join other "Tall Ships" and participate in the Royal Navy International Fleet Review
All photos are credited: U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer Second Class Andrea Rask.
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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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Our Friday yesterday was hardly comparable to one on land in the United States, as a weekend on Eagle does not quite bring an end to the week as it would at home. Domino’s pizza is not ordered on the mess deck and weekend plans do not include washing the car and weeding the garden. Instead, Eagle is headed south through the English Channel to participate in a piece of history.
The work on a ship does not take a break just for the weekend, either. Everyone on board is working hard preparing the ship for the upcoming sail festival in England, in which tall ships from numerous countries around the world will be participating. Fortunately, Friday brought with it brilliant weather for all to work in.
The deck department is busy chipping, sanding, revarnishing, painting, and buffing everything topside, while the operations department is preparing charts for Eagle's difficult anchorage and mooring. In our precision anchorage, even 10 meters of operator error will put us dangerously close to other vessels. The support department is always busy behind the scenes making everything run smoothly, keeping parts on order and stocking the other departments with much-needed supplies. Below decks, the engineers are working hard to keep Eagle supplied with enough fresh water, cool air, and functioning mechanical parts to make sailing under “iron wind” as smooth as possible. Meanwhile, the bridge team is maneuvering around the North Sea to avoid oil rigs that seem to be everywhere.
Finally, the cadets are training every day and learning as much as possible about the jobs the crew performs on a daily basis. Most of the cadets have learned their entire pin rail, making sailing evolutions go much more efficiently and meaningful for all. On Friday, cadet training included motor rebuild, weather training, the ever-popular celestial navigation, knot training, and rules of the road.
Last night, a “yaaaaaardarm” wrestling competition was being held on the mess deck. Although 5’4,” 1/c Lee was boasting the most about his chances of winning, 3/c Ian Landinguin (in the heavyweight category), 1/c Gregory Dahl (in the lightweight category), and 3/c Victoria Stevens (in the female category) ended up victorious, earning the titles of "Yaaaardarm Eagle Champions."
This morning, Eagle is motoring slowly through a thin fog and batches of oil rigs as it makes way through the English Channel and past the famous White Cliffs of Dover. All are eagerly waiting for the fog to lift in time to catch a glimpse of the cliffs. Tonight, the officers will cook and serve pizza on the mess deck, before casino night kicks off a little later on.
Tomorrow afternoon, Eagle will anchor at 1730, surrounded by hundreds of other ships and small boats hoping to find a good view of the Royal Navy International Fleet Review. Eagle will stay in anchorage until the 29th, and will then (carefully) make its way to its mooring, outboard of the Italian Amerigo Vespucci to participate in Portsmouth's International Festival of the Sea and Trafalgar 200 celebrations. No matter which direction crew and cadets head in during this port, every one will no doubt run into some great sights, great food and drink, and an adventure each will be hard put to forget.
24 June 2005 by 3/c Sarah Southard
The USCGC EAGLE nameplate on the helm is temporarily removed for cleaning, revealing the original "Segelschul-schiff Horst Wessel," (Sailing School Ship Horst Wessel) nameplate.
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I envisioned sailing on the North Sea as something more, um, rough. I could see myself wrapped in foul weather gear, desperately clutching the helm as the rain pummels my face. Monster waves topped in white caps spill onto the waist as EAGLE rocks back and forth with the swells. Imagine my surprise when I reported to watch and found a peaceful, glassy sea trailing us. [Ed. Note: I'll be asking 3/c Southard to compare her North Sea notes with those of her First Phase classmates.] The weather for Phase Two has been unexpectedly gentle so far; often allowing us to make a whopping two knots under sail. However, my tan is doing just fine.
Eagle crew members pose next to the helm and the original nameplate.
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Things aboard EAGLE are the total opposite. Damage control drills, sail stations, rules of the road sessions, weather predictions, helm and lookout packets, celestial navigation, and climbing the masts keep us busy on a daily basis. I have been standing extra watches in the engine room to get generator watch stander qualified, so you can often find me crawling around in random spaces drawing the sewage piping (not so bad, really). In between quals and training, we scramble for signatures in our packets and a good spot in the chow line. The opportunity to learn and absorb information aboard is always present. As a cadet on the EAGLE its your job to “professionally develop” as the Academy calls it. Shipboard life is fulfilling; after a long day on watch or mess cooking, you fall into (well, climb) into your rack exhausted, but satisfied that you are a tiny step closer to becoming a well-informed officer.
23 June 2005 by 3/c Jessica Hull
Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Brian Chrest is one of the ship's many navigators, ensuring Eagle safely finds its way to Portsmouth.
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So it’s back to the sea for the Barque Eagle...good times. Scotland the second time was just as amazing as it was the first. This time, for me at least, liberty hours were spent getting a look at the local town next to the pier. I was surprised when I went for a run through the town with some friends that 1) they had managed to get me running in the first place and 2) how beautiful everything was. It seemed like everywhere we ran was green and was overflowing with flowers. I definitely could have stayed there for quite some time longer.
(L to R) 3/c William Becker and 3/c Ian Culver take apart a small lawn mower engine during engineering training.
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Later that night we went for an “underground tour” of Edinburgh. Our tour guide was very...animated, we’ll say. It was very interesting to hear about all of the complications of life back in the day, from grave robbers, to the plague, to the whole being dirty all the time. Eww. When our guide even explained about the witch burnings, my tour group so graciously volunteered me to be the example. I think it was because I could not stop laughing throughout the tour and I’m sure they all wanted to kill me anyway. So as he explained how I would be cast out of society, blamed for everything, and tortured until it was proven I was, in fact, a witch. I continued to giggle at the not-so-funny scenario. We also went through the underground chambers in the town. I don’t consider myself superstitious, but I was definitely freaked out. It was very dark and as he explained how it was proven that the poltergeists tended to attack females more than males, I noticed the grasp of the girl next to me tighten into a death grip. We were all somewhat disappointed when nothing actually happened, but decided it was probably for the best. We eventually found a bus and made it back to Eagle safe and sound. The sights of Scotland were amazing and I’m sure I won’t forget them (partly because I took about 50 bazillion pictures).
23 June 2005 by 3/c Kevin Rogers (with the assistance of 3/c Christopher Briggs and 3/c Alexander Why)
Commanding Officer Captain Eric Shaw helps the officers get ready for the Saturday night pizza dinner by making pizza dough in advance.
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Status: underway from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Portsmouth, England. The day started off just like any other glorious Coast Guard day: bright and sunny in the morning turning to chilling winds and clouds and then a few hours later back to the sun-drenched warmth we all yearn for. Shouts of jubilation and camaraderie rang from the closely knit group of the berthing area that is J.C. Dobbin as the old bird made her way back to the deep blue drink. The extra trip to Edinburgh was greatly enjoyed by all. It was a welcomed break to what could have possibly been a very long leg of our journey.
3/c Amanda Hood (L) and 3/c Kenneth Franklin (R) compete to tie the fastest knot in Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Matthew Harkins' (middle) knots and hitches class.
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Rumor has it that we will be welcoming two Chilean naval cadets into the warmth and coziness of J.C. Dobbin on the next leg of our adventure. Morale is at an all-time high. The sunny weather has brought out the best spirits throughout the cadets who can be seen lounging and frolicking about the decks (but only after the workday, of course!). The wee
lads of Scotland are no more, but the gentlemen of England await our arrival with tea and crumpets. As for EAGLE, we’ve been learning and experiencing new things every day. A few days ago, a select group of cadets were chosen to risk life and limb by scaling the rigging and bravely standing on top of the yards. This was simply a practice while we were still moored to see if it would be possible to “man the yards” as we pull into Portsmouth as part of the International Fleet Review. Volunteers are many for this task and it looks to be a very impressive sight. Qualifications are also necessary due to the heightened risk of this evolution. As we float on into the night, I bid you farewell. Here’s to good times had and the many adventures to come.
23 June 2005 by 3/c Brian Seekatz
3/c Victoria Stevens studies one of the charts used for entering Portsmouth.
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With every new day aboard the EAGLE I find that the environment encountered underway is something found no where else. I’ve been told that on a clear day the range of visibility is 10 nautical miles, which means that on any given clear day you could look out off EAGLE and see around 314 square nautical miles of water. Compare that to the 295 feet of habitable space EAGLE provides and you start to realize one thing: the ocean is big…really, really big and you are really, really small. It’s hard to imagine that for five weeks this relatively tiny ship is not only home but also the whole world for
3/c Lisa DePace compares the magnetic compass reading to that of the gyrocompass. The magnetic compass is used as a backup for the gyrocompass.
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roughly 220 people. No where else can you find such a situation. There are other mysterious gaps in reality onboard. Take the coffee for example. To the untrained eye the coffee is…well, coffee, or actually for any Starbucks frequenter, coffee without whipped cream, caramel, or java chips. For any sailor, that coffee is a holy substance blessed by King Neptune himself and gifted with the power to jumpstart any watch stander to a level of alertness that ensures success. In other words, while engines run on diesel I’m convinced that some boatswain’s mates run only on coffee. That black, sometimes burnt, and coffee-ground-filled elixir concocted by mess cooks, the only people who know its recipe, has been staining the mugs, teeth, and souls of men and women for decades. Don’t believe me? Take a look at any coffee mug on board. Can’t find one? Find a boatswain’s mate; I’m sure there’s one hanging from his or her index finger full of the magical mixture.
3/c David Lee takes pride in shining the side of Eagle's small boat.
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Speaking of boatswain’s mates, every ship has one person onboard that is so salty and full of nautical knowledge that you begin to think that they are more made of salt than water. I’m know that if you looked at this person’s hands you would see evidence of countless years of line handling and ship handling, or maybe just countless years of being handled by the sea. You would see scars and burns of all kinds but the one thing you wouldn’t see is a new scar or burn either because his hands are so tough that they have become impregnable to harm. Or, it's because his or her hands are so experienced that that they rarely error. Both are probably the case. It’s just a shame they weren’t around a few centuries earlier because you just know they would have been the wealthiest and most feared pirates the world ever saw. Shipboard life is an interesting thing and I guess I’d have to say I’m glad I’m a part of it; most of the time anyway.
23 June 2005 by Dale Cressman
Fireman Ian Dahlberg grinds down the side of some diamondplate in order to install a hinge.
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The meal I most look forward to is breakfast! The French toast or pancakes can’t be trumped by any other food at any other meal. I made sure, as usual, to eat everything they would give me knowing the exit from Edinburgh would make me hungry. Edinburgh is a great place to go! All the places to see, the cool people, and good food leave me confident I will never forget it. Today was pretty normal after we secured from special sea detail. I went on watch right away and served my time doing helm and lookout.
Lt. j.g. Tahni Holmes, Eagle's supply officer, works in her stateroom.
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It was pretty cool on the helm because the brass plate that normally reads “USCGC EAGLE” is being repaired or something [Ed. note: The USCGC EAGLE brass plate was removed for cleaning, and was left off for a while, so that everyone would get a chance to appreciate the history of the original nameplate that reads "Segelschulschiff Horst Wessel," (Sail School Ship Horst Wessel) engraved in an old German script called "fracteur."] So it is off and the old German writing is visible. I stood there and kept thinking about the picture I had seen in the wardroom of two young Germans standing right where I was with the exact same words reading in front of them. It is a neat feeling being part of a ship with so much history. This whole trip is awesome! I am still looking forward to my home-cooked meal the most, though. But while I wait I am going to make sure I try all kinds of cool stuff.
23 June 2005 by 3/c Lindsay Putnam
(L to R) 1/c Jeff West teaches 3/c Dale Cressman about maneuvering boards, used for precise navigation when in close proximity to other ships.
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Underway again! Eagle is on her way to Portsmouth, England after two unexpected extra nights in Edinburgh, Scotland. We have our yardarm back and are ready to sail. Unfortunately, I have heard the winds will not support the direction we need to go quickly enough, so we will not be sailing until we get very close. The weather has been gorgeous lately. We are getting some warmth and sun . . . a welcome change from rain and cold. At this rate, it will feel like June in no time.
It has been a great couple of port calls in Edinburgh, but we are all ready to be one port call closer to a more comfortable exchange rate. England, Eagle is on her way!
Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Randall Patterson sands down a bit before it is repainted.
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1/c Meg Davison varnishes a hand rail leading to the bridge.
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