Welcome Aboard The CG Barque Eagle
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04 July 2005
100 miles southeast of Waterford, Ireland
"This is it. This is why I decided to leave normal college life for the Coast Guard..."
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 Eric Majeska for Capt. E. J. Shaw
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Only one day remains until Waterford and, after the Portsmouth port call was shorted by a day, cadets and crew are definitely ready for a nice long port call. The transit certainly hasn’t been rough, though. With holiday routine on Sunday during a nice warm day, cadets took advantage of the open teak on the waist. Crew, too, took the opportunity to rest up, watch some movies, and spend some time working on personal goals such as advancement or distance-learning courses.
In Portsmouth, the cadets and crew met many of the crewmembers from other ships participating in the race from Ireland to France. After finding out that some of the competition is standing six-hours-on, six-hours-off watches just to be ready to tack or wear at a moment's notice, we know that Eagle has strong competition. Waterford has many festivities planned for the crews also, and will feel like one big baseball tailgate party before a big game.
Today is the 4th of July and Eagle has plans for the celebration. Eagle has cadets onboard from the Academy glee club, who will be performing the national anthem for the crew. Lunch plans include a picnic on the waist and a pyrotechnic demo (what would 4th of July be without fireworks?). The day will be a lot of work, though, with three sail stations planned as a last chance for some practice sailing. Many cadets have always had traditions with their families on the 4th of July and are sharing these with each other now. This is certainly a chance for cadets to become homesick, but hopefully these festivities, sail stations, and good times with their close friends will take their mind away from it. Besides, leave is just around the corner anyway.
The long periods of underway time have passed. The longest time Eagle will spend at sea until the end of the phase is five days. Cadets and crew have put their time at sea with hard work and sailing. Now they are reaping the benefits of Europe with these fabulous port calls to come.
04 July 2005 by BM2 Ted Hubbard
3/c Katie Degler belays the flying jib sheet.
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Couple of thoughts on going to sea . . . I think back to when I was a student of sail training, back to a fall class with Sea Education Association in 1997. Little did I know at the time, but those 12 weeks would become a turning point in my life and I refer back to my time spent aboard Westward and in Woods Hole often. Something was seared into my psyche during that semester and I think about the group of us from that same class who still work in the sail training field.
(R to L) 3/c Groff, Highfield, and Rogers act as line captains for the fore braces.
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On land it’s easy to become wrapped up in working as a means to accumulate stuff, then buying a vehicle to transport your stuff, then a large home to put all your stuff in. Meanwhile, one is constantly bombarded with messages that you need more stuff, new stuff, better stuff. For me, going to sea is a release from that cycle. Going to sea means paying attention to the details, the shift in the winds, cirrus clouds in the western sky, maintaining a diligent plot on the chart. Sailing is a way of
connecting myself to the generations who came before us, who stood watch under the same stars and who pulled together to accomplish truly amazing feats.
3/c Samuel Heuler mans the fore upper brace.
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Sail training (just like the rest of life) is a sine wave complete with peaks and troughs. But working on ships under sail amplifies and compresses that wave into intense emotion. The highs are extremely high and, conversely, the low points can be downright terrifying. I find that one of the most difficult things about going to sea is trying to describe these unconveyable experiences to my family and friends who are not sailors.
04 July 2005 by FS1 Susan Levy
Machinery Technician 2nd Class Wesley Grogan belays the outer jib downhaul.
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So we just left Portsmouth, England, and it was a good time. We were anchored out for three days and the crew couldn’t wait to go out and see the sights. All the tall ships were great to look at. We were tied up alongside the Amerigo
Vespucci, which was an Italian sailing ship. It was beautiful. We went out the first night, crew and cadre, and also met up with the Royal Navy, the Italian navy, and the U.S. Navy. All and all it was a fun port, especially with all the tall ships and the sailing race coming up should be fun. Now we are off to Ireland . . .
03 July 2005 by 3/c Michael Gibson
Fireman Keely Dobbs hauls on the fore upper halyard.
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As the motto should say, “Semper Flexible.” When we were anchored off of Portsmouth, my mother got her wish of a ride into port with the Eagle. She had been onboard for five hours when she (and the rest of the crew and cadets) were informed that we would be staying at anchor for yet another night. Everyone secured from mooring stations and I started trying to figure out what we were going to do with another person onboard. Within thirty minutes, thanks to the assistance of the officers and crew, my mother had a place to sleep, clothes to wear, and a new perspective on being in the military. The next morning, we expected to depart early and were again delayed until around 10 a.m. After arriving in port we, dealt with the expected dilemma that came from being moored next to the Amerigo Vespucci (an Italian sail training vessel). They were huge and our brow (walkway between ships) didn’t give us a great solution for getting ourselves off Eagle and tourists on. Not to worry, the crew jumped into high gear and within an hour had a set of stairs rigged up. Finally on land, I departed Eagle for a few short hours at home in London with friends and family.
03 July 2005 by 3/c Joseph Walton
The deck force department has some fun making pizzas for the traditional Saturday night dinner.
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Yesterday was a holiday routine, which was a perfect time to rest for today’s activities. In preparation for our race between Waterford and Cherbourg, three sail stations have been scheduled for today. This morning we wore ship (bringing the stern of the ship through the wind), while also setting most of the sails.
1/c Jay "Boat" Kircher yells the commands from the port bridge-wing as he conns Eagle through a ware.
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Later this afternoon we are planning on tacking, which should be fun for those of us on the mizzen mast who are busy throughout most of the evolution.
Today is the 4th of July as well, and I can’t think of many better ways to celebrate the holiday than onboard a Coast Guard cutter, sailing in a foreign sea. There is no better belated Independence Day present than pulling into port in Ireland tomorrow evening. We all look forward to our next port call and the sailing adventures that should follow it.
03 July 2005 by 3/c Grant Johnson
Food Specialist 1st Class Susan Levy is one of just a few crewmembers in charge of preparing food for Eagle's 222 crew and cadets.
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This is it. This is why I decided to leave normal college life for the Coast Guard. No, it’s not the triple stacked racks or the opportunity to sort trash that lured me away from lazy days and crazy nights at the University of Georgia. But, how many college students get to “port hop” across Europe, stand on the shrouds for the Queen’s amusement, or work out on Eagle’s waist as the sun sets in the North Sea; the answer is . . . the lucky ones. Don’t get me wrong, I come up with plenty to complain about, but as maturity kicks in, I realize the opportunities I’m being provided.
Lt. Jessica Worst stands watch as officer of the deck on the bridge.
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We pulled out of Portsmouth yesterday. Most of my time and money were devoted to my day and a half trip to London. A group of twelve boarded a train for London as soon as our feet could get us to the train station after liberty was piped. Our first night was spent eating fish 'n chips, well that’s what they ate; I had to try Yorkshire pudding, because I didn’t have the slightest idea what it was. Next we invested in a place to sleep and headed for the London dance clubs. Now I’m no great dancer, but they definitely dance a lot differently on the other side of the Atlantic.
A Royal Navy helo performs a search and rescue demonstration for Eagle off the coast of Cornwall, England.
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The clubs were fun and reminded me slightly of my old college days (minus the cool British accents), but the best part of my London trip came on the upper level of a double-decker tour bus. For 16 pounds, four of us saw all the major city sights with information given on each. I know endless amounts of random London trivia thanks to three complete trips on the tube (it was a day pass so we had to get our money’s worth). For instance…the London Hilton Hotel was designed to be six floors taller, but the two suites occupying those extra floors would have been able to see into the Queen’s room at Buckingham Palace, so needless to say those six floors were removed from the plans. Those are the highlights of my “port hop” through England. I’m sure Waterford, Ireland will be just as fulfilling.
03 July 2005 by Brittany Curran
Health Specialist 1st Class Tyrone "Doc" Anderson and Electrician's Mate 1st Class Andrey Serdyuk share a laugh during sail stations.
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Today we were supposed to hit some pretty bad weather but fortunately we woke up to a beautiful blue sky. Since today was a Sunday, we had a holiday routine and many of us spent most of the day enjoying the sun and reading . . . it was nice to relax!
Around 5 p.m., the swells started getting a little bigger and as we were eating our dinner we had to watch and make sure our trays didn’t go flying. At 6:15 p.m. or so, we were called to sail stations. It was definitely interesting trying to haul on lines as the ship rolled from side to side. When we were hauling on the vang and mizzen boom preventer, we had to wait for just the right roll so that we could actually move the huge boom on the stern of the ship. The rain started coming a little after 7 p.m. Hopefully it will clear up so we can enjoy a nice 4th of July tomorrow.
03 July 2005 by 3/c Lauren Power
(L to R) 3/c Doyle and DePace diligently stand the helm watch.
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I looked to my left and saw Big Ben. I looked to my right and was in amazement of the Westminster Abbey. I couldn’t believe I was actually in London just like in all the movies, pictures, and books that I’ve read. I took an hour and a
Crew and cadets raise Eagle's medium-sized National Ensign for the 4th of July.
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half train ride with a big group of friends starting from Portsmouth and arrived at Waterloo station in London. After realizing that we had no plans and no idea where we were, we just hopped on a train and started talking to and asking advice from anyone who sounded like they had a British accent. We got some good advice and got off at a stop that looked exciting. For the rest of the afternoon we wandered around until we found a hotel . . . with tiny rooms and community bathrooms!! We went out for some delicious English fish and chips and a fun night involving
(L to R) 3/c Donatas Siaudinis and Lina Anderson haul on a mizzen staysail sheet.
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dancing and making friends with locals who loved making fun of our accents and expressions. We woke up bright and early the next morning to delicious European pastries at a little cafe. For the rest of the day we rode the city buses touring around. We visited Buckingham Palace, where we saw the changing of the guards. We saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, beautiful Saint James Park, Saint Peter’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, The London Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and much more. We ended our long day at a small restaurant tucked in a little side street. The restaurant had no dinner tables and chairs but purple couches, green lounge chairs, pink stools, and tiny wooden tables. The food was delicious and it was a fun place to eat. The only bad part was I didn’t get a chance to try to win over the hearts of Prince William or Harry and become royalty. I still can’t believe all the cool places I am seeing this summer.
From the fore cross trees looking aft during sail stations, one can see cadets around the main mast hauling on main lower sail gear.
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Lt. John Stone checks for safety in sail stations maneuvers.
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