Welcome Aboard The CG Barque Eagle
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Click on chart for Eagle's current position
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30 miles west of Cherbourg, France
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Ah, the pressure created by a race! A large high-pressure system that is. After two days of racing the race was cancelled. Eagle proceeds to Cherbourg, France.
All photos are credited: U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer Second Class Andrea Rask.
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13 July 2005
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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After two days of racing while traveling no faster than 5 knots, the disappointing call finally came over the radio that the race was cancelled. Today has only confirmed that this was a good decision as there is still a total absence of wind. An exceptionally large high-pressure system has been bearing down on Eagle and her fellow racers, creating beautiful sunny weather, but calm glassy seas.
For the returning 1/c cadets, this was even more disappointing as this marks their second tall ship race that has been fowled by lack of wind. The announcement was made at 11 p.m. July 11 that the race would end at 5 a.m. the next morning. At this point, Eagle was still recovering from her rough start and was in 21st place out of 28 ships still in the race. However, in the time between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., Eagle managed to advance to 11th place. Would Eagle have been able to catch mighty Russian Mir, the Norwegian Christian Raddich, or Eagle’s Portuguese sister ship, Sagres? We will never know . . .
All a board knew that while racing engaging the engine equals withdrawal from competition. Cadets awoke this morning to the sound of the main diesel engine (or MDE, also known below decks among the engineers as “Iron Wind,” or “Freedom”) firing up. At that point, they were still under the impression that this meant we were forfeiting the race. However, once they wandered up to morning muster they were informed of the change of plans.
Now, Eagle is steaming under a full bell towards Cherbourg France. Eagle will be anchoring Wednesday night and pulling into port early on Thursday.
Cherbourg holds a lot in store for cadets and crew to look forward to. The second day of the port call there is a scheduled trip to the beaches of the WWII Normandy invasion. The signup list for this morale trip filled up quickly. Like Waterford, there will be a plethora of French rock-and-roll bands for the cadets and crews of other ships to enjoy. Cadets have already made plans to meet up with some of their fellow tall ship sailors from other ships in the race.
Underway morale events that lie ahead are the showing of “Eurotrip” before entering port. A skit and karaoke night has also been planned. While it is disappointing that Eagle can not continue in the other legs of the race and show her true sailing abilities, no one is complaining about the trip to Lisbon. Eagle’s sister ship, Sagres, is home ported in Portugal, and her crewmembers have given Eagle’s crew the inside scoop on the port.
Days at sea continue, but in two days cadets will find themselves saying, “bonjour” to France. Unfortunately, in ten they will be saying, “Au revoir” to Eagle.
13 July 2005 by BM2 Illiada Barbosa
(L to R) Seaman Kevin Hampton, Seaman Aaron Brown, and Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Thomas Sullivan sea furl the fore topgallant.
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Multiple things are packed into a day. It feels as if there aren't enough hours in a day to accomplish everything that's planned out for us. Amazingly enough by the end of the day all that seemed impossible to complete is accomplished. The crew is drained but somehow manages to gather up the little remaining energy they have to train, give boards, and work on their own personal development. Looking at the calendar, I can hardly believe it's been two months since we've seen the streets of our homeport. Days continue to be long and jam packed with different training sessions. However, the beautiful ports are worth it all.
12 July 2005 by 3/c Joellen Arons
Damage Controlman 3rd Class Nicholas Arco makes hourly inspections of engine room equipment.
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So here I sit in the mighty Barque. Most nights aren’t quite as beautiful as this. The crisp air rushes through my hair and I realize how lucky I am that I have 11 days left. I’ve learned a lot. I don’t know how to say it but Eagle has definitely changed me. I have gotten to know my classmates very well. Yesterday I worked in the galley for 14 hours and had a ball! I can’t wait to go home and see my family and friends. But until then, we have one more port call in Cherbourg, France.
12 July 2005 by 3/c Ian Culver
Captain Shaw carries out the relief process for Eagle's executive officer. Cmdr. Andrea Marcille is relieved by Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Wisener on 12 July 2005.
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For years I had wanted to visit Ireland. Now that I finally got the chance I wish I had done it sooner and had been able to stay longer. Waterford’s crowded streets welcomed the tall ships with loud cheers. The large amount of ships packed into the Suir River brought visitors from all over Europe to view the tall masts and historical hulls of the tall ships. Even with such a warm welcome, nothing could have prepared me for the generosity and genuinely good attitude the people of Waterford had. Although my five days in Ireland were riddled with watches in the scullery, I had the time of my life. When the Irish people learned I was an American Sailor on the “big white boat” they bent over backward to help my buddies and me out. I only wish that we didn’t have to leave so soon.
Captain Shaw looks over the race plan that Operations Officer Lt. Aurora Fleming lays down on the chart.
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While in Ireland, the crew of Eagle was spread out all over the beautiful country. Some of my shipmates traveled south to Cork to climb the Blarney castle and kiss the Blarney Stone. Others traveled west to Dublin to experience Irish culture first hand. Personally, I stayed in Waterford and had a blast. During Eagle’s stay on the Suir River she hosted a huge reception where officers from each boat present at the festival made an appearance. There were more than 36 tall ships taking part in the race, from countries as far as India, Indonesia, and two ships sailing from Russia. I was proud to be a part of Eagle, proud to represent the U.S. Coast Guard.
12 July 2005 by 3/c Chris Hunt
Third class cadets climb the rigging to sea furl.
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Only 11 days until returning home . . . after being onboard the Eagle for more than three weeks now, I am more than ready to return home! Texas is calling me, and I must answer.
Well, the race didn’t turn out quite like we had anticipated. For some reason or another we ended up starting the race sponsored by Sail Training International out of Waterford, Ireland, more than an hour late. But once that was done we set off sailing at a blazing 3 knots, which then carried us into 11th place. Apparently we did very well to come back like that, so it’s all good. It was really neat to see all the other tall ships around us.
But that wasn’t enough . . . I awoke this morning to find that we had turned the engines on, which, if done during the race, would disqualify us. But they had called the race on account of the lack of wind. The water was as placid as glass for the last two days because of a high-pressure dome that had settled upon us.
Seaman Sara Johnson (L) and 3/c Matthew Pekoske (R) stand the helm watch.
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I had one of my best experiences while onboard the other night. While I was on deck watch from 8 p.m. to midnight, we had to go up forward to douse some of the headsails. In order to furl the headsails, we had to climb out on the bowsprit (the forward-most part of the boat). After furling as best we could, I climbed out as far as I could on the bowsprit and then clipped in and turned around to behold one of the most stunning sunsets I have ever seen. I cannot accurately describe with words the beauty of colors splashed across the horizon. The blues and purples and golds all blended together into an amazing symphony of creation. Those brief moments that I spent out on the bowsprit overlooking the calm waters into the beautiful sunset were enough to help me put into perspective all my troubles and worries. They all seemed to melt away into the peaceful sunset.
Crew and cadets man up the fore braces for hauling.
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Well, not much longer for me onboard the Mighty Barque. It looks like I will be heading back to America July 24 from Lisbon, Portugal. I am really looking forward to some fun in the sun once we reach the warmer climates. Today was the first time that it broke 80 degrees Fahrenheit!
I’m off to get another haircut. You see, many of my male classmates and myself were in dire need of haircuts, so last night our cadre organized a shearing down in the damage control shop. Well, my head now looks like a mushroom and I’m going to see if they can even it out a little bit. No worries though, my cadre needed practice. Hello and lots of love to family back home.
12 July 2005 by 1/c Ben Lee
Captain Shaw pins on good conduct ribbons while the new XO gives certificates to Electrician's Mate 3rd Class Joshua Eck (L) and Damage Controlman 3rd Class Nicholas Arco.
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Today was a pretty good day. The weather has been great. We are stuck near a high-pressure system for the past three days and we’ve seen nothing but clear skies and a gentle breeze. The warm vacation weather is not good for sailing, but it has eased my anxiety about the race. I had expected to be at sail stations for the better part of the transit from Waterford to Cherbourg. I am glad that the weather relieved the pressure of having another grueling sail stations. I don’t believe winds ever increased to more than 15 knots and the fastest speed Eagle made may have been 3.9 knots during one of my watches. While we sat in the almost motionless water, 1/c Jake London and I came up with a few ideas that might be helpful.
(L to R) 3/c Ryan Clark, Seaman Scott Fabian, 3/c Linden Dahlkemper and 3/c Chris Rogers peel potatoes and prepare the evening meal on the messdeck.
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Best ways to get the edge in a windless sailing race:
1. Ooching - The entire ship’s company starts aft, moves briskly forward, and halts suddenly in unison. Think of ooching an office chair on casters.
2. Helicopters - They could create the necessary wind by hovering over us. One Chinook helicopter per mast should do.
Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Richard Kitchen (R) supervises the fore topgallant and royal braces.
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3. Swimmers - All 3/c don harnesses and are tethered to Eagle by a line. Other swimmers may push from astern. All swim together.
4. Sea anchor - Use spare sails in sail locker to create massive sea anchor. Get ahead of Eagle with small boat. Drop sea anchor in water and winch with anchor windlass. If motor in small boat is not kosher, than it can be rowed. OR we can try kedging with a sea anchor.
5. Fish net - Deploy large drift net forward of the ship using the same technique as #4. Sea Anchor. Net can be constructed of marlin or by punching holes in spare sail. Fish are caught then coaxed to swim forward together by dangling bait in front of net.
1/c Regina Dunn calls out commands as the cadet foremast captain, under Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Thomas Sullivan.
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6. Beating/rocking - Sails are put in their gear, braced sharp. Everyone runs to leeward side. Sheet home, everyone run to windward side, clew up, everyone run to leeward. Repeat. Basically we would rock the ship back and forth by shifting people from one side of the ship to the other. Each time we rocked towards the wind, we would set sails and each time the ship rocked back to the leeward side sails would be doused.
Eagle has been a really great experience because of how much I learned. The highlights: I got to conn the ship during a man overboard drill. During the drill was one of the only times that I felt that I was driving; I was calling the shots with barely anyone whispering the next move into my ear. As a division officer, I gained experience in motivating people and keeping abreast of what they need and what they like. I tried to take advantage of each individual’s natural curiosities to keep them interested. I also learned to work on prioritizing tasks. To keep me occupied, interested, and helpful I like to keep busy. There is always some work to do and goals to achieve, but I need to solve them with appropriate priorities in mind. Finally, I would do it all over again if I could. You can’t get a better deal than getting paid to learn about navigation, seamanship, teamwork, and leadership while getting to visit Europe. Thanks.
11 July 2005 by 3/c Kyle Highfield
The weather chart referred to by 3/c Kyle Highfield shows the high-pressure system over Ireland and the tall ship race.
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Over the past three weeks onboard Eagle, one of the highlights of my days has been to prepare, under the instruction of 1/c Lee, the afternoon weather brief for Capt. Shaw. It came as no great surprise, then, to be asked by the XO to write a journal entry discussing the weather of the past few days - weather that up to this point has kept our “race” at a snail’s pace.
Crew and cadets "walk away with the fore upper top halyard."
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The surface analysis chart paired with this entry is typical of weather we have been seeing since the race began. Our racecourse, from the southern coast of Ireland to Cherbourg, France, has been plagued by high-pressure systems. Indicated by an “H” on the chart, high-pressure systems are known for clear shies, calm seas, and, worst of all, little to no wind. Much more favorable to racing conditions are low pressure systems, marked by an “L” on the chart, that can bring bad weather but almost always provide more wind than highs.
The chart also shows the weather working against us with the isobars - the “contour lines” throughout the chart. Tightly spaced isobars indicate larger shifts in pressure than in widely spaced areas. Winds, which tend to follow the isobars, will vary directly with the spacing of the isobars. As can be seen from the chart, there is almost no variance in the pressure over the entire course of the race.
A view of the competitors at the beginning of the tall ship's race.
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With these conditions working against us, it is no surprise that everyone on the bridge lets out a cheer when our speed hits 3.5 knots, or then we receive warning during quarters that bubbles from the teeny tiny ripples on the water may overtake us.
All things considered, morale is high. The sunny skies have allowed for the opening of “teak beach” for the first time during second phase. While Eagle has been fun, passing the two-week mark has everyone looking forward to seeing family and friends once again, without the fear of midnight sail stations hanging over our heads.
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