US Coast Guard In Waterford

The US Coast Guard Cutter Eagle arrived at the North Quays in Waterford, on Friday 27th as the city continues the countdown to The Tall Ships Races 2011 from June 30-July 3.

Ireland will be the first port of call during Eagle’s 2011 summer training cruise, which celebrates the 75th anniversary of the ship’s construction in Hamburg, Germany in 1936.

Eagle is the largest Tall Ship flying the Stars and Stripes and the only active sailing square-rigger in US government service. It originally served as a training vessel for the German navy in the late 1930s. Since 1946, Eagle has sailed each summer in support of United States Coast Guard officer training programmes, providing an unparalleled at-sea leadership and professional development experience for future officers of the US Coast Guard.

The 75-year-old Eagle is a 295-foot, three-masted barque, with more than 23,500 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging.