Eagle returns to USCGA after dry-dock

Luigi59

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Barque Returns After Maintenance
72-Year-Old Tall Ship Being Rebuilt, From Inside Out, Over Time
By Jennifer Grogan, The Day, Published on 2/7/2008

New London — The captain of the Eagle compares his ship to a classic car— if you take care of it, it will run forever.

“This is not the glamorous part of being stationed on a tall ship,” said Capt. J. Christopher Sinnett, commanding officer of the Coast Guard barque, on Wednesday. “But going to the shipyard is absolutely critical. If we didn't do these maintenance periods, Eagle would never last. No ship would.”

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy's training vessel spent the past four months at the Coast Guard Shipyard in Curtis Bay, Md., near Baltimore. The ship is typically hauled out of the water for major maintenance and repair work every three to five years.....

http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=a3cf8973-da08-464c-8ab0-e8d55b980a0b
 
Have you ever seen/been aboard the Eagle? It is awesome for sure.
I hope you can find the time and resources this summer to visit the Eagle when it is in port with your son.
Is there a schedule posted yet?
 
Have you ever seen/been aboard the Eagle? It is awesome for sure.
I hope you can find the time and resources this summer to visit the Eagle when it is in port with your son.
Is there a schedule posted yet?

Yes, I'm looking forward to it.

Swab cruises will be in the Pacific between Los Angeles and San Diego.

** 2008 Schedule **

  • April 12: Depart New London, Conn
  • May 12 – 15 Mazatlan, Mexico
  • May 23 – 26 San Diego
  • June 12 – 16 Astoria, Ore.
  • June 27 – 30 Victoria, British Columbia
  • July 3 – 7 Tacoma, Wash.
  • July 23 – 28 San Francisco
  • Aug. 1 – 4 Los Angeles
  • Aug. 8 – 11 San Diego
  • Aug. 15 – 18 Los Angeles
  • Aug. 20 – 25 San Diego
  • Sept. 11 – 13 Panama City, Panama
 
Ahhh yes I remember now something about it being on the West Coast -
sounds like a good excuse to head out to California!
 
EAGLE might run better if it was a reef.


The Ole' Dirty Bird was in the yards at the same time my cutter was pulling out.

It's amazing, after being off of EAGLE for years, once you step on, the weird smell hits you and a flood of bad memories comes flying back to you.
 
It's funny you mention that LIT. When my son and I were talking about Eagle's schedule this year, he mentioned something about the "Dirty little Secret." But he was told look forward to Cutter duty.
 
I cant say i enjoyed EAGLE too much and am not really looking forward to going on it over the summer. i think the only good thing about would be getting to know some of my classmates who live at higher altitudes than me in Chase Hall. I put in to be underway on a cutter the whole summer so hopefully i dont end up having to go on EAGLE
 
Luigi, your son and I will probably have to find out Eagle's dirty little secret this summer :eek: the hard way! I saw Eagle @ Curtis Bay when I was in Baltimore a few weeks ago. It sure looks different in drydock. I'm registered for the Academy orientation April 7. My father was wondering if Eagle is open for tours prior to leaving New London for 2008 schedule. Does anyone know?
 
I might be out of the loop on the dirty secret part of EAGLE, but the "Dirty Bird" doesn't come from secrets. In large part it comes from the conduct of the cadets in mixed company while they are underway.
 
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Dirty Little Secret was just a retort my son used to explain that the Eagle might be majestic and awing to the causal observer or biased CG parent, but it’s not the Windjammer barefoot cruise. Like BR2011 said, the ticket is getting on a cutter. I guess a cutter is where the action is.
 
Then I better give a few examples...



I have heard...


1. During my Swab Summer cruise on EAGLE, there were a few other riders. In addition to the swabs and EAGLE cadre, there were two females from Canada and a couple of Navy Sea Scouts (or is it Sea Cadets, I'll just call them scouts for this). My fellow swabs and I had just gone through 6 weeks of being yelled at nonstop, so we were a little shell-shocked. We also understood we still had another week of Swab Summer after we returned from EAGLE, and then would also have a full year as 4/c.

When we got to EAGLE with our bags, the people in my berthing area already found someone packed in. He was wearing a Navy uniform, but he did look a little young. We played it safe and greated him as "sir", to which we got a "Don't call me sir, I'm a Chief!" Whoops. Well it didn't take very long into the cruise to figure out "chief" was actually a high schooler Navy Sea Scout. While Swabs worked all day, "Chief", a rather round boy, decided to sleep everywhere. That did not get him many friends. He also got sick and decided to puke in a nice big clear plastic bag, in the berthing area.

Some things happened that did not make him very happy to be on a Coast Guard cutter with the swabs. Much of that happened before I got there.





I had a classmate break her hip when EAGLE took a roll and a lifeline parted.




The way EAGLE's messdeck USED to be configured had the tables running port to stbd, which meant that if you lost postive control of your tray, it would fly across the table, down to the bulkhead and hit the person at the end of the table. Uniforms were a little different then, but usually it involved having red "bug" juice getting all over your light blue shirts.




EAGLE has a smell unlike any other cutter I've been on.




EAGLE has the ability to earn the name "Dirty Bird" at night. I won't go any further into it, but it is safe to say, fellow classmates can do things that could quickly end their careers in the Coast Guard. It's part of the learning process for some, but for other, you just made sure you did not put yourself in those situations.




EAGLE is a working boat, but unlike other REAL Coast Guard cutters, you don't get much satisfaction. As a cadet, you may be on EAGLE for some period of time, but it's never really your ship. You don't inderdict drugs or migrants, and you won't typically do SAR. It's a PR ship.






For some, cutters are where it's at. I've done SAR missions, tracked hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Cuban and Haitan migrants, and been part of Homeland Security ops. I've had a part in the quelling of a migrant uprising of nearly 200 migrants on a CG ship crew by 75. There is a lot of satisfaction in these missions. There are other areas of the Coast Guard too however, and I don't want to short change them. Each mission has its challenges and rewards, whether it be at a sector, station, cutter, or aviation platform, or at the many staff billets. Each person does their part.
 
In the interest of balance, I don't think LIS is giving the Eagle its full due. Typically there are a number of cadets like him who don't like their time on the Eagle. Many cadets enjoy being on board. The chance to visit many exotic foreign and/or domestic ports is part of the allure. Midnight watches in a star-filled sky, climbing the rigging, etc. etc. Yes there are aspects you might not like, but trust me, after six or so weeks of swab summer your cadet will be thrilled to go to sea on the Eagle. Sure there are some inconveniences but it's not supposed to be a pleasure cruise on some luxury ship. I think a cadet will miss out on a lot if they don't do part of their summer on her.:shake:
 
That's true, I don't want to give the impression that everyone hates EAGLE. I wouldn't even say I "hate" EAGLE, I just don't appreciate the crew's attitude towards cadets (which is even somewhat warranted after you think about how many cadets and OCs they have to train). Star-filled nights are nice, especially in FAC. The skies will be the last thing you look at in 20 ft seas while your entire berthing area is chuming (and EAGLE rides better than most cutters).

The port calls will be nice, as port calls are for most cutter (except, back to back to back to back Key West, that just gets expensive).

EAGLE will be a break from the constant yelling and wonderful piece IT you have back in New London. It will be a learning experience, and you may enjoy DC olympics.


Some people will want to go back and be EAGLE cadre, some will want to go back and be a summer ensign. Many more will not want to touch EAGLE again.
 
Haha, and that other side should be shown, so I thank you for forcing me to admit the positives of EAGLE.


One more positive that some how I overlooked, but maybe that's because it's been too long...


EAGLE was my first taste of a real ship. It might not have a 25MM or a 76 MM, but EAGLE is definately a real ship. No one can take that from EAGLE. For many many land locked, or even coastal residents, EAGLE will be the first time they get on the deck of a ship. That's something special enough, especially for a sea going service.
 
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