Coast Guard’s massive tall ship 'Eagle’ makes rare San Francisco stop

Coast Guard’s tall ship ‘Eagle’ draws crowds at San Francisco pier

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Eagle, a historic tall ship used to train cadets, made a rare visit to San Francisco Saturday.

SAN FRANCISCO - The largest tall ship in the U.S. Armed Forces, the Coast Guard’s Eagle, made a rare visit to San Francisco this week, sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time in 17 years. 

The Eagle – which opened its decks to the public for free tours on Saturday – is the largest active-duty tall ship in the military. 

At 295 feet long, it’s nearly the length of a football field, with 23 sails, 55 crew members, and 150 cadets currently training on board. 

The vessel set sail in April from its home port in Connecticut, as part of a 14-week West Coast training voyage.

A floating piece of history

"This vessel was constructed by the Germans in 1936 as a naval training vessel," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicholas Strasburg of the Coast Guard. "And then in 1946 after the conclusion of World War II, the vessel was taken as a war reparation where it continues its original mission in training Coast Guard Academy cadets."

The ship has traveled the globe, serving not only as a training vessel but also as a goodwill ambassador for U.S. diplomatic missions. 

On Saturday, hundreds of visitors lined up at Pier 17 for a chance to tour the ship.

"Definitely the crew. I love my crew, my family on here and we all get along great, we all have a common mission," said Seaman Jeffrey Brown, when asked about the best part of serving aboard the Eagle. 

A peek below deck

KTVU got a tour below deck to see the mess hall, sleeping quarters, and captain’s lounge. 

Cadet 1st Class Maddox Holmes-Selby described daily life aboard the historic barque.

"The berthing spaces are pretty small, so where you live you don’t have a lot of space between your head and the room," Holmes-Selby said. "But after a few days you get used to it, and the rock of the ship, it’s soothing, it puts you to sleep."

Seaman Rosalie Hodges demonstrated how the massive ship is steered.

"Usually if I’m alone, I’ll stand like this and just pump left or right," Hodges said. "But most of the time when we’re training, I have the cadets up here, I’m standing right here moving the wheel, helping them."

On Saturday, groups including the San Francisco Sea Scouts, a youth boating organization, toured the ship and spoke with Coast Guard members about service life.

"It’s been really cool to learn how they sail this ship and how it’s a part of the Coast Guard training," said Simran Phojanakong of San Francisco. "They’ve also talked about their experiences in the Coast Guard and that’s been really cool to learn about what being in the Coast Guard could be like."

The Eagle is scheduled to depart San Francisco on Sunday, but will return at the end of July for additional free public tours.