By Roderick McClain
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/whqr/local-whqr-918224.mp3
08-13-10 – The US Coast Guard Barque Eagle docked at the Port of Wilmington last weekend. Along with busloads of local residents, WHQR's Roderick McClain got a chance to visit the vessel and has this account.
Beyond the port gate, a caravan of Ports Authority Police cruisers escorted our bus through a maze of stacked shipping crates and warehouses. The bus stopped within view of the United States Coast Guard Barque Eagle, which was moored at the port, sails furled.
The 74-year-old boat looked out of place among the orange and red industrial cranes of a modern day shipyard. Its figurehead, a golden eagle, soars just above the water, green-eyed and gazing north toward downtown Wilmington.
"The name is Eagle. Bargue is the rigg."
That's Eric Jones, Captain of the Eagle. These days Jones commands the boat as a working classroom where cadets learn how to navigate and steer the vessel in open water. New cadets usually spend a week at sea, while more seasoned cadets will travel for a month or more.
In the past, the boat wasn't always for training, and at first it didn't sail under an American flag. Coast Guard cadet Joey Paczewski explains.
"It was built in 1936 by the Germans, and then in 1946 the Americans received it as a war prize."
Paczewski says that this boat is the seventh Eagle, in a line of American boats dating back to 1792. But when it was launched in 1936, it was named Horst Wessel in memory of a Nazi official.
Adolf Hitler and his deputy Rudolf Hess were at the boat's christening in Hamburg, Germany. The boat was commissioned by the Germans, and it did fight in World War II.
Fourth class cadet Chris Palmieri trained on the Eagle for just a week this summer, but can't wait to set sail on a longer voyage in the future.
"Next year I'm almost positive it's in Europe. It hasn't been okayed yet, but that's the rumor. It's Ireland, Germany, but again, they haven't made it solid yet."
Captain Jones says that during these longer trips aboard the Eagle he follows prevailing winds to travel. Traveling against the wind means switchbacks are necessary, which makes progress much slower for a boat the Eagle's size.
"If I wanna go to Europe, I will take off for the Canadian Maritimes, get the Westerlies across, get to Ireland or Great Britain. Then to come home I'll sail back down past France, the Iberian coast, down to the west cape of Africa and take the tradewinds back across."
For any voyage, not only does Captain Jones need a large staff, he also needs quick learners and able bodies.
The helm is comprised of three steering wheels made of varnished wood and copper inlays. During normal maneuvers, two or three hands may man the helm. During more complex conditions, like coming into port, as many as six cadets may be needed to steer. And there is no auto-pilot.
Captain Jones says operating the Eagle is a 24-hour-a-day team effort.
"If I want to actually be able to tack the ship, which is to bring the bow through the wind, I need 120. But to do the most complex things or to be in really stormy weather, I've got to have 120."
For Paczewski and Palmieri, and the rest of the cadets, the Port of Wilmington is the end of their weeklong cruise. They'll ride by bus back to New London, Connecticut, the Eagle's home port, to prepare for a year's worth of classroom training.
But for Captain Eric Jones, another fresh batch of cadets is waiting to step aboard for their trip on the Eagle.