USCG Barque Eagle Crewmember

[TheCrustyBosun]

The highlight of my Coast Guard career was my time assigned to our flagship, USCG Barque Eagle WIX-327 (USCGC Eagle). For those of you unfamiliar with Eagle, she is a training vessel for USCG Academy cadets and students from Officer Candidate School. She operates just like any other cutter in the fleet, but is unlike any other at the same time. She’s a square rigged sailing vessel and the only one actively operating square rigger in US military service.

 

Eagle is 295 feet long with a beam of 39 feet and a height 147 feet at the maintruck. She is of steel construction with a displacement of 1800 tons and she carries a suit of 23 sails and a total of over 21,000 square feet of sail area. She was built by Blohm and Voss in Hamburg and commissioned into the German Navy as SSS Horst Wessel with Hitler in attendance in 1936. She served along with two other sisterships as training vessels until she was taken as a war prize by the USCG in 1946. She was refitted in Bremerhaven and sailed to the US by her first USCG crew assisted by volunteer members of her last German crew. 

 

Since then, “America’s Tallship” has served as a invaluable sea-going classroom and an American ambassador to ports all over the world. It was my honor and privilege to have served aboard for three cruises as both a permanent party and TAD crew member. I fulfilled duties as lookout, helmsman, Boatswains Mate of the Watch, Quartermaster of the Watch, small boat coxswain, weapons petty officer, and more. Eagle has carried me to many ports, both foreign and domestic, and afforded me opportunities unique in military service. 

 

The following posts contain uniforms, personal items, souvenirs, awards, photos, etc. I will post more as I run across items and time allows. 

[TheCrustyBosun]

Order of the Square Rigger- This certificate is issued to departing crew members. I received this one when I departed for the last time. Eagle was my last active duty unit. I was rang off the ship with two bells and the announcement over the 1MC, “BM3 Patterson, departing.” I added the two cap tallies because I’m a Eagle history buff. The “Horst Wessel” tally is representative of those worn in German service and the “Eagle” tally was produced for a group crewmembers in the 80’s. 
 

Plaque- This is also presented upon departure. 

[TheCrustyBosun]

Square Rigger wording-

 

Ahoy!  To all sailors wherever you may be and to all salts, sea dogs, swabs, survivors of the horn, albatross, and other followers of the trade winds. 

 

Avast!!!  Wear’o and mark ye well this proclamation.  Be it known by all landlubbers, ancient mariners, and sailors of the seven seas, that having become a master of holystones, baggywrinkle, topsails, tack jiggers, bagpiping, and boxhauling......

 

And is therefore among the select few who may be called a true square rigger sailor.  Further, all landlubbers, sand peeps, mermaids, sailors of mechanized vessels, sea lawyers, widowmakers, sand crabs, and all other derelicts of the seas and shores are hereby ordered to acknowledge and pay homage to a true sailor. 

[TheCrustyBosun]

Eagle Seamanship-

 

This book is described as the “owner’s manual” or the “Eagle Bible” and is issued to all ship’s company, officers, enlisted, and trainees alike. It is a required item when in working uniform and must be presented upon request. Many of us covered our books in various ways to protect them as well as added various notes in the margins. An Eagle seamanship book with notes shows that the owner has truly studied their craft. Pun intended. 
 

The book explains the theory of square rigger sailing and has served as a reference to crew members from several other tallships in the US and abroad. 
 

Eagle Seamanship is in its fourth edition now. I have all but the second edition. Here is the third edition copy that I carried while assigned to Eagle.  I covered it in canvas, added a bolt rope, and even a lanyard. The lanyard was a joke as everything carried aloft must be tethered to you. 

 

 

[TheCrustyBosun]

Covers/Caps-

 

The “salty” one was issued to me in 2000, when I was first assigned to Eagle. In 2006, I was instructed to wear a “more presentable one” for standing quarterdeck watches in port. Here are both caps. 
 

Note: there are still two sail needles inserted in the underside of the brim. 

[TheCrustyBosun]

Photo taken underway on Memorial Day of 2005. We were bound for Edinburgh via the Orkney Islands from Saint John’s Newfoundland. I donned my WWII vintage uniform and took a turn at the helm after a wreath laying ceremony. 
 

Photo credit- PA2 Rask

From- 2005 cruise book

[TheCrustyBosun]

The Rig-

 

All crew members working topside and aloft are required to carry a knife. Knives must have a lanyard and must be made fast to the person. Members of the deck department wore what we called summer belts. They were rigger’s belts with a safety tether and hook for clipping in. Workers aloft clipped into when stopped to work or any instance when stopped for extended periods. Otherwise, it’s one hand for the ship and the other for yourself. Our summer belts also sported our issued rigging knife and a marlin spike. We made our own sheaths and lanyards for both items. Upon leaving the ship, deckies are allowed to keep their rig if they chose to do so. 
 

The marlinspikes were made specially for Eagle by Port Townsend Foundry with a brass handle representing a belaying pin. They came in two sizes. The larger one is quite heavy. 

[TheCrustyBosun]

Zippo and Belt Buckle-

 

I snagged these two items off of eBay several years ago. They were sold together as a pair. I can only speculate as to the age of these items. Eagle received her distinctive “racing stripe” and US Coast Guard lettering in 1976.  This outraged the purists as it marred her classic appearance. In 1954, Captain Bowman had the sails on the mizzenmast (aft most mast) changed as he said it appeared “too Germanic”. Eagle carried his signature configuration until the late 80’s. Eagle appears in that configuration on these items.  As a result, I would assume that these items were made sometime between 1954 and 1976. I could be wrong. Here they are. 

[TheCrustyBosun]

2005- Ports of call. 

 

Saint John’s Newfoundland

Scapa Flow 

Edinburgh, Scotland

Portsmouth, England 

Waterford, Ireland

Cherbourg, France

Lisbon, Portugal

Rota, Spain

Madeira, Portugal

Tenerife, Canary Islands 

Hamilton, Bermuda

 

Scapa Flow- We anchored here for two days before departing to make our scheduled arrival in Edinburgh. After weighing anchor, we manned the rail and rendered honors to the HMS Royal Oak as we passed close by. Rest easy, lads. 

 

Edinburgh- We tied up ahead of HMY Britannia in Leith’s Western Harbour. Saw the sights along the Royal Mile and visited Edinburgh Castle. I was fitted for a proper kilt and had it sent home to the states once completed. We toured the Royal Yacht and enjoyed the performance as the Royal Marines Band beat retreat alongside on the quay. Life on an ocean wave.... what a treat!  On a side note, I’d like to apologize to the cabbie which brought us back to the ship after a successful pickling at a local pub. For some reason, (I’d like to think I channeled my Scottish ancestors) I thought it necessary to speak to him in my best Scottish accent. I’m sure I’m not the only annoying American to do this, but I’m still sorry. Although, the executive officer was known to speak like Mary Poppins when she had a few pints.  

 

Portsmouth-

 

 We anchored with the fleet in the Solent River off Portsmouth for the International Festival of the Sea and the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. After manning the rail and rendering three cheers for Her Majesty the Queen, we weighed anchor and proceeded into the dockyard where we rafted ip alongside the Italian Navy’s training ship Amerigo Vespucci. While in port, I visited the HMS Victory and paid homage to Lord Nelson. Unfortunately, I was not able to partake in “a drop of Nelson’s blood” as the grog barrel was empty. We visited Eagle’s closest sister, Sagres II, built just one year after Eagle. The Portuguese crew fed us a great meal and kept us in beer and port for most of the evening. Their hearts were broken when they found out we couldn’t drink on Eagle. No worries though, the Brazilians were happy to continue the party on their ship. 

 

Pictured below is my site access credential for the event, a tab worn over the snap back strap on the back of our caps, and my name plate from the quarterdeck status board. 
 

Also pictured is my unit patch and my uniform name plate. 

[mikie]

I've known quite a few Navy veterans, a few are my closest freinds. But you certainly put the sail in sailor. I'd love to hear more about your time aboard Eagle.

Mikie

[TheCrustyBosun]

Thank you!  There’s plenty of good material/stories from my time aboard. 

[TheCrustyBosun]

We left Portsmouth behind and sailed for Waterford, Ireland. The RMLI Severn Class lifeboat from Dunmore East approached and conducted a helicopter operations (helo ops) demo for us with an Irish Coast Guard helicopter and rescue swimmer. Then we took the pilot off Hook Head and proceeded into Waterford where we tied up along with the Russian training vessel Kruzenshtern, formerly Padua. I was able to take the whole port call off because I made the in-port watch schedule. Plus, my girlfriend and the time flew over to meet me. We rented a car and I drove. First time as a right hand driver!  I thought rotaries/roundabouts were fun here in New England. Try going the “wrong way”!  We visited the Hook lighthouse, a Templar Knights ruin in Churchtown, and drove up to Kilkenny to see the castle and have lunch. I didn’t know how popular Budweiser was there!  I’ll have a pint-o-Guinness please! Then, it was off to Cherbourg in a tallships race. 
 

Cherbourg-

 

Upon arrival, we dropped the hook in the anchorage between the breakwater and the harbor wall. The next morning, we tied up along Quai de France with the topsail schooner Pride of Baltimore rafted outboard. Two of Eagle’s sisters were present in the port, Sagres II of Portugal, and Mircea of Romania. We had made radio contact with Eagle’s sister Gorch Fock II from the German Navy somewhere in the English Channel, but fog prevented us from passing within visual range. Would have been nice to have four of the Five Sisters together. Oh well. We took a quick bus ride to the Normandy American Cemetery to lay a wreath. From there, we visited Omaha Widerstandsnest 65 and proceeded up through Les Moulins and into Vierville-sur-Mer and on to Sainte-Mere-Eglise where we stopped for lunch across from the famous church. After lunch, we were rushed past the airborne museum and on to Utah Beach for another wreath laying. We did not have time for museums or more in-depth sightseeing, much to my disappointment. I did manage to grab a couple of souvenirs including the obligatory sand from Omaha and Utah beaches, a cricket, and a potato masher. Oh, if only I had more time!  
 

 

[TheCrustyBosun]

The masher.....

 

[TheCrustyBosun]

A Zippo and 15 dollars in Silver Certificates-

 

I was standing quarterdeck watch in Cherbourg when a Frenchman approached me and told me that he collected Zippo lighters from various Naval vessels and asked if we had some. I told him that we did but they were normally reserved for crew members only, not even trainees. He plead his case with me and came short of begging for me to get him a lighter. He finally offered to purchase one. I gave in and told him to come back the next day and we’d work something out. I purchased a lighter for $15 out of our ship’s store and the next day, he shows up with 15 crisp 1957 vintage US one dollar silver certificate bills.  He was so proud that he had American dollars to give me and couldn’t thank me enough for the lighter. 
 

Here’s my “crew” lighter. 

[Salvage Sailor]

Great collection of Barque Eagle items, thanks for posting these.

 

I went aboard her in the 1970's just after the Bicentennial and again around 1980 when serving with STANAVFORLANT and picked up these mementos for my collection.

 

USCGC EAGLE (WIX-327) Gold bullion 1970's and small 1980's patches

 

[TheCrustyBosun]

Boatswain Calls/Pipes-

 

Eagle is one of the few cutters in the CG where a boatswain pipe can be heard on a daily basis. Normally, we’d pipe “attention”, “colors”, and “carry on” for morning and evening colors while riding the anchor or moored alongside. There were times when we piped reveille followed by the usual call, “Now, reveille reveille reveille! Up up all racks. Heave out and trice up. Lash and stow. Lash and stow. Now, 0630, reveille!” The traditional German wake up was, “Get up! Get up! Every man kick his neighbor! The last man kick himself! Get up!”  I was one of the boatswains mates that liked the pipe and was good at it. So, they often called upon me to pipe flag officers and dignitaries aboard as we regularly hosted them. 
 

We hosted a reception aboard the ship for the embassy in Lisbon, Portugal. The captain wore his whites complete with sword to greet 37 officers and dignitaries aboard. I had eight side boys made up of cadets and piped the side 37 times. The captain approached me after everyone was aboard and far enough away not to hear him say, “Damn, Boats! Nice job! I thought I was gonna have to shove an air hose up your rump to make it through all of those people!”  A year later, in Washington DC, we repeated the routine for the USCG Commandant’s change of command as well as rendering honors to Washington’s tomb on the Potomac. 
 

The boatswain’s call or pipe (IT’S NOT AN F’n WHISTLE!) harkens back to the days of sail. It was an effective way to pass the word that could be hear from below decks and up aloft. There were calls for everything in those days. Now, it’s more of a ceremonial thing. 
 

Oh, don’t leave them laying around either. I’ve never seen anything make a snipe as happy as finding a wayward boatswain pipe. They can’t wait get to a vise quick enough to “help you tune it”. They tend to play “flat” after that. Musical pun intended. 
 

Here’s my pipes and lanyards. The one with the “dented” bowl was my first pipe. The dent is actually part of tuning the pipe. It required a dent on both sides as well as filing the wind edge of the pea (hole). A bit of wax is some times applied to either side of the opening as well.  Not all pipes require such effort. I preferred this pipe for piping the side and other long calls. 

 

The second pipe is an Acme, made in England. It sounded great right out of the box and I preferred to use it when piping colors or other short calls. 
 

The third is in brass finish and was my spare. 
 

 

[Wharfmaster]

Very interesting post. Thanks !

 

 

 

W

[huntssurplus]

Very cool! I've worked on and crewed tall ships as well and they are quite an experience for sure! Awesome thread, and I will be watching if you have more to post in the future! 

 

Hunt

[TheCrustyBosun]

Rota, Spain-

We pulled into the US Naval Base Rota, Spain/ Base Naval De Rota. Not a whole lot more to say about it as I never made it off the base. A few others took day trips to Gibraltar and at least one person went to Morocco against the security briefing. 
 

I did manage to get a couple of coins while we were there. I served with USCG Port Security Unit 307 in OIF and because of that, I had been tasked with creating Eagle’s first anti-terrorism/force protection (ATFP) plan. I had also worked with analyzing the information collected by the advance team we sent to all the ports of call prior to that deployment. In addition, I gave classes in ATFP to cadets underway between ports. In Rota, we worked with EOD Mobile Unit 8 to dive on and inspect our hull. It helped us with security and gave them some practice. I scored the following coins and gave them one of ours. 

[TheCrustyBosun]

4 minutes ago, huntssurplus said:

Very cool! I've worked on and crewed tall ships as well and they are quite an experience for sure! Awesome thread, and I will be watching if you have more to post in the future! 

 

Hunt

Which tallships have you crewed?  I’ve worked part time at Mystic Seaport for almost 20 years now. I’ve sailed Charles W Morgan, South Street Seaport’s Pioneer, and Galveston’s Elissa. 

[TheCrustyBosun]

Madeira, Canary Islands, and bad chicken-

 

Next stop was Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira. We passed the 270’ USCGC Bear on the way into port and rendered honors. There are hundreds of vessels who’ve tagged the sea walls there and so did we. We ended up with a sweet deal on rooms at a resort hotel west of town. We were well taken care of and made use of the salt water pools as well as the ocean for swimming. 
 

From there, we sailed for Tenerife in the Canary Islands. I made it off the ship for lunch and a beer before I got sick.  Spent the rest of that port call in my rack. Ugh. 

[TheCrustyBosun]

Bermuda, sick crew, and running from a hurricane-

 

We were bound for Bermuda from the Canary Islands under sail when the lookout spotted a small cargo ship flashing its navigation lights. She reported the contact and efforts were made to establish communications with the vessel. The vessel did not respond and it appeared she was not making way. Clearly in a state of distress, we hove to and launched a small boat with a boarding team complete with a corpsman. The vesse was full of migrants/refugees from Africa bound for a better place. The ship had lost power and was dead in the water with only enough battery power to flash their navigation lights. The passengers were found to be in poor states of heath with several found dead. It was determined that they had been adrift for two weeks. We rendered medical aide and sent over fresh water and food. The Spanish government was contacted and at first, wanted us to tow the ship into Tenerife. Eagle doesn’t tow anything. So, we ended up remaining on station for several outs until a tug could be dispatched and arrived on scene. We proceeded on to Bermuda. 
 

It seems that we took some bad stores aboard in Tenerife. Half the crew and cadets came down with food  poisoning and were useless. All training evolutions and work details were cancelled and only those on watch were allowed to be up and around. We made port in Bermuda and I was one of the few who enjoyed the port call. This was the second time the USCG sent me to Bermuda. 
 

Our port cal was cut short by a storm that would later turn in to Hurricane Katrina. We disembarked the cadets and got underway to head for home port in New London. We had a group of Naval Sea Cadets with us and boy did they get a lumpy ride! 
 

 

[huntssurplus]

55 minutes ago, TheCrustyBosun said:

Which tallships have you crewed?  I’ve worked part time at Mystic Seaport for almost 20 years now. I’ve sailed Charles W Morgan, South Street Seaport’s Pioneer, and Galveston’s Elissa. 

 

I worked for a little on the Bill of Rights and now I work on the provenance. Bill of Rights is a Schooner and provenance is a Sloop, so both are smaller ships but still cool!

[TheCrustyBosun]

2 minutes ago, huntssurplus said:

 

I worked for a little on the Bill of Rights and now I work on the provenance. Bill of Rights is a Schooner and provenance is a Sloop, so both are smaller ships but still cool!

I’m familiar with both though I’ve never been aboard. I recall seeing Bill of Rights at schooner fest in Gloucester in 2000. We (Eagle) tied up at Gorton’s. Went out for the race with the late Captain Lane Riggs and his Norfolk Rebel. Had a blast!

[huntssurplus]

3 minutes ago, TheCrustyBosun said:

I’m familiar with both though I’ve never been aboard. I recall seeing Bill of Rights at schooner fest in Gloucester in 2000. We (Eagle) tied up at Gorton’s. Went out for the race with the late Captain Lane Riggs and his Norfolk Rebel. Had a blast!

 

Sounds like a good time! Also a correction, for some reason I guess it auto corrected but the second ship is P R O V I D E N C E*** not provenance. 

It is auto correcting after I post for some reason.