The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Eagle has a storied history.

The vessel is used for training cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. They spend at least six weeks learning how the forces of nature — wind, waves and currents — affect vessels on the seas.

WIX 327 is one of only two sailing ships in the U.S. military. The other is the USS Constitution, docked as a historical museum on the East Coast and technically still on the books in case it is ever needed.

The USCG website at www.uscga.edu/eagle answers the inevitable question with some eloquence.

It notes that the Eagle contains 22,000 square feet of sail and more than five miles of rigging and harkens back to the old days of sailing — with modern additions.

Why train Coast Guard cadets on a tall ship when most will spend their careers on state-of-the-art ships and aircraft? 

“Because the ways of old still have much to teach. The conditions and situations that you face under sail can’t be replicated either in a classroom or aboard today’s modern ships.”

It has a crew of eight officers and 50 enlisted personnel, meaning it can be training up to 150 cadets or officers on any voyage.

Its logo contains the words, “tradition, seamanship, character.”

Sailing enthusiasts classify the vessel as a square-rigged barque. It has a steel hull.

Its provenance is steeped in history. It was built in Hamburg by the German Blohm and Voss Shipyard in 1936, originally named Horst Wessel. It was taken by the Allies among war reparations from the Germans when World War II concluded in 1945 and the U.S. won it in a prize drawing with the British and Soviet navies. It sailed to New York in 1956 through a hurricane, with German volunteers augmenting the crew.

Over the years, as well as training and goodwill missions around the world, the vessel has taken part in Tall ship races and parades, most notably leading the parade into New York Harbor for the Bicentennial in 1976. That year the “racing stripe” was added and the old eagle figurehead moved to a museum on the academy campus.

Other alterations have included adding modern conveniences including washing machines and also modifications to accommodate female cadets.

By the numbers

Length, 295 feet, 233 feet at waterline

Beam, greatest 39.1 feet 

Displacement, 1,816 tons

Lead ballast, 344 tons

Fuel oil, 24,215 gallons

Mainmast, 147.3 feet

Foremast, 147.3 feet

Mizzenmast, 132 feet

Speed under power, 11 knots

Speed under full sail, 17.5 knots

Number of sails, 23

Sail area, 22,300 square feet

Engine, 1,000 horsepower diesel Caterpillar D399 engine

Maximum capacity, 239

For more details, log on to www.uscga.edu/eagle. 

Astoria visit details

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Eagle will visit Astoria after attending the Portland Rose Festival.

It will dock at Pier 1 on Portway Street in Uniontown from June 13 to June 16.

Public tours will be available 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. June 13 and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 14 and 15.

Paid parking is available in the vicinity of Pier 1.

For details, log on to https://uscga.edu/mission/eagle.