PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle is scheduled to arrive Wednesday in Portsmouth and has limited availability for media members to ride along.
Media requesting to ride along on cutter Eagle must contact the Coast Guard 5th District External Affairs office by email at d5de@uscg.mil no later than 4 p.m. Tuesday to make a reservation and to receive instructions. Media will embark the Eagle from a small boat, which may be challenging for those with limited mobility.
The ride along will start at Old Point Comfort Marina, located at 100 McNair Dr., Gate F, Fort Monroe, at 11 a.m. The voyage will end behind Portsmouth City Hall, located at 801 Crawford St., at about 3 p.m.
Additionally, the Eagle will be open for free public tours Thursday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Representatives from the U.S. Postal Service will have the new Coast Guard Forever stamp available and offer a special cancellation on the pier from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.At 295 feet in length, the Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service.Constructed in 1936 by the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and originally commissioned as the Horst Wessel by the German Navy, the Eagle was taken by the United States as a war reparation following World War II.To follow the Eagle’s summer cruise, visit the ship’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CoastGuardCutterEagle .