The U.S. Coast Guard has sailed the Barque Eagle as a training platform for its cadets since she was seized from Germany in 1946 as a war prize following the Allied victory. Since then, manned by crews of cadets and enlisted personnel, the Eagle has sailed the entire North Atlantic, traversed the Panama Canal to the West Coast, and navigated a 30,000-mile round trip to the South Pacific and Australia. Last year's training cruise took (he Eagle from her berth at the Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut, to Plymouth, England.
Clockwise: With a new wind and the call "Sail stations! Sail stations!" cadets ascend the ratlines to shake out some canvas.
Aside from their duties in running and maintaining the ship, Eagle's cadets carry a full study load. Here, an exhausted cadet naps in the cramped quarters of his berthing area.
Cadets and crew "stomp together," hauling away on a halyard. With only block and tackle as mechanical advantage, the hoisting of Eagle's 21,350 square feet of sail area requires both individual and team effort.
Opposite page: Although Eagle's Atlantic voyage featured some of the best sailing the ship had seen in a decade, when becalmed, "Max," her 1,000-horse-power "mechanical topsail," ensured she would keep to her schedule.