The first time Jennifer Makowski laid eyes on a tall ship, she was smitten by its beauty–and its unusual appearance. The three–masted barque had all the features of a classic square–rigger, including a graceful bowsprit, raked masts, and sleek yards. But it also had a gleaming white hull, with diagonal red, white and blue racing stripes painted on the bow.
US Coast GuardThe Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, is a Gorch Fock-class barque, launched in Germany in 1936 as Horst Wessel. The Eagle was taken as a war prize by the United States and joined the Guard in 1946. No, it wasn't a new America's Cup racer. The vessel was the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, the service's cadet–training ship. And Makowski – then a "swab," or freshman at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. – was about to embark on her first cruise as a crew member.
"The Eagle was pretty amazing to see for the first time," says Makowski, a 2006 Coast Guard Academy graduate who is now a lieutenant (junior grade), serving as a division officer aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Juniper, a buoy tender. "The woodwork, the detail, all the lines, the masts, and everything–it was unbelievable, and it made a huge impression on me."
WHY A SAILING SHIP?
So, why does the Coast Guard, whose 1,600 other ships and boats are all propelled by engines, want to train its officer candidates on an old–fashioned tall ship? After all, the Navy uses YPs (108–foot, diesel–propelled yard patrol boats) to train its midshipmen. And the mids take their summer training cruises aboard aircraft carriers.
"We're not trying to teach people how to sail–what we're teaching is seamanship and leadership," says Coast Guard Capt. Chris Sinnett, skipper of the Eagle. "A rig like this one is a lot more complex than a YP, and it requires a lot of teamwork and hands–on basic seamanship everywhere you turn."
PA1 Tasha TullyEagle crewmembers Whitney Griffin and Ron Vyas, along with Academy cadets, man the ship's helm while pulling into the port of Cartegena, Columbia.
Captain Jack Aubrey of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander stories about sailing ships of the Royal Navy doubtless would agree. During their days aboard the Eagle, cadets learn to do everything from conning the ship and plotting its course to handling sails, sheets and halyards. And the lessons go on for 24 hours a day while the ship is under way.
Capt. Sinnett, himself a lifelong sailor, says learning about ship–handling aboard a sailing vessel gives cadets a keener appreciation of seamanship than they'd get aboard a power–driven ship because it forces them to take more account of the impact of waves, current, and sea state.
"When you're conning a sailing vessel, you have to plan so far ahead and analyze the risks in each possible scenario that when you finally encounter a situation you don't have to think – you've already thought about everything and decided on a course of action," Sinnett says. "Even having to handle lines that are under tension enhances your appreciation of the job."
Cadet Andrew Norberg, a senior at the Coast Guard Academy who has logged several summers aboard the Eagle, agrees. "You get a better appreciation of the elements – exactly where the wind is coming from and what the sea state is–not something you'll necessarily learn on a conventional ship."
