Log of the Eagle Adventure

September 12th to September 24th, 2010

Through a chance referral of a former classmate and then a telephone interview with Captain Steven Hertz, I found myself invited to sail aboard the USCG EAGLE for a two week cruise. This was the Fall cruise for the Officer Candidate School program. Captain Hertz assured me they took "old people" like me as long as you had graduated with a license. I graduated from SUNY Maritime in 1968 with a BS in Meteorology and Oceanography. I sailed for three years with American Export Isbrantsen Lines. I have been in the sailboat industry most of my life with various incursions into the commercial shipping industry.

I boarded EAGLE on Sunday night and was shown to my "rack" in the Alexander Hamilton berthing space two decks down and forward in the barque, as the Coast Guard likes to call her. There were fifteen bunks stacked three high with fifteen inches of space between mattress and upper bunk. I measured it! It was like number one hold on my Mug cruise aboard the EMPIRE STATE IV but with a lot less room. The information received from the Academy kind of, sort of warned me. I entered this adventure with an open mind and planned to go with the flow. I had worked to clear my mind of any preconceived ideas of how I would fit in. I just wanted to jump at this sailing opportunity .

Monday morning found us with fifty-six crew, about sixty OCS cadets, and nineteen "guests." Three of the guests were more recent graduates of NY Maritime. Captain Eric Jones led us down the Thames, across Long Island Sound, and out to sea between Block Island and Montauk Point. It was overcast with light rain in conditions that reminded me of New England. We braced around the yards for a close-hauled starboard tack, but continued south under power until the next day.

Tuesday we were steering to the SW in light wind with sunny skies. Early in the morning we began setting the staysails between the foremast and mainmast and mizzen. Then we set the four jibs and the spanker, lower, upper and mizzen topsail. The barque took on the slightest heel to port, and the rolling motion disappeared, much to the delight of many of the crew. Mal de mar began its retreat.

In late morning we "let fall" the square sails, and we really began to see the barque come alive under sail. The engine was stopped. By noon we were close-hauled on the starboard tack in light wind, and our speed was up to 2.5 kts. "We be sailing, mon!"

We had set all sails including the royals. In the afternoon, Mike Barley, our guest photographer and father to crew member Brin, was lowered over the side in the motor surf boat to take pictures of EAGLE under full sail. The boat dropped astern for what looked like a good angle and sun combination. The plan was foiled as the wind increased, and EAGLE gathered speed. The MSB had to speed up to catch us. This made for a very wet ride for Mike and his expensive cameras.

Sailing improved, and by sunset we were doing 11 kts with all sails set still on a close-hauled course. Now the wind was up to 25 kts, and the heel was approaching 20 degrees. Seven crew were sent up the foremast and seven on the mainmast. They took in the royals after the yards were dropped and the sail was clewed up by crew on deck. It was an amazing feat to watch. One the "guests" from the Jamestown Sea Foundation (a group with their own square-rigged vessels) was up on the main royal yard, too. The main royal staysail downhaul broke during this shortening, and that sail had to be doused.

Wednesday morning found us becalmed with a lot of sail up. The crew furled the sails, and with the engine we headed for the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Now the OCS cadets began their quest to complete a long list of assignments. These included compute and take a noon sight, sun lines, star sights, azimuths, and compute sunrise and sunset.

I didn't know the Coast Guard would still be interested in celestial navigation. Matthew Morando '06, Matthew Libby '10, and I started Navigation 101 aboard EAGLE. Morando liked navigation as a hobby and had brought along some notes. His enthusiasm gathered a following. Thanks to Harold A. Parnham (Hap) who taught thousands of us over years past, I could remember a lot of theory. However, I forgot the details of data extraction from the tables. I was remembering Hap's diagrams of forty years ago. He always said they would help when you couldn't "remember all of it." Boy, he was right!

We dragged out the sextants, tables, and Bowditch, and held class in the mess deck. How much can you learn in a few days? I hope we helped, and maybe someone will do the work it takes to be proficient.

While it was calm and we were moving about two knots, I did my "up and over" check out that I missed Sunday afternoon at the pier. This means learning to climb the rig using the ratlines. I donned the climbing harness and made it to the lower crosstrees of the mainmast. The backward climb of the futtock shrouds is scary the first time. You aren't hooked up with your safety line during this maneuver. I did smuggle my camera on a rope tied to my belt in my pocket. This allowed me to get my picture aloft. Of course the view is fantastic!

Thursday morning we started up the bay to Annapolis. The trip up the bay brought back many memories of ships and yachts I had moved on these waters forty years ago. The piloting and meeting big ships was fun, too. We anchored for the night off the Naval Academy. Past Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kemphorne and his two assistants departed on a small Coast Guard boat, and five more congressional aides came aboard.

Friday morning a contingent of about thirty people from the Naval Academy came aboard for the passage up to Baltimore. This made the bridge very crowded. It was a bright clear morning and a fast passage to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The tugs worked us into the pier across from the CONSTELLATION by noon.

I contacted Howard Merkel, another former classmate, who took me away for the weekend to Draco, PA. It was a good break from the "pizza oven rack."

Refreshed and with clean clothes, I returned to EAGLE on Sunday evening for the return trip to New London.

Monday we motored south to anchor at the mouth of the Potomac River. There was a clear sky and light northerly winds; so sails would not help. The sunset was beautiful!

Tuesday we headed out of the Bay and into a calm sea with big, long swells left over from Hurricane Igor. Mal de mar returned for some. By evening we were able to set the staysails and the four jibs, and this eased the rolling.

An informal class was held by Capt. Jones on the fantail as he pointed out the evening stars available for navigation. His green laser pointer seemed to reach the stars! The Autumnal Equinox occurred at 2300. The moon was almost full . . a delightful evening!

On Wednesday the wind was filling in from the SW. The sky was clear, and we were headed NE. Early in the morning we began setting the squares. The main and fore lower topsails were first, followed by the upper topsails. The topgallants and royals were set, too. The fore course was set, but not the mainsail. With the wind aft, the mainmast sails blanketed or reduced the wind reaching the foremast sails. Square rigged vessels sail best with the wind on either quarter. The wind was up to 18 to 20 kts by noon, and we were doing 7 kts under a clear sky.

At sunset we were doing 8.5 kts, and the wind was on the port quarter.

2230 - ALL HANDS TO SAIL STATIONS!
A fast-moving squall was coming from the NW. Everyone tumbled out to reduce sail. The crew did a good job of quickly sending people to the lines at hand to douse the royals. Any immediate volunteers were sent aloft to furl sails. Lightning flashed from the West, and the orange glow from the deck flood lights at the mast tops made for a surreal scene. Those not in rain gear were sent below to get it. I finally dug out my boots, pants, and coat and put them on. I was back on deck just in time as lightning was everywhere, and the rain came. The topgallants were doused, and the barque sailed on under better control. Then we braced the yards around to starboard to take advantage of the new wind and maintain our NE course. All this took about an hour, and then the wind eased up a bit. The Captain said this was only about the third time this season that all hands had been called.

I realized how hard this vessel is to sail. It was all manpower and no winches. You really need people who know what to do. The standing crew of fifty-six were certainly appreciated by the rest of us.

After all the commotion on Thursday night, Friday morning found us almost becalmed. The wind was 5 to 8 kts and the sky once again clear. The topsails and fore course were taken in, and all the fore and aft sails doused. The engine was started, and we motored on steering for the Eastern entrance to Long Island Sound between Block Island and Montauk Point.

Mid-afternoon we dropped anchor behind Fisher's Island. The yards were squared for port and the sails tightly made up in harbor furl fashion.

In the evening a compass adjustor was brought aboard to certify the compass deviation. He worked on this project for about four hours. We referred to the adjustor as the "Magician." He removed the compass balls and degaussed them on the pilot house deck and then reinstalled them. All compass correcting magnets were removed, too. The anchor was heaved to "short stay" to make the ship turn faster in tight circles as it was motored for two hours "swinging the compass." You can imagine the lobster pot mess on the anchor! I think I saw this done only once before on one of my cadet cruises a very long time ago. I remember it being an agonizing process. And it was again!

Friday began with fog and the rapid ringing of the ship's bell every minute. The port MSB was launched to clear the anchor of the junk collected the night before. The boat also carried line handlers for docking. The barque was to be port side to, and they wanted the MSB off for the winter maintenance.

The Adjustor, "Magician," made us do some more circles on the way to the Thames River entrance. This caused about an hour's delay. Two tugs had us alongside by 1130.

The voyage ends!

It was sad to see EAGLE's sailing season come to an end. The crew were talking about the big winter projects, including a major engine overhaul and refinishing of interior berthing spaces. This is all in anticipation of next year's trans-Atlantic cruise to Hamburg, Germany for the celebration of her 75th birthday. Now that's going to be THE party to attend!

John Antweiler