“America’s Tall Ship,” U.S. Coast Guard Barque EAGLE to Visit RI

NEWPORT, RI -- Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed and Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore announced that the 295-foot sailing vessel U.S. Coast Guard Cutter EAGLE (WIX 327) is scheduled to visit the Ocean State during the last weekend of July through early August and will be open to visitors. The USCG Barque EAGLE is a tall ship and the premier sail training vessel of the United States.

Reed and Amore are inviting members of the public to step aboard this 'national treasure' of a ship where past, present, and future U.S. Coast Guard officers learn the "old ways" of sailing and how the forces of nature like wind, waves, and currents impact ships at sea.

The EAGLE will be moored in Newport at State Pier #9, directly to the west and abutting Mary Ferrazoli Park, and is scheduled to offer free public tours from Friday, July 31 to Monday August 3. Admission is free and no tickets will be required for entry.

Newport is one of several ports of call for the EAGLE during the cutter's 106-day journey along the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf of Mexico, with other stops scheduled in places like Pensacola, Baltimore, Charleston, New Orleans, New York City, Boston, and Portland.

The EAGLE is a three-masted sailing barque with teak decks and more than 22,300 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging. Homeported at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, the EAGLE is the only active square-rigger in United States government service. It usually has a crew of eight officers and 50 enlisted personnel and trains up to 150 cadets or officers on any voyage. It is Captained by Captain Kris Ensley who took command of EAGLE in June of 2025.

The ship was taken by the Allies among war reparations from the Germans at the conclusion of World War II concluded in 1945 and the U.S. won it in a prize drawing with the British and Soviet navies. The EAGLE has served as a training vessel for Coast Guard Academy cadets and candidates from officer candidate school. The mission of EAGLE is to develop and grow future officers, and every cadet will spend at least six weeks on board learning seamanship, navigation, and leadership skills.

The last time EAGLE visited Rhode Island was in 2022 during the 50th celebration of Tall Ships America.

For the latest information about EAGLE, including port cities, tour schedules, current events, as well as cadet and active-duty crew member photographs, check out the U.S. Coast Guard Barque EAGLE Instagram page: @barqueeagle.

Senator Reed has worked for years to successfully expand the Coast Guard's footprint in Rhode Island. Reed secured over $100 million for work on a new Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) pier at Naval Station Newport. He also successfully advocated for the homeporting of two 270-foot Coast Guard medium endurance cutters from their previous homeports in New Hampshire and Virginia. And last year, Reed announced that two more 360-foot twin USGC OPCs that weigh in at about 4,500 long tons when fully loaded, will soon be homeporting in Rhode Island.

Newport is also home to USCGC TAHOMA (WMEC-908) and USCGC CAMPBELL (WMEC-909) - soon to be swapped out for USCGC LEGARE (WMEC 912) - USCGC OAK, USCGC SYCAMORE, USCGC IDA LEWIS, as well as Station Castle Hill and Point Judith. These multi-mission assets service aids-to-navigation, conduct search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, ports and waterways security, living marine resources, and defense and homeland security missions.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter EAGLE (WIX 327) by the numbers:

Length: 295 feet, 233 feet at waterline

Beam: greatest 39.1 feet

Displacement: 1,816 tons

Lead ballast: 344 tons

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

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