POINT BLANCHE:--- The visit of the U.S. Coast Guard Tall Ship Eagle's visit has been considered a huge success. The open house attracted many visitors on Saturday despite the overcast conditions on that day. There was a lot of interests and enthusiasm for the tall ship.
The liberty visit of the Eagle has resulted in an economic spinoff for the country. Several groups of family members were on the pier when the vessel arrived at the port on Friday. The family members came down from the U.S. to spend the Memorial Day weekend with their family members who are on the training vessel. This resulted in them renting hotel rooms, renting cars and enjoying the shopping and dining experiences the country has to offer visitors.
The cadets on-board from speaking with port officials also said they had a wonderful experience. They were very pleased with the destination and very much enjoyed what the island has to offer visitors, and are looking forward to coming back someday.
Port management would like to thank all those who have contributed in one way or the other on making the visit of the U.S. CG Eagle a success. A thank you is also extended to the Prime Minister Hon. Sarah Wescot-Williams for the kind words that she delivered at the reception.
The Chief Executive Officer Mark Mingo will continue to work closely with Jack Stevens from the President of the Caribbean and Latin American Region Navy League of the United States to further explore opportunities leading to additional liberty visits. Additional meetings will be held with strategic partners in order to make this happen.
The U.S. Coast Guard Tall Ship Eagle for its 2013 sailing schedule is traveling to the Caribbean, along the Eastern Seaboard, and to Canada with cadets and officer candidates, teaching them practical seamanship skills while indoctrinating them in the Coast Guard's floating leadership laboratory.
The Eagle was built at the Blohm + Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany in 1936, and commissioned as Horst Wessel. The Eagle became one of three sail-training ships operated by the pre-World War II German Navy.
At the close of the war, the ship was taken as a war reparation by the U.S., re-commissioned as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle and sailed to New London, Connecticut, which has been its homeport ever since.
The hull of the Eagle is steel, four-tenths of an inch thick. There are two full-length steel decks with a platform deck below. Under full sail in the open ocean, the Eagle can reach speeds up to 17 knots.
The U.S. Coast Guard Eagle Tall Ship departs the Port of St. Maarten on Monday.