US Coast Guard Protecting Our Shores From Terrorists

I hear they use heavy cannon fire against the blow up boats. Very efficient.

You cant beat the longevity of a sail boat man dont knock em, its prolly just a scout so to speak.

tallships are sweet, i hope to take a little trip on one some day..

It's certainly not very stealthy though. You could see that thing coming wave off in the horizon.

I think its a pretty sweet boat

Until you keel over.



When I was taking sailing lessons I fucked up and got all the sails where they weren't supposed to go when some wind really picked up and the sailboat went sideways into the water.

Scared the piss out of me. Anyonw who's gone sailing knows that feeling when mother nature is getting the upper hand on you.

huh uh! no way

I thought one of the first lessons in sailing included intentionally doing that so you could learn to right it back up.

Must be a west coast thing.

KRL, they confiscated that from Green Peace about 2 years ago.

The Eagle is a three-masted sailing Barque with 21,350 square feet of sail. It is homeported at the CG Academy, New London, Connecticut. It is the only active (operational) commissioned sailing vessel in the U.S. maritime services. (One of five such Training Barques in world. Sister ships include: MIRCEA of Romania, SAGRES II of Portugal, GORCH FOCK of Germany, and TOVARICH of Russia.)

The Eagle bears a name that goes back to the early history of the United States' oldest contiunous seagoing service. The first Eagle was commissioned in 1792, just two years after the formation of the Revenue Marine, the forerunner of today's Coast Guard.

Today's Eagle, the seventh in a long line of proud cutters to bear the name, was built in 1936 by the Blohm & Voss Shipyard, Hamburg, Germany, as a training vessel for German Naval Cadets. It was commissioned Horst Wessel and following World War II was taken as a war prize by the United States. On May 15, 1946, the barque was commissioned into U.S. Coast Guard service as the Eagle and sailed from Bremerhaven, Germany to New London, Connecticut.

Eagle serves as a seagoing classroom for approximiately 175 cadets and instructors from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. It is on the decks and rigging of the Eagle that the young men and women of the Academy get their first taste of salt air and life at sea. From this experience they develop a respect for the elements that will be with them throughout their lifetime. They are tested and challenged, often to the limits of their endurance. Working aloft they meet fear and learn to overcome it. The training cadets receive under sail has proven to be an invaluable asset during their subsequent Coast Guard careers.

On Eagle, cadets have a chance to practically apply the navigation, engineering and other training they receive in classes at the Academy. As upper-class cadets, they perform the leadership functions normally handled by junior officers. As under-class cadets, they fill positions normally taken by the enlisted crew of the ship, including helm watch at the huge brass and wood wheels used to steer the vessel.

Sailing in Eagle, cadets handle more than 20,000 square feet of sail and 5 miles of rigging. Over 200 lines must be coordinated during a major ship maneuver, so cadets must learn the name and function of each line.

The ship readily takes to the task for which it was designed. Eagle's hull is built of steel, four-tenths of an inch thick. It has two full length steel decks with a platform deck below and a raised forecastle and quarterdeck. The weatherdecks are three-inch-thick teak over steel.

When at home, Eagle rests alongside a pier at the Coast Guard Academy on the Thames River. The Academy was originally founded in 1876 with a class of nine students on board the Revenue Cutter Dobbin. In 1932, a permanent Academy was built on land donated by the New London community. Enrollment at the Academy numbers approximately 700 men and women, all of whom sail at one time or another on America's only active duty square rigger.

I agree.

Modern sailboats got the best in both worlds. They usually come equipped with an engine too.

where's your sense of history

Newport Beach CA

according to CNN a few days ago, the coast guard will be unable to adequately defend us in the water as our military boats will not be able to "keep up" with the other boats

it would pay to look into it a tad first

Today's Coast Guard includes roughly 90 large cutters, about 90 special-purpose vessels including icebreakers and buoy tenders, and just over 300 small ships and boats.

The US Coastline is 12,400 miles long. If you figure 100 boats of the fleet out on patrol at any given time that's about 124 miles of coastline per boat to watch.

Are they on vacation or something?!

makes you feel real safe now doesn't it?

you think we should have a naval blockade up or something? there are enough eyes in the sky that 124 miles is not that big of a deal

Last I heard the Coast Guard was part of the Treasury Department, not exactly the same duties as the Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Army.

Ummm, NO

I'd say your coast guard also has a pretty thorough radar system and are probably tied in to satellite surveilance systems.


I'll wager the men and women that take a tour on that sail boat learn a hell of a lot of valueable seamanship skills that a modern ship just can't offer.

that isn't really their job. they are more there for boating safety, drug smugglers, and that kind of riff raff

but their reaction time is often slow and in reality that's scary. Since the military will not risk the safety of its officers (which I think is a noble thing) they will not let the coast guard use boats that travel above a certain speed. thus our coast guard will continue to become more outdated and less "useful" as our enemies boats become progressively faster. and we all know that the countries we need to worry about the most are not trying to protect the lives of their fighters by insisting on safe speeds

okay, my bad, I see that 1 March 2003, the Coast Guard formally transferred from the Department of Transportation to the newly-created Department of Homeland Security

Still not Dept of Defense, and not expected to serve in the same function as the Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Army.

yes, and yes

that'd have to be there for ceremonial/historical value more than anything.. funny though.. beware the black pearl.

huh? what country are you in? I don't recall us having been attacked by sea since WW II

same country as you. just because we havent been attacked by sea doesnt mean we shouldnt always be prepared to be. anywho, I'm just saying what was on CNN. so apparently it's an issue with someone.

How fast do you think that vessel will go without the sails up?

From what I read, Al Quaeda has been trying to buy a small submarine. With the idea being you sneak in near a major port with cruise ships loaded with passengers as they head out to see or near buildings by the coastline in a major city and kaboom with a dirty bomb.

That brings back scenes of that movie!

we have to allow the terrorists to deliver drugs now, dont we?

SobeGirl Video:

You serious???

If so... yea, that would sound in tune with the regime! :-)

That boat belongs to the Coast gaurd academy you learn seamanship skills aboard it


as for the Coast gaurd during war time it is part of the Department of Defense just a few days ago there was a coastgaurdsman killed in the middle east on duty