Tall Shop Barque Eagle Sails to North Shore

SALEM, MA — The tall ship Barque Eagle, built in Germany in 1936, will be on display in Salem Harbor this weekend.

The ship was taken by the United States as a prize following World War II. It's now operated by the Coast Guard and homeported in Connecticut.

The Eagle will be on display in Salem for free tours this weekend during these hours:

• Friday: 1 to 7 p.m.
• Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Sunday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The weather should cooperate—the latest forecast calls for mostly clouds Saturday and clear skies Sunday.

The Eagle was used by the German Navy to train cadets. The Coast Guard now uses it to train sailors and a permanent crew of about 60 maintains it.

The Eagle has over 22,000 square feet of sail and 5 miles of rigging. Here's more from the Coast Guard:

Built during the twilight era of sail, the design and construction of Eagle embody centuries of development in the shipbuilder's art. The hull is steel four-tenths of an inch thick. There are two full-length steel decks with a platform deck below. The raised forecastle and quarterdeck are made of three-inch thick teak over steel, as are the weather decks ... Eagle eagerly takes to the elements for which she was designed. Effortlessly and gracefully, she drives under full sail in the open ocean at speeds up to 17 knots.