SAN FRANCISCO (July 23, 2008) -- In a historic rendezvous, the Coast
Guard Cutter Barque Eagle, and the cutter
Bertholf passed along side each other near the San Francisco
Ferry Terminal today.

The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle is a three-masted barque, and
carries square-rigged sails on the fore and main masts.
The sailing vessel is 295 feet long, can attain speeds of up to
17 knots under full sail, and has the capacity to
carry 239 passengers and crew. The Eagle has been in service
within the Coast Guard since 1946, serving as a
training platform for cadets and officer candidates to learn
leadership, teamwork, seamanship, and navigation
skills. She is the only square-rigged sailing vessel still
actively serving in the Unites States military. The
Eagle is visiting San Francisco and five other West Coast ports,
including San Diego, Los Angeles, Astoria,
Tacoma, and Victoria, British Columbia.

The Bertholf is the lead ship in the new Legend class of cutters
designed to be the flagship of the modern Coast
Guard fleet. Bertholf will improve operational readiness and
enable the Coast Guard to fulfill its multi-mission
roles more effectively through better sea keeping, higher
sustained transit speeds, greater endurance and range,
and a greater ability to launch and recover improved small
boats, helicopters, and eventually unmanned aerial
vehicles - all key attributes in enabling the Coast Guard to
implement increased security responsibilities.

HF