‘America’s Tallest Ship’ returns to SF Bay for first time since 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A three-masted Coast Guard vessel known as “America’s Tallest Ship” returned to San Francisco Bay Wednesday for the first time since 2008. At 295 feet in length, the United States Coast Guard Barque Eagle is the largest American tall ship and also the only active rigger in U.S. government service.

The huge three-masted Eagle boasts more than 22,300 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging. The cutter was constructed in 1936 by the Blohm and Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany.

Originally commissioned by the German navy as the Horst Wessel, the Eagle was handed over to the U.S. as a war reparation at the end of World War II.

These days, the Eagle serves as a classroom at sea to future Coast Guard officers, offering “at-sea leadership and professional development” as part of the Coast Guard Academy curriculum, according to the Coast Guard.

The Eagle was due to moor at Pier 15-17 at the Exploratorium at 10 a.m. Wednesday.