I mentioned in my last article the visit of the USCG Barque Eagle to Portland this weekend. Coincidentally, the historic schooner Bowdoin pulled up to our piers last weekend! They both have a special meaning for our community. 

Many of you know the story of the Bowdoin, but for those who don't, I'll bring you up to date. The Bowdoin was built in 1921 by the Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard in East Boothbay. She was specifically designed for Arctic exploration by the legendary explorer Donald B. MacMillan. Unlike most sailing vessels of her era, she was engineered with a heavily reinforced hull capable of withstanding Arctic ice. During her remarkable career, she completed more than two dozen voyages north of the Arctic Circle, carrying scientists, explorers, and students into some of the world's most unforgiving waters. During World War II, she even served in the U.S. Navy's Greenland Patrol before returning to MacMillan after the war.

The Boothbay region has remained closely connected to the Bowdoin throughout her life. She has returned here many times over the decades. In recent years, she underwent restoration work in Boothbay Harbor, and her visits during Windjammer Days have allowed new generations to appreciate a vessel that helped establish Maine's worldwide reputation for exceptional wooden shipbuilding. Today, as the Official Vessel of the State of Maine, she serves as Maine Maritime Academy's sail training ship, preparing future mariners in the traditions of seamanship while preserving a living piece of history. 

That brings us to the U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle's visit to Portland. Although separated by nearly two decades in age and vastly different in size, both vessels share a common purpose: developing skilled mariners through hands-on training while inspiring the public with America's proud maritime traditions. 

The USCGC Eagle (WIX-327) is the largest square-rigged tall ship flying the U.S. flag. Although the USS Constitution is about nine feet longer overall, Eagle is recognized as America's premier tall ship and serves as the U.S. Coast Guard's sail training vessel. Built in 1936 in Hamburg, Germany, as the Horst Wessel, the ship was transferred to the United States after World War II as part of war reparations. Since 1946, Eagle has served as the premier sail training vessel for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where generations of cadets have learned leadership, seamanship, teamwork, and navigation through the demanding experience of sailing a traditional tall ship. Her crew and cadets routinely climb the rigging to set and furl sails by hand, preserving centuries-old maritime traditions while developing the confidence and discipline essential for modern Coast Guard officers.  

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that both vessels have a special connection to our region. Besides being a Coast Guard community, the last time Eagle visited Portland, Boothbay's own Glory Blethen, then a U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadet, was among those training aboard. 

Eagle is scheduled to visit Portland from July 24–27 and will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.