OPERATION SAIL 92 sank her in the North Sea when she had served that purpose. The West Germans built a replacement vessel in 1958 to the same design and named her Gorch Fock II. The "five sisters" still meet in occasional races. After a delay-filled transatlantic flight aboard a war-weary C-54, Commander McGowan reached London, six days out of New York. Weather conditions delayed his flight to Bremen for another week, but he finally made it, aboard an even more battered C-47. Then came his first look at Horst Wessel: "She lay at a bombed-out shipyard amid the ugly skeletons of shattered buildings and mountainous heaps of rubble, her stately masts canted drunkenly to starboard, as she rested on the bottom of a narrow waterway at low tide. Her gray sides were smeared with stains, the paint on her yards and masts blistered and cracked. Raised metal lettering on each side of the Sunset at sea . Photo by quarterdeck informed the world that this William E. Burgess, Jr. was the Horst Wessel, a ship of the dead Nazi navy ," he later wrote in his superb full of bosun's gear, and, from the facbook The Skipper and the Eagle. tory in Augsburg, a replacement block A German crew was still aboard, and forthe ship's MAN main engine when McGowan's instructions were to use this the old one was found to have a cracked crew and a nearby German shipyard block. Soon the ship was almost ready to force for fitting out. McGowan, two jun- sail, but McGowan lacked the crew to ior line officers, an engineering officer, man her and the Coast Guard could spare and a few petty officers took over the only thirty more men. It took forty men complex task of making the ship ready at the capstan just to weigh anchor. for sea, with the assistance of the GerIn a conversation with one of his new man officers and crew. On the Ameri- friends, a British naval officer who was cans' first day aboard they were wel- in charge of recruitment for a North Sea comed with full military honors, the en- mines weeping program, the problem was tire crew at full attention and the captain resolved: the needed men, including Kaat rigid hand salute. This ceremony was Leut and his crew, were signed on as repeated at the end of the day. McGowan British minesweeping personnel. was embarrassed, at first, by this. He had The ship was commissioned Eagle felt uneasy about approaching his for- on May 15, 1946, and departure was mer enemies, but found that their adher- scheduled for May 30. The final ship's ance to correct military discipline (de- complement included one Danish offispite the fact that the German Navy no cer, the former executive officer of the longer existed) actually helped dispel Danmark. this uneasiness. From England to Bermuda, Eagle The young German skipper, who held enjoyed some good Trade Wind sailing the rank ofKapitan-Leutnant, was affec- and some calms, but between Bermuda tionately known to his crew as "Herr Ka- and New York she was caught in a hurLeut." He and McGowan soon devel- ricane, for which she had received no oped a firm friendship, which spread to radio warning. She made as much westthe crew, both Germans and Americans. ing as she could to avoid the eye, losing McGowan 's supply officer was a a few sails in the process, then hove to in German-born American who soon 100 knots of wind. Somewhat to the brushed up his natal language. He was surprise of everyone on board, she lived also a skilled scrounger-a great help in through it. refitting a big square-rigger with found ***** materials from a war-ravaged city. He Eagle has now served the Coast Guard in found a warehouse full of sailcloth, an- the role of teacher and the nation as other full of manila rope, still another goodwill- ambassador for 45 years. She 32
had served the German Navy for ten years before that. About ten years ago it was time for a major refitting-indeed, there was some question even about whether she should be kept in commission at all. An official Ship Structure Machinery Evaluation Board was given the job of making the determination. Her original classification specifications were- to the strict standards of Germanischer Lloyd, so the Coast Guard decided to go back to the source for an updated opinion. The Germans approved the Coast Guard's findings and recommended new stability studies. Her 1936 design criteria were not available, but the 1959 data for her sister ship Gorch Fock II were, and those became the basis for new stability standards. One major change was to make her a full twocompartment ship, which meant replacementor complete restoration of all decks, and installation of nine watertight compartments. Her auxiliary engine was replaced with a more powerful, new Caterpillar giving her a 12.3-knot capability under power. All support machinery was also replaced. The original teak deck had to be sacrificed to permit replacement of the underlying steel, though the wood was still in relatively good condition. (She actually sailed her 1981 training season with a new steel main deck sans the teak overlay-and the crew complained that she handled differently!) Throughout the four years of this massive project she maintained her sixmonth training schedule every year; she spent her off seasons in drydock as the work progressed. Since she went into service in 1946 as the sail-training vessel of the US Coast Guard Academy, Eagle has also played an important role as goodwill ambassador to the world, visiting the principal maritime cities of both hemispheres. In 1989, she became the first US military ship to visit the Soviet Union in 15 years, with a port call in Leningrad. For the 1992 Quin centennial of Columbus's discovery of America she'll be host ship to the world's sail-training fleet in New York Harbor, for OpSail 92. How fitting! D Dick Rath.former editor of Boating and editorial director of Yachting, is also a jazz trombonist and founding member of the South Street Seaport Museum , where he organized and directed the Pioneer Marine School in 1970.
SEA HISTORY 58, SUMMER 1991