Saturday, 11 June 2011

A Visit From Our Transatlantic Cousins...

I was on the Woolwich Free Ferry the other day, when a blast from a horn alerted me to the fact that we had a visitor from across the pond...


I apologize for the quality of the photo - but the iPhone has an awful camera. I just didn't expect to see the U.S. Coast Guard sailing up the Thames, or I'd have made sure to have my trusty digital camera to hand. The unusualness of the event is testified to by the two cyclists who abandoned their bikes in order to catch a photo opportunity!
on

5 comments:

  1. Anthony S. Layne8:29 pm

    According to Wikipedia, you were looking at the US Coast Guard Cutter Eagle (WIX-327), a barque used as a training ship by the USCG Academy. Every summer, midshipmen from the Academy work the ship anywhere from a week to two months as part of their training; often enough, the Eagle goes to foreign ports as a goodwill ambassador. The Naval Academy at Annapolis also has training cruises, but currently doesn't have a ship part of the Tall Sails program, like the Eagle.

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  2. Mulier Fortis8:37 pm

    Well, it certainly said "US Coast Guard" on the side of the boat...

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  3. Anthony S. Layne9:29 pm

    Oh yeah, there's no mistaking a Coast Guard craft, which is handy to know if a) you're a sailor in distress or b) a smuggler with a cargo of drugs.

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  4. Deo volente11:48 pm

    The motto of the U.S. Coast Guard is "Semper Paratus"--Always Ready. It is a fine ship when under full sail. I believe they are searching for a woman with "aubergine" hair.

    ;-o)

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  5. johnf12:12 am

    It is the Eagle. It came to Weymouth almost 20 years ago. A steel hulled sailing ship, captured as war booty from Germany after WW2. When we visited the ship we found to our surprise it used to be called the Horst Wessel.

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