Eagle Update

22 Mar 2009

Sailing to the southeast under lower topsails, the foretopmast staysail, the main topmast staysail, and the mizzen topmast staysail. Weather: Winds southwesterly at 20 knots, seas 3-5 feet.

Thanks to the miracle of the internal combustion engine, we were able to make significant progress to the north (and directly into the teeth of a 25 knot wind) on Saturday and Saturday night. This will allow us to sail a bit more before mooring the ship at the end of our OCS training cruise. This afternoon, EAGLE conducted a progressive wear, which means the ship turned onto the opposite tack (similar to a jibe in a small sailboat). The catch was that it was accomplished with only 25 people, while everyone else enjoyed some time below decks on their "day off."
The progressive wear is a sailing maneuver which uses just the "watch on deck" or the personnel normally assigned during a given watch to trim sail. It takes about 2 hours, but the watch on deck will progressively turn the ship around by bracing yards, dousing and re-setting sail, and giving slow rudder commands. It is an impressive maneuver, and something that today's watch on deck can be proud of.
The wind is blowing a near-gale, the sun is shining, and EAGLE's lower sails are filling beautifully as we knock off miles under the keel at a fairly rapid rate.