Not the sort of deck commands you're likely to hear on the average bluewater cruise. Sure, but they're also commands that are in daily use on the only square-rigged tall ship in the service of the United States, the CGC Eagle. As the parent of a third class Coast Guard Academy cadet, I had the opportunity in August and September to sail on the Eagle from San Diego to Bermuda. It was a journey of 6,134 miles that passed through two oceans, the Panama Canal, the Caribbean Sea and the Bermuda Triangle. It was also an up-close and personal lesson in meteorology that this weekend sailor won't soon forget.
Hurricanes are things that happen somewhere else.
I wondered what I had let myself in for. I knew that most cutters can easily outrun weather, but the Eagle, with a cruising speed of about 10 knots under power, could be overtaken by most force three or greater hurricanes. On the fifth day out, I got a hint of what might lie ahead. Nothing stays in one place long enough to draw a bead on it, including tables, bulkheads and hatches. The numerous scars on my shins, forearms, elbows and forehead will serve as fond reminders of the trip long after my other souvenirs are gone.