Community Corner

New London Tube: Coast Guard Sail To Maryland

Outdated Leadership 44 sailboats sail from New London to Lexington Park, Md.

Last year and earlier this year, the Coast Guard Academy welcomed new vessels to a fleet of eight sailboats. The boats are part of the Leadership 44 program, in which six cadets overseen by a commissioned officer rotate through different duties during two-week sails.

The academy has replaced six of the older boats used in the program with newer models purchased through fundraising by the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association and Coast Guard Foundation. So what happened to the former sailing vessels? This video captures one moment in an impressive journey to their new home.

Jennifer Fyke, senior director of communications for the Coast Guard Foundation, said the former Luder Yawl 44s appearing in the video are over 40 years old. They are being cycled out as the newer vessels come in, and were recently transferred from the Coast Guard Academy to the Navy Patuxent Sailing Club in Lexington Park, Md. The transfer will beef up the club's collection of the 44-foot boats; according to their website, two Luder Yawls from the U.S. Naval Academy are already part of their fleet.

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The video series starts with the Blue Goose (a name shared by one of the replacement boats) leading a flotilla of at least three other 44s out of New London. The trip occurred between Hurricane Sandy and a subsequent nor'easter; naturally, it was a frigid trip with one video in more southerly climes exulting in the fact that temperatures are finally above 40 degrees.

In this clip, the sailors pay a visit to New York Harbor. The panning shot takes in Ellis Island, the Goldman Sachs building in New Jersey, and the partially completed World Trade Center One.

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For the full collection of videos shot on this trip, visit this user page.

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