The Eagle has landed

Standing on the deck of the Coast Guard bark Eagle, Grady Bosheers of Riviera Beach gazed at the length of the 295-foot ship and shook his head in awe.

“When you see it from up here, it doesn’t seem that big, does it?� said Mr. Bosheers, a civilian Coast Guard employee. Affectionately dubbed “America’s Tall Ship,� the Eagle — the only square-rigged vessel in U.S. government service — is in dry dock at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay for the first time since 2002.

The ship, called a “floating diplomat� by some, sailed up the Patapsco River last month and is undergoing renovations until at least...