New London — The summer spent sailing on board the Coast Guard barque Eagle was nothing short of extraordinary, Capt. Raymond "Wes" Pulver said Friday as the ship returned to the city.

"I can't say enough about this crew. I can't say enough about the cadets," Eagle's commanding officer said. "Training future officers is a very difficult mission. For three straight months, you have to be on your game every day, and they did it. And the cadets, they worked their tails off. They represented our nation wonderfully overseas."

Nearly all of the fourth-class and third-class cadets, the freshman and sophomores, at the Coast Guard Academy, sailed at one point during the 11-week cadet training deployment. About 50 upper-class cadets also spent time on the barque to help train the more junior cadets.

Eagle returned to New London a week earlier than usual because, for the first time in over a decade, the freshman cadets were brought on board in two groups instead of three. Class sizes at the academy have been shrinking since the Coast Guard doesn't need as many new officers because record numbers of officers are staying in the service.

The ship is scheduled to leave the city in less than a month to train officer candidates. Due to the early arrival Friday, the crew will be able to spend more time with their families and perform additional maintenance on the ship, Pulver said.

Rear Adm. Sandra L. Stosz, the academy superintendent, spent the past week sailing from Portsmouth, N.H., to New London aboard the Eagle. She said it was energizing and inspiring, and she came away impressed with the class.

"Here are people who just want to work hard, make a difference to America and serve their nation. It puts everything in perspective," she said. "These young people deserve to inherit the best we can give them."

One thing Second Class Cadet Joshua Moan hopes to inherit is the Eagle itself. His goal is to be its captain someday. Moan, 20, of Port Angeles, Wash., said the past two weeks on Eagle were "a blast."

"This is America's tall ship," he said. "It goes to different ports around the world to show the face of the Coast Guard."

After Eagle left New London May 11, it stopped in nine ports in five countries. The weather was perfect for sailing, and the sails were up more than 80 percent of the time, Pulver said.

Caitlin Piker, 17, a fourth-class cadet from West Hartford, said she did not grow up around the water and was surprised she did not get sea sick during the week she spent aboard. She said it was exciting to climb the rigging.

"By Wednesday, day three, you get confidence. You know where you're going on the boat and you know what you're supposed to be doing, so it was a lot of fun. I kind of felt like a part of the crew even though I'm not," she said. "It gives you a taste of what cutter life is like."

This winter, Eagle will go to the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Md., for maintenance. It is likely that the ship temporarily will change its homeport to Baltimore in the spring so that extensive repair work can be performed when cadets and officer candidates are not sailing in the spring and summer months, Pulver said. The work is expected to take three or four years.

The barque underwent a service-life extension at the Coast Guard Yard more than 30 years ago and is due for another. Pulver said he would try to bring Eagle back to New London during this time as often as possible.

j.mcdermott@theday.com