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May 2013

The Best Sailors…The Fastest Boats.

The 34th America’s Cup in SF Bay

Submitted by Marti Burchell

World Class racing is coming to San Francisco this summer, and the Presidential Yacht Potomac will be on the front lines for this historic event. Come join us on our public cruises set for Sunday, July 14, Saturdays, July 20, August 17 and August 24, where we will have special, flagged access to the race course perimeter. You can order tickets by calling 510-627-1215 or at TICKETWEB.

“America’s Cup racing has officially arrived in San Francisco - the host city of the 34th America’s Cup. In addition to being the oldest trophy in international sport - predating the modern Olympics by 45 years - the America’s Cup is, by a considerable margin, also the toughest to win. In over 160 years of history, only four nations have captured the Cup. But despite its age, the America’s Cup has always been at the cutting edge of technology, from the design and build of the boats, to advanced communication equipment, like performance data sunglasses featuring a heads-up display.

The 2013 America’s Cup continues on that path, but at breakneck speed. The boats are wing-sailed catamarans, capable of sailing at twice the wind speed. Sailing fast is easy, maintaining control is critical, and the physical challenge imposed on the athletes is immense. The AC72 catamarans in the 34th America’s Cup exceed speeds of 40 knots (46mph/75kph).

In short, the 34th America’s Cup is intense, exciting and mesmerizing with the best sailors in the world racing the fastest boats on the planet.”

Source: AMERICA'S CUP.COM

President Franklin Roosevelt was a passionate amateur sailor, and took four days out of his very busy schedule, as President in 1934, to be able to follow and support the first races of the 15th America’s Cup challenge race in Newport, RI. Again, in 1937 FDR threw his support behind the defense of the 16th America’s Cup, which was dominated by the ‘Super J’ Ranger. For the 2013 America’s Cup, the Potomac is proud to be designated as both an Official Stake Boat and an Official Support Boat. and will be positioned “up close and personal” with the races.

The Children’s Hour

submitted by Steve Teel

When President Roosevelt escaped the cares and burdens of the White House for his weekly excursion on the Potomac, he took the ritual “children’s hour” with him. Named for a Longfellow poem honoring a father’s tender love for his children, FDR’s pre-dinner cocktail hour in the Potomac’s saloon or fantail was a joyous affair. The President insisted that no business be conducted; this was a time for small talk—gossip, jokes, anecdotes from the day, and funny stories often recycled and embellished by the President.

The President would merrily mix his guests’ drinks, favoring martinis mixed in a silver cocktail shaker. Roosevelt was not much of a drinker, but for him, the value of these moments was the preparing and serving itself, always laced with his ebullient conversation. This ritual extended to breakfast. Geoffrey Ward reports, “It was a matter of great pride to FDR that things were arranged …… so that he could personally serve his guests without help. A toaster, bread, and butter were set up within easy reach on a card table before the fire, and he buttered each piece of toast with a flourish.”

The wheel-chair bound President needed to exercise his usefulness to his friends. After a long day, his dear friend and cousin Margaret (Daisy) Suckley put it this way in her diary: “The P. looked very tired, but did his usual part of “Exhibit A,” as he calls it, by entertaining the party—everyone hanging on his words.” Then when they were alone FDR slumped on a sofa saying, “I’m either Exhibit A, or left completely alone.”

The broader significance of Roosevelt’s need for the serenity and comfort of “the children’s hour” is best captured in his own words: "We have learned that we cannot live alone at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations–far away. We have learned the simple truth as Emerson said, that "the only way to have a friend is to be one."

USS Potomac: Presidential History in the East Bay

Submitted by John Tuttle

On the morning of June 9, 1939, accompanied by a twenty-one gun salute, Britain’s King George IV and Queen Elizabeth boarded the USS Potomac, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential yacht, as his guest, for a cruise up the Potomac to Mt. Vernon. By this time, FDR had been cruising in the USS Potomac for three years. The ship had been launched as the “Electra,” one of eight Coast Guard cutters built to enforce Prohibition along the Atlantic coast. In 1934, shortly after Prohibition was repealed, the ship became surplus property just as FDR was in search of a new yacht.

The president had loved the sea, sailed throughout his life, and had been Assistant Secretary of the Navy. During his first years in the White House the presidential yacht was the USS Sequoia, outfitted handsomely for a world leader but, for FDR, it had one problem: it was made of wood. A polio patient confined to a wooden wheelchair, Roosevelt had a deep fear of fire and a wooden ship was unacceptable. Fortunately for the vigorous but handicapped president, in 1935 the Navy found the Electra. The Electra was made of steel and converted to a “floating White House” by adding presidential quarters, a beautiful fan tail lounge, and the “false stack”, which housed a mechanical elevator that FDR operated without assistance. FDR regularly used the USS Potomac as an escape from the pressures of office, for sport-fishing, and as a venue for meetings with heads of state.

Viewing this National Historic Landmark in port or on the bay, one wonders: What happened to the USS Potomac after FDR died? How did the USS Potomac end up in Oakland? For answers to these and many other questions, you’re invited to join regularly scheduled docent-led dockside tours and bay cruises. Cruises feature knowledgeable historians who narrate the fascinating history of the bay, California, the Depression and World War II, from famous and infamous characters to the evolution of shipping and other bay maritime activities over the last 160 years. We also feature public and private cruises. Bring your out-of-town visitors for a memorable tour or cruise, right here in the East Bay! The USS Potomac is located at 540 Water Street, Oakland, CA 94607 (right next to the Alameda/Oakland Ferry). Visit us at www.usspotomac.org .

Highlights: The USS Potomac is 165 feet long and 25 feet across, with a displacement of 416 tons. She is powered by two 440 horsepower water-cooled diesels. Her cruising speed is 10-13 knots. Other areas on view: pilot house, radio room, engine room, guest staterooms, dining saloon, and crew quarters. She is available for private charter and can accommodate up to 120 passengers. She can dock in Sausalito as well as several locations in San Francisco.