Oakland – In recognition of Fleet Week, the USS Potomac, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s historic presidential yacht, will be offering free tours for the public for one day only on Saturday, Oct. 10 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The Potomac is docked at 540 Water Street at Jack London Square.
Visitors may drop in for the tour or go on line to reserve at usspotomac.org. The gate will close for the last visitors at 11 a.m.
This is only one of two times a year that the presidential yacht Potomac can be toured by the public for free. The other date is FDR’s birthday on January 30.
A former naval vessel while under presidential service from 1936 to 1945, Potomac will also be one of the ships featured in the US Navy’s Parade of Ships that comes in under the Golden Gate Bridge, opening San Francisco’s Fleet Week air show weekend that features the US Navy Blue Angels.
Normally, the ship is open year ’round for a $20 charge on Wednesdays and Sundays, and provides 39 public cruises and 20 private charters throughout the year in San Francisco Bay.
During the self-guided tours on Fleet Week Saturday, guests can view FDR’s stateroom, dining salon, guest quarters, crew quarters, engine room, radio room, fantail leisure area, and the wheelhouse. Docents will be stationed throughout the ship to answer questions and share in the history and story of Potomac.
About USS Potomac
Potomac is owned and operated by the nonprofit USS Potomac Association and is docked at Jack London Square in Oakland, Calif. where she has been operating since her full restoration was completed in 1990. She was brought through the Panama Canal from the East Coast and Bahamas in the early 1960s.
Used by Franklin D. Roosevelt for 75 cruising trips during his presidency for leisure time fishing in Chesapeake Bay or in the Potomac River, or additionally for relaxed meetings at dockside. Royal guests during this time included Great Britain’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Crown Princess Martha of Norway, and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. FDR also frequently hosted members of Congress, cabinet officials, Secret Service personnel, naval officers, journalists, friends, and family aboard.
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