jfk sailing yacht

BOB OAKES:   He preached that winning was really everything.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yes. I mean, well, a little caveat: he would say that once you've tried enough, you've tried everything you can possibly try and still not fallen short, that's okay. But if he saw your effort wanting, that's when you'd be in trouble.

BOB OAKES:   You write at one point that the Kennedys were privileged and ambitious, imbued with both a sense of entitlement and a strong work ethic. How did sailing fit in to that?

JAMES GRAHAM:   Well, they certainly worked very, very hard at it. I mean, they sailed every day. Of course, they loved sailing so it wasn't like it was work. But the parents certainly instilled a work ethic in the children and some of the children worked harder than others. Joe Kennedy, Jr., was a very good student. But it's often said that John F. Kennedy himself was not quite as enthusiastic a student, or as disciplined a student on every subject as some of his siblings were. As I understand it, John F. Kennedy tended to focus on the subjects that really interested him, not necessarily the ones that he needed to study to get good grades.

BOB OAKES:   Since you led us into Joe, Jr., let me ask a few questions. We talked about how Joe, Sr., loved the competition and loved preaching winning to the kids. Certainly, that was the case when it came to sailing races, which bred into many of them, including Joe, Jr. a degree of fearlessness. And Joe, Jr. of course, in World War II was a bomber pilot, killed in England while flying essentially a very dangerous mission and a secret mission that he volunteered for. Tell us that story.

JAMES GRAHAM:   It's an interesting story. John F. Kennedy's famous PT109 incident happened before Joe, Jr. died, and there has been speculation that perhaps Joe, Jr. was feeling a bit of competitive pressure from his younger brother, who had become a war hero, while Joe, Jr. was still flying missions out of Great Britain.  But that said, it has to be said that Joe, Jr. was, without question, a great war hero because he volunteered for a very dangerous mission, experimental aircraft that was packed with explosives, volunteered to fly it. Of course, the mission failed and it exploded in midair.

BOB OAKES:   Looking for V-bomb launch sites, right?

JAMES GRAHAM:   Exactly right. One of the interesting things about that is how so much of this story of the Victura all comes back home again. And after Joe, Jr. died … The news was brought to the main house at Hyannis Port via the two Catholic priests who came and knocked on the door and broke the news to the family – and there were many tears shed, of course, but after a while– they had planned on going sailing that afternoon after they had this news of Joe, Jr. and they said, "Joe would want us to sail." So they went out and sailed together. John F. Kennedy was with them at the time, because he had come back from the war already.

BOB OAKES:   Kind of makes you think that if that sense of competition and that sense of fearlessness wasn't woven into the character of the kids through sailing, then maybe he might not have volunteered for that mission. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   That certainly could be. And I agree the fearlessness was something that was a thread throughout many of the kids. I think so many times they would just jump in and out of sailboats. They were in the water, back in the boat, in the water again. There's a certain fearlessness to that. 

Robert F. Kennedy was famous for being really just a fearless guy. I mean, he just took all kinds of chances. After the death of the President, he was climbing Mt. Kennedy in Canada and was just a remarkable fellow.

BOB OAKES:   The Victura: Jack named the boat the Victura. What does it mean and why do you think he picked it?

JAMES GRAHAM:   I mentioned earlier that he was a good student in some subjects and not so good in others. One of his weaker subjects was Latin. That said, he picked a wonderful Latin word to name the sailboat. Victura means about to conquer. It also means to live. But John F. Kennedy himself said that he meant to use the word in its other meaning, which is about to conquer. I've always thought it was just a perfect name for a sailboat, especially a racing boat. 

BOB OAKES:   Why the Wianno Seniors? There's a picture of it up there. Why the Wianno Seniors? They could have basically had any smaller-sized sailboat that they wanted. Why this model?

JAMES GRAHAM:   Families of the South Shore and Cape Cod asked the Crosby Yacht Yard to design the Wianno Senior sailboat for that particular sailing area, Nantucket Sound. This year happens to be the 100 th anniversary of the construction of the first Wianno Senior. It was built specifically for the environment of Nantucket Sound. It has a shallow keel so that with all those shallows and shoals you would run aground less often, although locals are filled with stories of running boats aground. So that's a distinctive feature of the boat.

It also has a gaff rig, which causes the sail area to be a bit more horizontal than vertical, like a traditional Marconi triangular rig. So that when it leans over in the wind, the wind will wash over it a little bit better. So the boat was built specifically for Nantucket Sound, for the families, so that they could race against one another. 

BOB OAKES:   And hard, not impossible, but hard to tip over.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Very hard to tip over. There is a story of Ethel managing somehow to tip one over. She ran it aground again. The boats are very hard to tip over when they're in the water. But if they're on land or the keel is stuck in the sandy bottom and the wind catches it in a way, you can tip it over. She managed to do that on one occasion with some visiting friends from Ireland, some of whom did not know how to swim so they were holding on to coolers and things of that sort to stay afloat.

BOB OAKES:   And she thought the whole episode was great fun. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   Oh, yeah, the entire time, she made everybody feel very comfortable and, "Yeah, we tipped the boat over, but no big deal, we'll all be fine." And they were fine, of course. There were plenty of other boats around to come help. 

But every day was an adventure. I kept hearing that again and again as I talked to members of the family. They sailed every day, and every day was a new adventure. You never knew what was going to happen on a sailing voyage.

BOB OAKES:   We should point out, as you did earlier, that although quite a lot of sailing centered around this one boat – we have it here in front of us on the screen, in addition to it being up there – the family owned quite a few boats. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   They did. They owned a couple of Wianno Juniors, which were smaller versions of this boat. They bought one early on that they called the Ten of Us when they were a family of ten. Joe and Rose had at that time eight children. A few years went by and Ted was born, and somewhat unexpectedly, I gather, because it was several years between the birth of Jean, the next youngest, and then Ted. So they had one boat called Ten of Us, so the next boat they called One More. [laughter]

BOB OAKES:   Jack in World War II: Jack was picked for PT boat training, at least partly, or maybe largely, because of his sailing experience. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, the folks who recruited sailors and skippers for the PT crews actually came to New England and the sailing communities.  They were looking for Ivy League and other collegiate racers. And Jack and Joe, in particular, were topnotch collegiate sailors, so they were good candidates for PT boat work. They were looking for people who were familiar with and comfortable on smaller boats, rather than the big destroyers and the like. There was a PT boat on display, I believe, in Edgartown that Jack Kennedy got to see before he actually was recruited. So the rest is history. A lot of the training happened in Nantucket Sound and that vicinity.

BOB OAKES:   You point out in the book that PT boat duty was not all glamorous, that a lot of it was constantly just trying to keep the ship, the PT boat ready to sail and in addition to that, fighting off the notion that where they were based, in the Solomon Islands, they were out of the mainstream of the war.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, there were all these great battles going on -- Guadalcanal and all the others -- and they were on patrol duty. So they weren't necessarily participating in the major battles. They were out there reconnaissance and chasing after Japanese boats as they came and went, so there was a little bit of resentment that they weren't in the middle of things, but they certainly saw plenty of action when you consider the sinking of PT109.

BOB OAKES:   August 1943: 109 is run over by a Japanese destroyer during a pitchblack night while on patrol in the straits off the Solomon Islands. And thanks to his time on the water and in the water, too, as you pointed out, swimming, Kennedy leads several long swims by the surviving crew members and swims, in addition to that, miles out at night to try and flag down what he hoped would be passing PT boats, although none did pass.  You write that Ted Kennedy, years later, said he was convinced that Jack's sailing experience saved his life and the lives of his crew members.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Ted specifically said the Victura -- that experience that Jack had sailing the Victura -- as one of the reasons he survived World War II. I think it has to be said that his skills as a swimmer had a lot to do with surviving that incident. But of course, you become a great swimmer when you spend so much time in the water sailing. So it all goes together.  But I do believe that we might not have had a President Kennedy had we not had a sailor named Jack Kennedy.

BOB OAKES:   Certainly, one of the things you point out very well in the book is that he was just not afraid of the water and even though he was injured and even though at that point he realized he lost a couple of crew members, he was not afraid to get into the water knowing that he would spend hours floating in the strait. He was not afraid to go out at night to swim and see if he could find a way to find a boat to get a rescue.

JAMES GRAHAM:   It was an amazing feat. The boat, the PT109, was split in half by a destroyer that just came out of nowhere and sliced the boat in half. He had to reassemble his crew. Two, unfortunately, died on impact but the rest of the crew climbed aboard the floating wreckage of the boat. And he managed to lead them ashore by … The rest of the crew, most of the crew, grabbed a piece of wood or something and paddled to shore. He grabbed a  badly injured sailor, who couldn't swim he was so badly injured, and took the strap from the guy's life preserver and put it in his teeth and towed him ashore.  And after that, after hours and hours of swimming that way -- I think it was the next day as night fell -- he swam again way out in the middle of the channel with a lantern, waiting for a PT boat to go by and ready to shine the light at it. Because there are all kinds of Japanese boats going back and forth on their patrols as well. 

What an awful experience, because they're stranded on an island. The rest of the Americans, all the allies think they're dead; they saw the explosion. They can't put SOS in coconuts on the beach of the island because there's Japanese everywhere, so they have to hide in the bush, which is exactly what you don't want to do if you want your fellow seamen to find you. So somehow, miraculously, they got out. 

BOB OAKES:   And the coconut that he wrote on and gave to the natives was in the Oval Office. It was on his desk at the Oval Office, later in the Oval Office of course, which you point out was decorated largely in a seafaring theme.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, when the President took over the Oval Office, he transformed it into this shrine to American seafaring. So he had that coconut on his desk from the PT109 incident. He had two cannons as bookends that were modeled on cannons from the USS Constitution. There were paintings of historic war battles, naval battles, models of ships. Of course, one of the things is when you find out that the President loves to sail, everyone who wants to give a gift to the President gives him more sailing paraphernalia. So the French, for example, gave him a ship that went on display in the Oval Office. 

BOB OAKES:   If you close your eyes and you think about the Kennedy family, what is it you picture most? When I'm running through that catalogue of pictures in my head, I think that I mostly see them on the boats in the water. I think that the majority of the photos in my head probably have Jack and Jackie and Bobby, and Teddy later, on the water, the wind whipping through their hair. I think this is a good time to show us a few historical slides. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   The one thing I wanted to point out about the Victura, there are so many things about it – the importance of what it contributed to the bonds of the family, and their survival during the war, and all of those things -- but also it was so important to the building of the Kennedy brand and the image that we have today of the Kennedys. It started as early as 1934 when Joe Kennedy, Sr. was appointed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Boston Globe came out to do a photo spread on the family and took this picture of John F. Kennedy and Robert when Robert was, I think, eight and Jack about17 years old. And they're standing on the bow of the Victura. We know that because in the photo caption the Globe identified the boat.

Flash forward about six years to 1940. I always show this photo and ask people if they can identify Ted Kennedy in this photo. [laughter] 1940, Joe Kennedy is now the US Ambassador to Great Britain, and LIFE magazine sends a photographer out to take a picture of the family. This time they send out Alfred Eisenstaedt, who's such a famous photographer.  When I first saw this photo I thought, John F. Kennedy is not in this photo; I wonder if he's taking the photo. But then I thought, boy, it's an awfully welltaken photo; the contrast and everything is so well done. That's because it was Alfred Eisenstaedt taking the photo and John F. Kennedy wasn't on the boat. Eisenstaedt -- famous for taking that photo at the end of World War II of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square. 

Of course, a few more years go by. Right after that last photo was taken, John F. Kennedy went to war and became famous as a war hero. The whole story of PT109 reported in the New York Times and there was one article written about it, interesting thing about the tale of PT109 and how it became the story that made him a war hero.

John F. Kennedy had dated a woman named Inga Arvad, who was a Danish journalist, beautiful woman. He came back from the Solomon Islands and met up with Inga Arvad, who was a journalist, and despite the fact they had dated previously, she wrote a wonderful article about his war adventures abroad PT109 and the whole adventure that he had. 

Then John F. Kennedy went to New York and met up and had dinner with another former girlfriend, who now was married to John Hersey, who was a famous journalist in his own right and became famous for the book Hiroshima and some other works. Hersey wrote the story of PT109 for the New Yorker , and Joe Kennedy had it reprinted for future campaigns. Then 1953, John F. Kennedy is a young, newly elected US Senator and his fiancée Jacqueline Bouvier and he go for a sail on the Victura, again with LIFE magazine. 

BOB OAKES:   You write about this photo in the book: If ever there was a single moment when the Kennedy brand as defined, it was when this picture was taken, July 20, 1953.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, you think they're just newly together, this couple. John F. Kennedy's just newly elected to the US Senate, and they show them on the cover of LIFE magazine, which was much more influential in terms of its share of media audiences than magazines are today. So it did so much to establish them.  Then, go forward a few more years, the 1960 Presidential campaign, and there's John F. Kennedy in Sports Illustrated . This was taken in the summer of '60, shortly after he was nominated to be President by the Democratic Party. 

BOB OAKES:   I spent some time looking in the book at this photo. What I really like about it is I think it captures the confidence with which he sails. I mean, look at the left foot. It's just sitting there – I don't know my boat terminology -- but it's just sitting there, casually, braced on that centerpiece of wood. And the right foot, I just looked at it and I casually braced on that center of wood.  I thought, “How many times over his life did that right foot sit in exactly that spot, bracing him up as the boat heeled over?”

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, it begins to be clear why he enjoyed doodling. He clearly loves what he's doing. You can understand why he's drawing little pictures of it when he's in the Oval Office.

But the sailboat and its contribution to the image of the Kennedys was a two-edged sword. This photo was taken in 1962 and on this very day this photo was taken, the sailboat, he ran it aground in the presence of a number of newspaper reporters. The next day he boarded Air Force One and opened the newspapers, and there was a headline in, I believe, the New York Times and a couple of other national newspapers. Headline UPI -- so it would have been distributed nationally -- the headline line:  "President Runs Sailboat Aground." He was furious because this had been so much a part of the image that President Kennedy had cultivated and all the Kennedys had cultivated over the years.  So he was furious and he summons his press secretary, Pierre Salinger, and demands that he go down to the press corps, who were also in another section of Air Force One, and demand a retraction of the story, "Can't Be True." [laughter] And by the way, you can't have this image of the President all over the newspapers.  So supposedly the reporter reached into his briefcase, pulled out a photograph of the President and his crew waistdeep in water, trying to push the sailboat off the shoals. And this photo had not been published so Pierre Salinger walked back and nothing more was said of the matter. 

BOB OAKES:   On the subject of photos though, a side note: In '62, the President was spending some summer days on the Cape as President, sailing and swimming on an island called Egg Island and – you point out in the book – almost always trailed by a gaggle of mostly friendly reporters, but reporters nonetheless. And around that time, the word that we hear so frequently today, especially at seven o'clock at night when we're looking at TMZ here in Boston, we hear the word paparazzi. And that's when paparazzi came into being. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? The Kennedys certainly enjoyed the presence of news photographers up until this point. After that, they really became a bit wary of it and began laying ground rules for how close the press boats could get and that sort of thing. But it was right around that time that word ‘paparazzi’ was coined.

BOB OAKES:   The sea and Jack Kennedy. You point out that Kennedy's love of sailing influenced public policy and especially in conservation. The best example we have of that today is that Jack sponsored the legislation to propose the Cape Cod National Seashore.

JAMES GRAHAM:   That's right. It certainly influenced that. The Secretary of the Interior at the time had expressed a little bit of frustration that President Kennedy didn't show very much interest in inland wilderness; he was always interested in seashores. So he proposed the Cape Cod Seashore and at least a couple other seashores that became national seashores. So his interest in the sea certainly influenced public policy.

I don't know if you want me to get into this part as well, but I think it influenced public policy in other ways. I write in the book that I think it had some influence on President Kennedy's embracing the idea of sending a man to the moon. He often used metaphors of the sea in describing space travel. He said, "This is a new ocean and we must sail it."

BOB OAKES:   And he called it spacefaring.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Exactly. Of course, this whole competitive spirit that we talked about earlier that had been instilled by Joe and Rose in the kids, there's one wonderful moment when President Kennedy -- a year or two after he'd committed the country to go to the moon -- he invited James Webb into the Oval Office, and talked to him about what the estimate is getting to the moon first your priority of NASA. Webb said, "Well, it is a priority." And President Kennedy quickly corrected him and said, "No, I think it's the priority."  Then he went off lecturing James Webb by saying, "We can't come in second, we can't come in second place by six months. That's no good. We can't spend these enormous amounts of money to come in second. We want people to look at the US and say that they were behind, but by god they pulled ahead." Which sounded exactly like talking about sailboat racing. 

BOB OAKES:   You write in the book -- there was a specific line I wanted to ask you about -- "It would be an oversimplification to attribute Jack's decision to go to the moon to his love of sailboat racing, but it must have added a subconscious allure."

JAMES GRAHAM:   I think so. Michael Beschloss wrote a really great article about the motivations of why President Kennedy chose to send a man to the moon. And people have speculated about a lot of things – it was a distraction from the Bay of Pigs, which had just happened weeks earlier than the speech about going to the moon.  President Eisenhower thought it was crazy to send a man to the moon and spend all that money on it. Eisenhower, I don't think, ever appreciated the symbolism of the race, of getting there first and establishing a finish line as President Kennedy did. Kennedy spoke often of going to the moon, as not something he wanted to do for the science, but to demonstrate American technological superiority and our ability to win a race.  So I think that notion of the race and the competition really resonated with President Kennedy in a way that might not have with a politician like Dwight Eisenhower. 

BOB OAKES:   Do you think that if not for his life and experience sailing competitively in sailboat races, if not for that, maybe he would not have made the decision to go the moon?

JAMES GRAHAM:   No, I would not make that argument. But I would say it was a contributing factor. As with so many political decisions, there are many, many factors that go into them. But I do think that very early on he asked his staff … The Soviets were doing all kinds of one-off stunts. They had the first woman in space and they had the first dog in space. Before Kennedy, they had launched the first satellite. Kennedy said, "What can we do over the long term that will redefine the race as something we can win?" And they knew at the time that if given time they could develop the rockets necessary to get Americans to the moon. So I think it was a contributing factor, for sure. 

BOB OAKES:   Let me ask about Bobby and Ethel. They purchased their own sailboat just like the Victura, a Wianno Senior, and they called theirs the Resolute. Tell us about the significance of that name.

JAMES GRAHAM:   I've asked Chris Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, where the name came from because as many of you probably know, especially if you've toured the

Museum, you know about the Resolute desk in the Oval Office that John F. Kennedy had. I asked if it was named for that desk. He thought it was either that or because of the famous British boat for which the Resolute was named. The desk is made from the timbers of the Resolute.   Iit was probably more a combination of things for the legend of the Resolute, the desk, and the rest. Max Kennedy actually bought a Wianno Senior later and named it Ptarmigan, which is coincidentally – the British ship, the Resolute, was first called Ptarmigan and then it was renamed when it was outfitted for Arctic exploration, renamed the Resolute. So he just liked that little historic reference. 

BOB OAKES:   Talked a little bit about Ethel earlier. She loved to sail. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   Ethel loved to sail every day. After her children lost their father, I think she really valued that time sailing. She was not so much a racer, but just loved taking the children out. No child was ever left behind -- any child who wanted to join the crew. She's got 11 kids, that's a lot of childhood friends, so the boat was always loaded with kids. There's one most memorable incident. Ethel Kennedy, one thing that she very firmly believed -- and she was a woman with strong beliefs …

BOB OAKES:   I know where you're going with this. It's the ferry episode.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yes, yes. She really firmly believed that a sailboat always has the right of way over a powerboat, and it doesn't matter how big that powerboat is. So a ferry that carries cars and hundreds of passengers, it's still a powerboat.  So she had an ongoing feud with the captains of various ferries, one of which was called the On Cantina[?]. She got in its way and the captain of the On Cantina came running out on the flying bridge, screaming at Ethel and her crew to get out of the way. He's yelling at her and the On Cantina's crew is yelling at the captain saying, "Look out where we're going," and he's too distracted by yelling at Ethel. The On Cantina ran aground in the shoals, damaged the propeller and Ethel just kept sailing on.

I had a chance to ask Ethel about this incident and her feuds with these big ferryboat captains and she looked at me and squinted her eyes and said, "Sometimes when people are big, it goes to their head." [laughter] And she clearly thought of herself as David and these ferries as Goliath.

BOB OAKES:   You wrote that after Bobby's death, Ethel sailed almost every day when she could. What drove that, do you think?

JAMES GRAHAM:   Well, she loved to sail. She loved the time with the kids. You mentioned Egg Island earlier.  It really wasn't an island, it was a sandbar. They'd go up there and load up coolers with sandwiches and crackers and cheese and beverages. There's a man there who always hung out on the beach; he had a little powerboat and he couldn't speak, but he had a powerboat with a little outboard motor on it. So they named him Putt for the sound of his motor.  There's a great story that Ethel also shared with me. Putt eventually died. He lived in a little shack around Hyannis. She went and looked into the shack after he had gone, and there was a picture of Ethel pasted on the wall. Ethel, as she's telling me the story, said, "I didn't really ever photograph well.  I wasn't a very pretty woman, but there I was on the wall. And the rest of the wall was covered with pornographic pictures of women." [laughter]

BOB OAKES:   Any further comment?

JAMES GRAHAM:   I didn't pursue that line of questioning any further. [laughter] 

BOB OAKES:   I'm going to get you to read from a passage here. It's marked on 159 and 160. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   Sure.

BOB OAKES:   In the book, Jim points out that the family often wrote letters to document important moments, and Ted wrote one after Bobby's death to his children. It was published in a private family book, and you included a passage of it in here. I had never read it before and it was, I thought, very moving.

JAMES GRAHAM:   I'll read this. To be clear, these are Ted Kennedy's words in a letter that he wrote to the children after Robert Kennedy died.

When I think of Bobby, I will always see Cape Cod on a sunny day. The wind will be from the southwest and the whitecaps will be showing, and the full tide will be sweeping through the gaps of the breakwater. It will be after lunch and Bob will be stripped to the waist, and he'll say, "Come on, Joe, Kathleen, Bobby and David, Courtney, Kerry, come on, Michael, and even you, Chris, and Max. Call your mother and come for a sail." One of the children would say, "What about the baby?" And the father would reply, "Douglas can come next year."  They'd push off from the landing, the sails of the Resolute catch the wind, and the boat tips and there are squeals of laughter from the crew and Bob says, "I think today is the day we'll tip over." And there are more squeals. And the Resolute reaches toward the end of the breakwater.  He will dive overboard and catch hold of the line that trails behind, inviting the children to join him. Child after child jumps into the water, grabbing for the line and those who appear to miss are pulled toward it by his strong and suntanned arms. 

Again, that's Ted Kennedy's words. 

BOB OAKES:   The imagery is incredibly powerful. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, and so much of the lives of the Kennedys are filled with those kinds of memories. I really think one of the powerful things about the Victura -- this is a book about a sailboat -- but it's really more so a book about a family and what made a family strong. And they all have memories like that and as I said, every day was an adventure, and they all have their own adventures that they'll recall for you.

BOB OAKES:   It's so interesting to me that in writing that letter, Ted chose to write about Bobby and the family sailing.

JAMES GRAHAM:   It's also of interest that so often when somebody dies in the Kennedy family and a eulogy is given that there are tales of sailing together. I mean, one of the things I often say, what motivated me to write the book, why I thought it was a good idea -- it's just the story of a little sailboat, right? When Ted Kennedy died, a lot of people got up and gave eulogies, many of them here in this building and some at a church in Boston. President Obama gave a eulogy. But four different people got up and in order to boil down the essence of who Ted Kennedy was, they told stories of sailing with him on the Victura. One of which was Senator John Culver, who told a wonderful story; you can watch it on YouTube or go to my website, TheVictura.com , and see it. It's definitely a wonderful story to hear.

BOB OAKES:   Eunice, talk a little bit about Eunice for a moment or two. You write that she was the best of the sailors among the daughters.

JAMES GRAHAM:   You know if you said to her, "Were you the best of the sailors among the daughters?," she would immediately say, "No, the best, period." [laughter] Men, women, all. She absolutely believed she was the best of the sailors.

There's one moment when they were out racing together and Eunice was on the boat, and they're racing along and she somehow – this is not evidence as her skill as a sailor, but it's illustrative. They're sailing along and somehow she fell out of the boat. They're going down wind so they're flying the spinnaker, which is that big parachute, or balloon-shaped sail, hard to raise and lower. So she comes up and starts treading water and she waves to the sailors, "Keep going round the mark, come around and come and get me on the next leg of the race." So she treaded water for 15 minutes or something like that. That was how committed she was to racing and winning and competing. 

BOB OAKES:   She sailed with fierce intensity and wild daring recklessness. And what you just said is really a pretty perfect example of that. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah. She was often compared to Joe, Jr. in terms of her bravery at the tiller. 

BOB OAKES:   She was such an accomplished person in life on dry land. Do you think that the way she sailed matched the seriousness and purposefulness in the way she approached life? She had several jobs or careers and worked tirelessly for people who were mentally or physically challenged.

JAMES GRAHAM:   The wonderful thing about the Kennedy family is all the things that kind of come together and grow the family. They had a daughter named Rosemary who was intellectually disabled, and Eunice was very close to her. Eunice was also an athlete. She played tennis I believe for Stanford and was a great sailor. And isn't it wonderful that that combination of things after she became an adult and the President took office, she was able to convert those two passions into forming the Special Olympics?  There's apparently a biography being written about Eunice, and I really think we need that because she really redefined how Americans in particular, and really the world, understand people with intelligence disabilities or disabilities of all kinds. It's a really remarkable contribution that I think in history she'll be noted for. People have said she would have made a great President herself if she had been born in a different era.

BOB OAKES:   Certainly was driven in life and, circling back to sailing, you point out in the book that despite a bunch of accidents over the years and some serious illnesses, she sailed well into her 80s and sometimes had to force a nurse or two, she dragged them on to the sailboat just so she could get out onto the water.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, Chris Kennedy told me a story. He was coming in from a day of sailing and Eunice was heading out to go sailing with a nurse in tow, the crew, and Chris asked her, "Where are you going?" "Going sailing." "Well, wait a minute, let me call one of my brothers to go with you." "Why? You don't think I can sail myself?" [laughter] But she definitely loved sailing. 

There's a moment I describe in the book in which she was very near death and not feeling very well. Ted, who was also ill, went to visit her. They spent several minutes and in an effort to cheer her up, decided to go through the brothers and sisters and ask which of these were serious sailors and which were not serious. So Ted threw out Jack: "Serious," she'd say. And Kathleen: She'd say, "Not serious at all." And run through the list and then of course Ted had to ask her, "Who is the best sailor of all?" "I am," she said. [laughter] I've already said that that would be her answer. 

BOB OAKES:   So let's spend a few minutes talking about Ted. We picture Ted, I think, mostly on his beloved Mya, but he loved the Victura as well.

JAMES GRAHAM:   He did. He was really an outstanding racer and took racing very seriously. He also saw it as a way to connect with his children and with nieces and nephews, who were now fatherless by 1968. He took his children out often sailing for a few days. Patrick's described … He had an annual father/son outing where they'd go out on the Victura and go camp, sail on Martha's Vineyard, or wherever the winds happened to be blowing, where the boat would go.  He clearly saw that as a family time. It was something he loved to do. And it worked because the children clearly loved it, too.

They're all, so many of them have now acquired boats of their own and sail as well.

BOB OAKES:   When I ask about the development of sailing, so to speak, in Ted's mind, when he was younger, long before he became the lion of the Senate, he lived in the shadow of his brothers. And you wrote here: "For years to come, no matter his accomplishments, Ted's status as a Presidential younger brother made him seem even less self-made than the other sons of Joe Kennedy. The exceptions were accomplishments racing the Victura, where nepotism gave no aid." He had independence and a sense of self-accomplishment on that boat.

JAMES GRAHAM:   That's a good point. If you think about it, he was always in the shadows of such accomplished, older brothers and sisters. But as a skipper in a sailboat race, the name Kennedy meant nothing. Either you won or you lost. And he must have loved that, that he could prove himself in that way. It's kind of an amazing thing that President Kennedy, when he was President, did not race, to my knowledge, much at all, if at all. But he loved coming out and watching his younger brother Ted race sailboats. So he'd be out there on the Presidential yacht watching Ted race around in the Victura.

BOB OAKES:    Late 1940s, Edgartown Regatta, a special moment, you write, for both Jack and Ted on the Victura. Jack was in Congress at the time, wanted to sail the race and asked Jack[sic] to crew. And the Congressman flies in at the eleventh hour. Tell us what happened. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   Apparently, you're supposed to have a ticket or be on the boat and the rules did not allow for this, but Ted and the family friend, or cousin I guess, Joe Gargan, were on the boat waiting for Jack to arrive. They were late to get to the starting line, but they really wanted to sail with their Congressman brother Jack. Jack, the plane lands and he runs out in a suit and his briefcase to the end of the dock, jumps on the Victura, goes down below, changes clothes. Comes out and they make their way. I think they can hear the starting gun in the distance, but they rush out and get in the race and it was kind of a cloudy, rainy, misty day. I don't remember what the outcome of that race was, but they …

BOB OAKES:   You wrote that Ted gave Jack the tiller and when they got to the starting line, Jack could see the line that the other boats were sailing in, so he went in another direction. He took a chance in order to see if they could catch the rest of the participants.

JAMES GRAHAM:   That's right. I had forgotten about that. They really did know how to read the waters. I'm a Lake Michigan sailor, and there's no such thing as a tide in Chicago. But here the tide going in and out is a big factor in sailboat racing and they were really, really good at that. And that might have been a factor in that particular race.

BOB OAKES:   One by one, you wrote, they caught the other boats and finally eked out a victory at the end. I imagine that had to be one of many, many memorable moments for Ted on the Victura.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, there are so many stories of the Kennedys sailboat racing and coming from behind. That's part of the family lore, those various races. There's one other one about Jack when he was a youngster, coming from behind, even though the gaff rig busted and yet somehow he managed to win the race. I think that is a metaphor for life; Ted sailing is a metaphor for life. That notion of coming from behind is something that politicians really understand well, because so often somebody comes from behind in an election.

BOB OAKES:   You write about how after Jack and Bobby passed, Ted would sail the Victura out at night just to think all by himself.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, imagine the trauma of losing both your brothers. By that time, he'd also lost Joe, Jr. and his older sister Kathleen, now Jack and Robert. For days, he would go out sailing alone at night under the stars and collect his thoughts. There are other stories of the Kennedy family really enjoying sailing at night. There's a wonderful passage from Eugene O'Neill that Patrick Kennedy read at a funeral for his sister Kara, in which O'Neill writes about sailing at night and gazing up at the stars.

BOB OAKES:   You think sailing at night for Ted gave him a sense of purposefulness again? Certainly, his relatives thought it helped him focus.

JAMES GRAHAM:   I think so. The Kennedys are famously Catholic, but I think that they connect with their Maker as much at sea as anywhere. Kerry Kennedy told me that she never really feels closer to God than when she's out on a sailboat at night. I think that really puts life in perspective when you're out there on the water and experiencing the infinite sea. John F. Kennedy famously had on his desk, the Resolute, a little plaque that said "Oh, God, the sea is so great and my boat is so small." I believe that plaque is here in the Museum, if I'm not mistaken.

BOB OAKES:   Amy says yes. Summer 1994 – I'm wrapping up in a few minutes -- get ready with your questions – summer 1994, in the grips of a tight US Senate race. I remember this well, I covered this race as a reporter, that race with Mitt Romney. Looked for a while like he might very well lose, even the Senator's own campaign polls had the race nip and tuck or dead heat. Senator had to be concerned. And the afternoon before everyone knew what would be an extremely important first debate, he asked his driver to take him here to the Library so that he could stand and reflect near the Victura. Tell us about that. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   He did. It was the afternoon of a debate. He's down in the polls, or the polls had him and Romney neck in neck, more or less, and some polls had him behind. You know when you're a challenger to a guy like Ted Kennedy, being on the stage with him as an equal, challenging Ted really is a boost to your campaign. So it was a really crucial debate between Ted Kennedy and Mitt Romney. And just to collect his thoughts, he came here and walked around the lawn. I think he sat on a bench somewhere outside part of the time and also must have spent some time with the sailboat. He said later that it was just a chance for him to collect his thoughts and reconnect with his values and the memory of his brothers and sisters. 

There was a line in the debate -- I don't remember exactly -- but he was challenged on a scandal in which the family was accused of profiting on some kind of a real estate deal involving the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, I believe. He basically responded by saying,

"Our family has paid too high a price to try to profit financially from public service."

BOB OAKES:   We're on the same page, because I actually have that called up right here. I remember that moment in the debate back then. When you cover a lot of politics, I think every now and then you can find a moment or two where you can actually see a campaign change right in front of your very eyes. That happened once to me in the race for President that John Kerry was nominated for. We were out in Des Moines, Iowa, and he had been slipping, slipping, slipping and at that moment, on that one particular day, he gathered a bunch of veterans together and it was a very, very moving moment at an event near his campaign headquarters. The energy in the room was incredible, and you could feel the momentum in that Democratic primary swing back to John Kerry at that moment.

It was overpowering.

I remember this line in that debate and you knew when he said that line, you could hear it on the other end of the televisions all across the Commonwealth, people saying, "Wow, that is a campaign-changing moment." I think he had one of those moments at that time. You wonder, if he would have been able to call that up had he not been here that afternoon, reflecting on his life with his brothers and the boat right next to the Victura.

JAMES GRAHAM:   One of the wonderful things about the story of the Victura is, as I said, it's the story of the family, it's not really just the story about John F. Kennedy as a 15 year old boy sailing it. It's that relationship between John F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, and Robert and then Joe, Jr. and the others. What I really love is that with the construction of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate nearing completion, that that boat – I hope that that boat becomes more a symbol of the family and the relationships between them and what that chemistry meant than just about John F. Kennedy. Because I think that's the real story of the Victura.

I will also say that I think that sailing together was a really powerful shared experience. It was deliberately pursued by people like Ted Kennedy trying to connect with his children. There's really valuable family lessons from that, in that if you can find something to share with your children and your cousins that is a really wonderful shared experience – it doesn't have to be sailing, it can be anything. It could be fly-fishing; I think you fish for trout, right? It could be quilt making, it could be all kinds of things – but find your own Victura as a family and I think you'll do well. 

BOB OAKES:   I've dragged my kids on many fishing trips. Okay, questions from the audience. Step up to the microphone.

Q:   I have a question. I don't know if it's in your book but in Jacqueline Kennedy's, the tapes that came out, her long interviews with Arthur Schlesinger, one of the last things he asks her is when was President Kennedy most relaxed, and she said on a boat. Because there was no telephone.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Yeah, yeah, and certainly that photo from the Sports Illustrated spread really shows it. There's another news account at the time when he's President and he's with Ted and they're coming in from a cruise on -- might have been the President yacht coming back to Hyannis, it must have been Hyannisport -- and they see the Victura, winds blowing 30 knots or something like that and they look at it and they just say to each other, We've got to go out. So the President and Ted go out sailing. So clearly, he relished those moments. . 

Q:   Then just one quick question – the grandchildren of the next generation, the Shrivers, the Smiths, the Kennedys, who are some of the most outstanding sailors in the family?

JAMES GRAHAM:   I know that Robert and Ethel's son Joe really spent a lot of time with Ted and became an avid sailor. I know Max has raced a lot with the family. Chris Kennedy, who I came to know because he lives in the Chicago area, actually owns the boat – after they gave the Victura to the Kennedy Foundation for this Museum, they acquired another Wianno Senior and named it Victura. That has now come into the hands of Chris, although many of the members of the family sail it.  So I'm not sure if any one of them really stands out. Certainly, Joe, and Ted Kennedy, Jr. was a very good competitive sailor. I think his name shows up as a winner of many races.

Q:   I had the pleasure of running into the Kennedys several times in Maine. They used to go sailing there quite a bit. Is that in your book? And how much time did they actually spend up there?

JAMES GRAHAM:   In Maine. I don't really know the answer to that, but I know that there's a story of Robert and Ethel taking the children up to Maine sailing. The story was that they used to navigate with roadmaps instead of nautical maps. [laughter] And the rocky coast of Maine is not a place you want to take lightly. 

But that was an incident where Kathleen Kennedy, now Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, was not with them and fell off a horse, on their way to Maine. So a Coast Guard boat came to give them the news and Robert jumped off the boat and swam in high waves and everything else, swam across the water to the Coast Guard boat so he could get ashore to be with Kathleen, to be with her and attend to her injuries.

Q:   You had spoken before about the PT109. I've often wondered, it's sort of known that Jack Kennedy had sustained a very bad back, or had a back problem and he also had Addison's disease. Did he sustain his back injury during World War II, or was it due to something else?

JAMES GRAHAM:   Well, he had back issues prior to World War II. Whether that incident aggravated his back injuries, it's hard to say. I mean, after that incident, he was able to do all that swimming, so his back must not have been bothering him very much then. But I think it's been said that many people after World War II said that John F. Kennedy injured his back on PT109. In fact, I think he had injured it earlier. And he didn't necessarily correct those reporters who said that so it's not entirely clear how the back conditions were sustained.

Q:   You open the book by quoting the Tennyson poem Ulysses . I just wonder if you can talk about sort of what that meant to the family and how it entered family lore, et cetera. 

JAMES GRAHAM:   Thanks for bringing that up. Ulysses , of course, is a Tennyson poem from the 19 th century based on Homer's Odyssey of the legend of Odysseus, who was a great mariner. And it all started with a little ten-year-old girl named Jackie Bouvier who memorized the poem with the help of her grandfather when she was only ten years old. When she became engaged to John F. Kennedy, she recited the poem from memory to him. Jack was just delighted by it and it became his favorite poem, and he used it in speeches. 

There's one moment when he was running for President and he wanted to conclude his speech with words from that poem, but couldn't remember them. So he writes, "Jackie, give me the last words that begin with 'Come my friends.'" She proceeds to write several lines of that poem, starting with "Come with my friends, tis not too late to seek a newer world."

And of course after John F. Kennedy's death, Robert Kennedy took up that poem himself and began using it in speeches. He published a book called, To Seek a Newer World , taking a title from that. Then, when Robert F. Kennedy died, Ted Kennedy became under prominent consideration for the Presidency and his greatest speech was in 1980 at the Democratic National Convention, when he was conceding the race to President Carter and he gave his famous "Dream shall never die speech." But before he got to that concluding line, he quoted from Ulysses.  

To this day, there are grandchildren of that generation of Kennedys who memorize portions of that poem, sometimes performing it for the family at the dinner table. Conor Kennedy recently, who's I think is 18 years old and a grandson of Robert and Ethel – he's more famous for having dated Taylor Swift [laughter] -- but he also memorized the poem in its entirety for a class of his own.

BOB OAKES:   Before we go outside, we started by talking about doodles and we're going to finish by going back to art.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Before I go to this, I do want to say one quick word. I really wanted to say a word of thanks to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, because their support of my research here for this book was really, really invaluable. Of course, they preserve the boat but I spent a lot of time in the Library doing research and the help of the Library staff and all these photographs, the one that I love so much of John and Robert, I had not seen it anywhere but I found it here in this Library.

But one of the indications of how much this boat meant to the Kennedys as a family and especially a generation of the Kennedys who were the children of Joe and Rose, in 1963 the three sisters -- Jean, Patricia and Eunice -- decided that what their three brothers really wanted for Christmas were paintings of the sailboat Victura. And they commissioned an artist named Henry Koehler, who's in this photo, in the fall of 1963 to go out to Hyannis Port and go out on a boat. It might have been the Honey Fitz or it might have been the Marlin, I'm not sure. A powerboat. Joe Kennedy, Sr., who was an invalid at this time because of a stroke, they gave him a ride on the boat with him as this artist Henry Koehler drew sketches of the sailboats.  So here you have the President, the Attorney General of the United States, and Senator Ted Kennedy together, very important people in this country at that time and the sisters think that the thing that they most really want for Christmas are paintings of the Victura.

So Henry Koehler made these paintings. This is one of Jack and Jacqueline, and then this is of Ted and Joan Kennedy, and then nother one of Robert and Ethel. And in the fall of '63, as he's working on these paintings in his New York studio, one of the sisters wanted to come by and check on the progress of his work. So she came by the studio. Henry turned off the radio because he didn't want the gathering to be disturbed so they could have a conversation. The sister looked at the paintings. He can't remember which sister it was. He just said it wasn't Eunice; it was one of the other two. The sister thought the work was great, and she walked out the door and headed down the street. And the phone rang and it was the artist's, Henry Koehler's fiancée, saying, "Do you have your radio on?" "No." "The President's just been shot."  He ran out the door to see if he could find that Kennedy sister, and she was long down the block somewhere. He found out later that the sister learned of it from someone who recognized her on the street, a stranger had grabbed her and said, "Your brother's just been shot." 

But these paintings were nonetheless finished. He thought he'd lose the commission as a result of that. But he finished the paintings and delivered them for Christmas. Jacqueline had to accept for her husband.

BOB OAKES:   I said this the other day on the radio -- sorry about the cough, still coming off a cold -- I said this the other day on the radio and let me conclude– first of all, before I conclude I want to say that James is going to go downstairs next to the boat and take some one-on-one questions from you, if you want to question him there.  But on the radio the other day, at the end of our other interview, I said that this book -- if you love the story of the Kennedy family and you love a great story about how a family develops together through one shared interest -- this book is a gift. It's a real gift. And thank you very much. I appreciate it.

JAMES GRAHAM:   Thank you, Bob.  [applause]

Watch CBS News

John F. Kennedy's beloved sailboat Victura back on display

May 29, 2017 / 7:28 PM EDT / CBS News

BOSTON -- The night before President Kennedy traveled to Dallas, he made a simple sketch inside a Houston hotel room. It may be the last thing he ever put on paper, but it wasn't the first time he thought of his sailboat, Victura.

"All throughout his life it was being out in the sun, in the wind, on the sea, in the salty air, that somehow was always a source of renewal and inspiration for him," said Stacey Bredhoff, curator at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Victura, meaning "about the conquer" in Latin, was given to him by his father when JFK was 15. He named it, cared for it and sailed it for three decades.

"It's exposed to the elements over the summer so that people can see it," Bredhoff said, so it needs the work every year.

In Osterville, Massachusetts, CBS News' Jeff Glor watched as the Victura was being restored by 75-year-old Malcolm Crosby, whose family designed the boat model 100 years ago.

"A lot of history here," Crosby said.

Kennedy credited the boating skills he learned on Victura with saving his life in World War II. And in 1953, pictures of Kennedy and a then-Jacqueline Bouvier onboard launched America's love affair with the young couple.

"The Kennedys have boating really in their DNA," said Greg Egan, who owns the Crosby Yacht Yard and overseas the revarnishing, polishing and painting.

"Every year we give it a protective coat of varnish," Egan said. "We want to make sure the boat's in great shape and protected for all the visitors."

Victura was returned to the library earlier this month, back at its prime spot on the shoreline.

"What do you find most fascinating about Victura?" Glor asked Bredhoff, the library curator.

"Just the fact it was his and it was so important to him and was such a part of his life," she said.

"It's wonderful to see her here, in the sunshine," she continued.

Where the stories it holds can be shared anew.

• John F. Kennedy

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John F. Kennedy: The Yachtsman President

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As the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy was a towering figure on the world stage, embodying an era of hope and progress. But behind his image as a statesman, there existed another persona, one less known but just as defining – John F. Kennedy, the Yachtsman President.

Kennedy’s love for the sea began in his youth, nurtured by summers spent in the coastal town of Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. There, the future President discovered not just the call of the ocean, but a lifelong passion that would accompany him well into his presidency.

His yacht, the Victura, was a constant presence in his life, a 25-foot Wianno Senior class sloop built by the Crosby Yacht Yard in Osterville, Massachusetts. This particular class of sloop, a single-masted sailing boat with a fore-and-aft rig and single headsail, was and still is, a popular choice for both racing and pleasure sailing. The Wianno Senior class was named after the Wianno area of Osterville, Massachusetts, where these boats were first conceived and crafted.

She was designed with a full keel, which extended the entire length of the hull, offering stability in heavy winds and seas. The full keel also included a cutaway forefoot, reducing wetted surface area and increasing speed potential. In combination with her design, Victura’s overall weight of around 4,400 pounds added stability, but also required a skilled hand to navigate effectively.

Victura was equipped with a marconi rigged main and a jib. The Marconi, or Bermuda rig, characterized by a triangular mainsail, allowed for better windward performance. The sail area, approximately 338 square feet, was sizeable enough to harness the wind efficiently but not overwhelmingly so.

The deck of the Victura was relatively Spartan, designed for functionality rather than luxury. It would typically contain the essential controls and rigging required for sailing, such as the helm, winches for the sails, and cleats for securing lines.

The interior of the Victura, while modest, was functional. Given the boat’s purpose—racing and day sailing—there was little need for substantial accommodations below deck. However, there would likely have been space to stow gear and provisions, as well as some form of simple seating or berthing.

In essence, the Victura, like other Wianno Senior sloops, was a seaworthy, reliable, and nimble vessel, designed to provide an authentic and engaging sailing experience. Her design and features reflect the seafaring traditions of New England’s coastal communities, an apt match for a seaman like John F. Kennedy.

This vessel was no simple pleasure craft, but an essential part of Kennedy’s identity. It was a gift from his parents on his fifteenth birthday, and the Victura would carry Kennedy through numerous sailing regattas, family outings, and moments of solitude that he so often sought on the open sea.

The Victura was a vessel of simplistic beauty, characterized by a glistening white hull and a single, towering mast that hoisted a canvas of sails. The intimate quarters below deck spoke of a boat built for racing and leisure, rather than grandeur and luxury. Yet, it was within these confined spaces that Kennedy found solace and quietude, the soothing rhythm of the waves serving as a counterpoint to the demanding pace of his public life.

Kennedy’s companions on the Victura were as varied as the seascapes he sailed. From his brothers and sisters to friends, dignitaries, and his wife Jacqueline, all experienced Kennedy’s love for sailing firsthand. It was on the Victura that Kennedy courted Jacqueline, their shared journeys on the boat becoming a metaphor for their life together. Those who accompanied him on his maritime voyages often spoke of his transformation when he took the helm – from a dedicated statesman to an enthusiastic sailor, his eyes lighting up with the same zeal that marked his speeches.

Perhaps the most pivotal moment in Kennedy’s sailing career came in August 1936, when he won the Nantucket Sound Star Class Championship. Kennedy was a competitive racer, his skill and tactics refined by hours spent at the helm of the Victura. His victories on the water were a testament to his tenacity and strategic acumen, qualities that would later guide him during his presidency.

The Victura was more than a boat to Kennedy – it was a symbol of his youth, his competitive spirit, and his love for the sea. His relationship with the boat was often reflected in his speeches, where he used nautical metaphors to inspire a nation yearning for direction and progress.

Following Kennedy’s untimely death in 1963, the Victura remained a poignant reminder of a President whose life was inextricably tied to the sea. Today, the Victura is carefully preserved at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston, her hull still gleaming, her sails furled. Each year, on Kennedy’s birthday, the Victura is launched into the sea, a tribute to the Yachtsman President.

John F. Kennedy’s maritime legacy is a narrative of passion and commitment. It is a testament to a man who, despite the weight of his office, never lost sight of the boy who first fell in love with the sea. His story serves as a reminder that even in the face of immense responsibility, one can find solace and strength in the pursuit of personal passions.

From the shores of Hyannis Port to the Oval Office, the Victura carried Kennedy on a journey unlike any other. As we look back on his life, we are reminded that before he was a President, before he was a statesman, John F. Kennedy was, and will always be, a sailor. And in the silence of the sea, his legacy continues to resound, a beacon of hope navigating the course of history.

What sparked JFK's passion for sailing?

JFK's passion for sailing started at a young age, nurtured by his family's love for the sea and the location of their home overlooking Nantucket Sound.

What was the name of JFK's personal sailboat?

JFK's personal sailboat was named Victura, a 26-foot Wianno Senior sloop.

Where is the Victura now?

The Victura is now displayed at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

What role did JFK play in the navy during World War II?

JFK served as a skipper of PT-109, a Patrol Torpedo Boat during World War II in the Pacific Theater.

How did JFK's love for the sea influence his presidency?

JFK's love for the sea provided him with a relaxing escape from the pressures of the presidency. He often spent time sailing in the waters of Cape Cod.

Did JFK continue sailing during his presidency?

Yes, JFK continued to sail during his presidency, with sailing being one of his favorite pastimes.

What did JFK say about the sea?

JFK once stated: I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because...we all came from the sea.

What was JFK's role in the navy?

JFK served as a naval officer during World War II. His leadership and heroism were showcased when he led his crew to safety after their Patrol Torpedo Boat, PT-109, was rammed and split in two by a Japanese destroyer.

How did sailing shape JFK as a leader?

Sailing taught JFK critical leadership skills, including decision-making, teamwork, and resilience. These skills proved invaluable during his naval service in WWII and his presidency.

What is the significance of JFK as a yachtsman?

As a yachtsman, JFK embodied the virtues of sailing—leadership, courage, resilience—and left an indelible mark on the sailing world. His legacy continues to inspire sailors around the globe.

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Photos: The Kennedys' Love Affair With The Sea And A Sailboat Named Victura

• WBUR Newsroom

Photographs of the Kennedys and their handcrafted sailboat, Victura, show the famed political family's love of sailing. In his new book, "Victura: The Kennedys, A Sailboat, And The Sea," author James Graham dives into the Kennedy family's relationship with sailing, and the role the sailboat plays in their legacy. ( Here's our interview with Graham .)

• Interview Highlights: Author James Graham Discusses Kennedy Family’s Tradition Of Sailing The ‘Victura’
• November 1963: Remembering JFK

More from WBUR

JFK: a president with a passion for boats

Most members of the Kennedy family shared a love of boats, of recreational and competitive sailing, and John F. Kennedy, one of America's most famous presidents, was no exception. Throughout his life, he sailed and raced a variety of boats, winning multiple awards in yachting competitions. After all, he began sailing long before graduating from Harvard, long before becoming a senator, a war hero or even a president and it remained a passion of his throughout his lifetime.

The Kennedy sailing tradition

A prominent political dynasty, the Kennedys are renowned for their involvement in public life, contributions to the United States and the world, as well as a series of family tragedies, the most notable being the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. A little know fact, however, is that the Kennedys were avid and successful sailors.

John F. Kennedy and his eight siblings were introduced to yachting by their father, Joseph Kennedy, who was chairman of the Maritime Commission, as well as holding many other important positions, particularly in finance. Interestingly, despite their wealth and ability to afford huge luxury yachts, the Kennedys preferred to sail in smaller, sport boats they could steer and pilot themselves.

Joseph Kennedy encouraged his children to learn to sail from a young age, sailing together as a single crew, or competing against one another. It soon became clear that most of them had a natural flair for sailing. The most successful of them was JFK, winning numerous awards for his sailing achievements, such as victory in the Nantucket Sound Star Class Championship cup in 1936. Both his brother Joseph Jr. and sister Kathleen were also very accomplished sailors.

Read stories of other famous personalities and sailors:

Albert Einstein: the passionate sailor

The most famous female sailors of all time

The sailboat Victura, his lifelong companion

The first boat JFK helmed was a 22-foot Olympic sailing boat named Flash II . It was at her helm that the President learned the basics of sailing and went on to win several major American regattas.

President JFK on his sailing ship Victura.

John F. Kennedy's greatest love, however, was his second boat, the Victura , a 25-foot sloop he received from his father for his 15th birthday. JFK kept this classic wooden sailboat throughout his life, often taking his entire family out on it during his presidency. As it was easy to handle, it was on the Victura , that he taught his children Caroline and Johnny Jr. to sail. In fact, the Kennedy family kept the sailboat long after his death and sailed it for more than 50 years. Today, she sits with her bow pointing out to sea in front of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

Kennedy's love of yachting and boats, as well as his love of the sea, provided a welcome respite from his tumultuous presidency. Even while the administration was negotiating the Cuban missile crisis, it is said he was sketching drawings of yachts and often used sailing-inspired phrases in his speeches: 

"We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of preeminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war."   JFK

Captain JFK and the sailboat Victura

All the President's ships

After JFK became president, he almost immediately acquired an official presidential boat, the 62-foot yawl Manitou , on which he not only sailed with family, but also welcomed Hollywood stars, statesmen and other notable personalities. This 1937 performance yacht, made of mahogany with teak planking, had caught his eye when he was just a senator. And as soon as he took office, he converted it into an office, from which he could communicate not only with the White House, but also the Kremlin. Manitou was quickly dubbed the "Floating White House".

Other official presidential vessels included the motor boat Marlin and the presidential yacht The Honey Fitz, which   John. F. Kennedy used on a regular basis, as had former presidents, such as Truman, Eisenhower, Johnston, and Nixon. The Kennedy family spent most of their summer weekends and holidays with close friends on this yacht, where it is said he was at his happiest. In fact, it was aboard The Honey Fitz  that Jackie Kennedy threw him his last birthday party just months before his assassination. 

"It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came." JFK

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The complete story of John F Kennedy’s yacht Manitou

The star wanes In 1968, long after JFK’s assassination, she was finally sold at auction to Paul Hall, the leader of the Harry Lundeburg School of Seamanship, and became once more a vessel for learning. In the same year, Aristotle Onassis was wooing Jackie Kennedy, and, as a token of his love, twice attempted to buy it back for her at “any price”. But Hall was a proponent of the common man, so the offer only strengthened his resolve to keep her for teaching less privileged children about teamwork.

In 1999, in poor state and neglected, her history a mere forgotten footnote, she was bought by Laura Kilbourne, the great-granddaughter of none other than James R Lowe, the original owner. Manitou was given a major and meticulously accurate refit at the Chesapeake Marine Railway in Deltaville, Virginia – just down the road from where she was built.

By 2010, however, Laura was forced to sell by the arrival of triplets, relinquishing Manitou to the present owners Phil Jordan, Pat Tierney, Claes Goran Nilsson and Melinda Kilkenny. Though Laura’s refit had started a decade before, the boat was as yet unsailable and there was much to do. The interior, panelled beautifully in American butternut, a hard but light wood, was totally bare. There were no doors below, the original sails were still with her but could be seen through like greasy paper, and her rig, it was considered, could be improved.

And so, in December, in another fateful turn of events, she was taken back to Solomons where she had been built. Here, her stem was replaced, her engine changed for a 120hp Yanmar, the wiring redone, new tanks fitted and new batteries and navigation equipment were installed. She was given new winches and tracks and then came the varnish. After a gruelling four months of varnishing every inside inch of her, the interior finally sparkled once again.

An interior that, it is important to note, has a sunken bath, a fireplace and a fridge that has been modified to be opened from the top or sides. None of this detracts from one of the most elegantly laid-out living quarters and galleys you will come across. She seems large, light and airy with plenty of headroom and nothing seemingly compromised.

On top, the decks are uncluttered and the companionway, being amidships, leaves the cockpit free. She left the yard on 10 July 2011 and sailed into New York Harbor, flashing her cream sides past the Statue of Liberty with all sails up, making a triumphant 9 knots. Many a proud eye may have dampened with salt spray that day. From there, she went up to Newport, Rhode Island, and was shipped across to the Mediterranean.

Then the next chapter unfurled. She went into the famed Villefranche boatyard near Nice and, along with recaulking her hull and replacing the garboards, the rig was improved. The original mainmast had three sets of spreaders, and this they reduced to two, also removing the jumpers. The upwind performance was improved to such a degree that, with the mizzen staysail balancing it all, Manitou is now the envy of the fleet. Although this year was planned as a training year, no one seemed to have told the boat, and she started winning races regardless, taking first place in the Puig Vela and Alcudia and coming second in Palma, Nice and Imperia.

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An Inside Look at JFK’s Presidential Yacht, “Honey Fitz” [PHOTOS]

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The former presidential yacht, “Honey Fitz”

With the 50 year anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s death upon us, it’s only appropriate that we honor his legacy here on gCaptain by featuring a photo tour of the presidential yacht, “Honey Fitz”.

The 93-foot wooden yacht was originally built in 1931 by Defoe Shipyard in Bay City, Michigan for Sewell Avery, a prominent businessman from Chicago, who mostly used it to cruise around Lake Michigan. The yacht was purchased, or possibly expropriated, from Avery in 1942 by the U.S. government and assigned to the coast guard.

The yacht first gained Presidential status with President Harry S. Truman, who used it mostly as a tender for the much larger, and more lavish, Williamsburg . In all the yacht was used by five U.S. Presidents – Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon – but was most famous for its role as the presidential yacht for John F. Kennedy, who renamed it “Honey Fitz” after his grandfather.

Kennedy is said to have spent some of the happiest times of is life on the Honey Fitz. During he presidency, he would use it extensively to entertain family and close friends, cruising up and down the eastern seaboard from the Potomac River in D.C. to Cape Cod.

The yacht was eventually sold to a private buyer during the Nixon Administration in 1970. Recently, the yacht underwent an extensive, two-year restoration to bring it back to its “Camelot” era glory days it is most known for.

P.S. – Yes, JFK also enjoyed cruising onboard the other presidential yacht, the familiar USS Sequoia, too.

Lone Stateroom:

Wheelhouse:

Dining Room:

President John F. Kennedy with his daughter, Caroline, aboard the Honey Fitz in 1963.

Sources:  http://www.myhoneyfitz.com/

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JFK, the sailing President

20 Feb JFK, the sailing President

“I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came.”

 –  President John F. Kennedy speaking at the America’s Cup in Newport, RI in 1962.

Before John F. Kennedy was President of the United States – indeed, before he met Jacqueline Onassis, before he was a U.S. senator, a Congressman, a Naval hero, a Harvard graduate – he was first a sailor. It could be argued that for JFK sailing was not only his first love, it was the love of his life.

He began sailing at a young age with his family. As a racer JFK won several events, including the Nantucket Sound Star Class Championship Cup in 1936, and the MacMillan Cup and East Coast Collegiate Championships in 1938. Even as president, he took time to sail in the waters off Hyannis, Palm Beach, and on the Potomac. For JFK sailing was a respite, a way to (at least temporarily) escape the heavy burdens of his office.

JFK owned many boats, but one boat remained his favorite throughout his too brief life. On his 15th birthday, his father Joseph Kennedy gave him a 25 foot Wianno Senior, a classic wooden gaff-rigged sloop made nearby on Cape Cod. JFK named her Victura ,   Latin for “about to conquer” – fitting for a young man with big dreams. He went on to other, larger boats – most notably the Sparkman & Stephens designed S/Y Manitou , and the Presidential motor yacht Honey Fitz   –  but it was Victura that captured and held his imagination and his heart.

JFK enjoyed sailing Victura for her simplicity, ease of handling and performance. It was on Victura that he taught Jackie and his children Caroline and John Jr. to sail. There are many photos of the Kennedy family and JFK sailing  Victura , and in those pictures there’s no mistaking the huge grin on his face. It is the smile of a man who loved his boat and loved sailing it. Friends said that he often told them he was never happier than at the helm of Victura .

The next day, hotel staff were cleaning the suite when they learned JFK had been shot in Dallas. In the trash, they found a simple pencil drawing of a sailboat that looked much like Victura , beating through the waves.

The Kennedy family kept Victura and sailed her for almost 50 years. Today, Victura stands on the lawn of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston , with her bow facing out to sea. A moving and fitting tribute to our sailing President.

Did you enjoy this? Here’s another piece of sailing history you might like:  A Shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day  

John Kennedy’s Stunning Sailboat Is Still a Navigating Gem

The story of Manitou, the yacht built in 1937 and nicknamed “the floating White House” by JFK

More than a boat , the Manitou sailing yacht is a true seafaring legend that continues to draw great interest and admiration at all the rallies and sailing competitions it attends. Images and videos from sixty years ago depict the Manitou yacht in August 1962, elegantly navigating the waters of Maine. But this wasn’t just any old yacht, this boat belonged to John Fitzgerald Kennedy . The fascinating story of the Manitou sailing yacht, however, actually begins much further back.

Built at the MM Davis & Son shipyard in the state of Maryland, the Manitou yacht immediately began turning heads with its impeccable performance. In 1938 it won the Chicago-Mackinac Race, beating out all previous records. The next year it came in second but quickly made up for it in 1940 and 1941, winning the Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race. After its successes and the period in which it was used for surveillance missions in the Second World War, Lowe decided to sell the Manitou yacht and since 1955, following a donation from the US Coast Guard, it was used as a training ship at the US Coast Guard Academy of the United States in New London, Connecticut.

While sailing to Annapolis, the Manitou sailing yacht was spotted by a young Senator Kennedy, who was immediately struck by the beauty of the vessel. At the time of the election of the 35th President of the United States, the presidential yacht was the 28-meter Lenore motor yacht, which JFK renamed Honey Fitz in honor of his grandfather: as was customary, it was a ship ready for action. Kennedy, however, was passionate about boats, and conveniently in the market for a sailing yacht that could accommodate the necessary equipment to keep in contact with the White House. His choice fell on the Manitou with its understated and elegant look. The boat, swiftly transferred to Chesapeake Bay, was immediately provided the most innovative communication tools of the time and adapted as a mobile presidential office, spawning the nickname “ The Floating White House ” (TFWH).

The wood interiors of the Manitou yacht are distinctive, complete with a small fireplace, a spectacular cabin and the renowned (and unusual) bathtub installed on the dunnage and hidden behind two teak doors, which still works despite its impracticality on a boat. According to some, even Marilyn Monroe was welcomed aboard, as Kennedy spent plenty of time on the yacht both in its function as a presidential yacht and with friends and family: below deck, there’s still a picture of him with Jackie Kennedy and young Giovanni and Marella Agnelli.

In 1968, the Manitou sailing yacht was sold at auction to Paul Hall, leader of the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship, becoming a school ship once again. In that same year, Aristotele Onassis attempted to purchase the yacht on two occasions at any price, out of love for Jackie Kennedy: both times he was turned away, as Hall was determined to use the boat to teach underprivileged children.

But the various changes in ownership didn’t end there: in 1999, the sailing yacht was purchased by Laura Kilbourne, the great-granddaughter of James Lowe, the first owner who wanted to see Manitou race. The yacht was in terrible condition and required a substantial restoration at the Chesapeake Marine Railway in Deltaville, Virginia. In 2010, the boat was sold once more, this time to four co-owners. To this day, the Manitou sailing yacht is a prime example of beauty and sailing elegance, featuring an allure charged with history and mystery, drawing crowds at every event, like Argentario Sailing Week or Vele d’Epoca in Imperia 2022 .

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Kennedy – The Sailing President

John F. Kennedy aboard Manitou (August 12th 1962)

To understand JFK, his aims, and the magic that radiated from hin, one must also know about the passion of the Kennedy family for sailing and the sea. The day after he was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963, a notebook was found in Rice Hotel with sketches of sailboats that JFK had made during his stay there, only hours before his death. John F. Kennedy was born on Mai 29, 1917. The Yachting Heritage Centre honours this President of the USA, the charismatic politician but above all the passionate yachtsman with this exhibition »Kennedy – the sailing President«.

The unbelievably large Kennedy clan became famous through the assassination of JFK and a series of equally unpleasant family tragedies. Less well known is a family member who successfully helped the Kennedys through both storms as well as calms – a keelboat named Victura.

It was Sunday, the 13th of August 1944, when a small, gaff-rigged keelboat sailed out on the Nantucket Sound, a »Wianno Senior«. Bob Kennedy later told that it was Jack who had said, »Joe would not want us to sit around and cry, he would have wanted us to go sailing.« It was a Sunday afternoon and although it might have looked like it, it was unlike any other. At noon two priests had come to the house of Joe and Rose Kennedy and had told them that their eldest son had been killed in England. Joe Kennedy Jr. had taken off with a plane loaded with explosives in the direction of France, from which he was to jump by parachute, whereupon the aircraft would be steered remote-controlled into a German V1 firing base in Normandy. The plane exploded prematurely shortly after the start. The Kennedy brothers and sisters went sailing while the father retired to his room and his mother cried in the drawing-room of the large wooden house. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (27), who was called Jack in the family, was walking along the beach. He had returned home from the Pacific War weighing only 55 kilos and had had to undergo back and intestine surgery, which is why he could not already go sailing. He watched his younger siblings out on the water. Now he was the eldest son in the family. His brother Joe had fallen in a battle against German rocket launch installations. The head of the German missile program, Wernher von Braun, was later to develop missiles for Kennedy’s NASA, and finally the church steeple-high Saturn V, which brought the Apollo missions to the moon. The political visionary John F. Kennedy launched the program of technical visionaries, but he himself never saw a Saturn V taking off. The history of the Kennedys, not only that of the President, is told in a book written by an American politician, James W. Graham, who for thirty years was the senior chief of the governor of Illinois. »Victura – The Kennedys, a Sailboat and the Sea« approaches this unusual family from an unusual perspective: from the boat*. Can a boat shape people in such a way that they become something exceptional?

Of course it can not. There are almost two hundred Wianno Seniors, and only one has had the distinction of having a president, two senators, and a half-dozen celebrities at its helm. Likewise it is impossible to derive the fortunes of a family from the fact that they drive in a VW bus. What is most remarkable is that the Kennedy family was content with a rather modest boat, although they could have afforded a real yacht. It is the father’s zest for life, which has brought his family into special positions, but sailing and the choice of the boat has played a role. For it was a boat with which young people could go out alone, on which they had to work together, had fun, competition, adventures. Like its smaller predecessors, the Wianno Senior is a kind of family youth cutter. The head of the family, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., strived for higher things, not only just for money. He did not have an abundance of that as a young bank manager, but he got along well enough, even with so many children. After two distinguished golf clubs did not accept him as a member for various reasons – firstly he was a descendant of Irish famine refugees, secondly he was Catholic and thirdly he was a member of the nouveau riche, he supported a financially unstable sailing club on the Sound in the correct assumption that he could then hardly be denied membership. So no golf. Kennedy senior bought his first boat, the five-metre long Rose Elizabeth . Then followed the Wianno Junior The Eight Of Us (there were eight children) who later received a name upgrade to Tenovus , and when Ted was born, a second Wianno Junior came as well, One More . And finally the Wianno Senior was acquired. The children could, should and were allowed to sail. In any weather, at any regatta. The family employed a bosun, but he only had the task to teach the children knots and the basic principles of sailing and to do repairs and maintenance on the boat every now and then.

The Kennedy siblings kept together like pitch and sulfur, sailed with each other and against each other. They sailed well and collected many prizes, most successful were Joe Jr., John F. (»Jack«) and their sister Kathleen (»Kick«). Bobby, who was later to fall victim to an assassination attempt as a presidential candidate, did not sail so well, to the anger of the ambitious father. He sometimes came last. If the children did not win and it was not due to lack of effort, then this could be the reason to buy a new mainsail. But in general, they sailed at the front of the fleet, and their father was satisfied. Even though they were later sent to expensive schools and prepared for careers – on weekends they were mostly in the big house in Hyannis Port, and when they were there, they were out on the water sailing. No matter what happened. And they sailed well. In the first year in Hyannis Port, the children were sitting with their father on the terrace and saw a capsized boat and a sailor out on the water who could not get his boat up. Joe and Jack – then twelve and ten years old – raced down to the Elizabeth Rose , hoisted her sails and rescued the already struggling and weakened man. From this point of view, the Kennedys were a very normal, large family in which everyone sailed. Even if the old Yankee nobility was a bit lacking, they belonged to the privileged and to the elite. The father became ambassador in England (the maternal grandfather had already been Mayor of Boston) and the children went to school, participated in many kinds of sports and sailed on the Nantucket Sound.

Some believe that the atmosphere of competition that the father embayed in the family played a role in Joe’s death. Because as a pilot he constantly volunteered for special assignments, including the one that finally cost him his life. Was he in competition with Jack, who at this point already was a war hero? He had rescued his crew as a commander of a torpedo boat after being rammed by a Japanese destroyer in a dark night. It was a wild action in which he, with his teeth, had dragged a wounded man to an island by pulling him forward by his belt, and they were marooned there for a few days before Kennedy managed to get help. The story was taken up by the press, but the senior was annoyed that it was not printed in the high-circulation »Life«, but only in the »New Yorker«. But he did achieve that the story was reprinted in »Reader’s Digest«, which had a much higher circulation than »Life«. Even later, when Jack went into politics, his father made sure of press coverage, press coverage and more press coverage. Even things that had nothing to do with the heroic deeds of his son – for instance like his back and stomach problems – were turned into war damage. This actually partially masks the fact that the 27-year-old torpedo boat commander John F. Kennedy had done an amazing job in rescuing his crew. His brother Ted later said Jack could only have done this because he was a sailor through and through and familiar with the sea. JFK was also photographed with Jackie while sailing. The more well-known pictures are those that were choreographed by the photographer. Pictures that a sailor should actually have objected to, but as a politician one probably turned a blind eye. The jib is luffing, JFK is sitting barefoot on the foredeck on the leeward side of the boat, the wind is ruffling Jackie’s hair … But there are also good, real pictures, where Skipper Jack with his gang and brother Bobby sit in the cockpit with a good breeze and are simply sailing and having fun.

Later, right after his election as president, JFK bought a real yacht, the 23-year-old mahogany yawl Manitou . She was a fast yacht, designed by Sparkman & Stephens for offshore regattas, and at the request of the President was equipped with radio technology and a bathtub in which, among others, Marilyn Monroe is thought to have relaxed. But the little Victura remained faithful to JFK and his siblings, she was part of the family. After the president and his brother Bob had fallen victim to assassinations, Ted sailed the boat, often single-handed and at night. President John F. Kennedy († 46), the youngest elected president of the US, has remained with us through other things. There are the usual conspiracy theories about his assassination in November 1963. During his term there were the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war, the atomic arms race with hydrogen bombs, the beginning of the Vietnam War. The moon program, of which he did not see the beginning of the second phase, the Gemini flights. Everyone now knows the name of JFK Airport (formerly named »Idlewild«), New York’s main airport. For some, Jackie was more important than »Jack«, because there also was a certain Marilyn Monroe. The president enthused the Germans in his speech in West Berlin in 1962 in which he said: »Two thousand years ago, the proudest sentence a man could say was: I am a citizen of Rome. Today the proudest sentence anyone can say in the free world is: I am a Berliner.« He finished his speech a few minutes later, saying, in German: »Ich bin ein Berliner.« That meant that America did not give its support to the divided city of Berlin out of tactical reasons but out of convinction. John F. Kennedy was a charismatic man with a disarming smile, even when things were not going well. His father had actually planned that his older brother, Joe Kennedy Jr., was destined for politics, he thought the thoughtful »Jack« was more of a teacher. But then JFK suddenly became the eldest son in the clan and you can see a statement or a life’s conviction that he sent his siblings out on the water to go sailing instead of leaving them to their grief.

Text: Hans-Harald Schack. This article appeared in GOOSE No. 24

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9. The Kennedy Sailing Tradition

One of the most well-known Kennedy pastimes is sailing, often from Hyannis Harbor into Nantucket Sound. JFK and Jacqueline spent many summers sailing with their family in Hyannis Port. U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy participated often in the legendary Figawi sailing race every year, racing from Hyannis to Nantucket with his wooden schooner, Mya. The Kennedy family boats are moored at Hyannisport Yacht Club, less than one mile from here. Visitors may wish to board a sight-seeing vessel to see the Kennedy Compound from the water. Boats leave from the Bismore Park docks.

The Kennedy Sailing Tradition

Close by, at the Hyannis Port pier is where Ted Kennedy's beloved sailboat The Mya could be seen on its mooring, if he wasn't out winning a race! It wasn’t just Ted and JFK, but most of the Kennedys that have enjoyed taking to the waters in a vessel powered by wind. Today, the next generation of Kennedy sailors enjoys their various Wianno Senior sailboats, made in Osterville to navigate our shallow Cape Cod shoals.

Bobby Kennedy

Robert “Bobby” Kennedy, active in politics and instrumental in the civil rights movement, was born on November 20, 1925, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He and wife Ethel, who married in 1950, had eleven children. Robert managed his brother, John F. Kennedy’s successful senate campaign in 1952 and went on to manage JFK’s presidential campaign in 1960. His brother appointed him U.S. Attorney General. In that role he worked closely and confidentially with his brother, serving as advisor during difficult times such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. He resigned as Attorney General after his brother’s death. He was then elected U.S. Senator from New York. Robert was shot and killed on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles, California during his run for President.

The 35th President of the United States, 1961-1963

1. the kennedys and cape cod, 2. 1960s main street, hyannis, 3. rose fitzgerald kennedy, matriarch of the kennedy family, 4. the "kennedy church", 5. location of presidential election acceptance speech, 6. protecting cape cod’s seashores, 7. peace corps memorial, 8. the kennedys’ contribution to maritime heritage, 9. the kennedys sailing tradition, 10. the 35th president of the united states, 1961-1963, explore hyannis, while you are in hyannis, plan some extra time to explore main street and its shops, restaurants and extensive arts and cultural offerings  for a list of current events and things to do in hyannis:.

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Deceased , Historic

1917 - 1963.

A President of the United States and an avid yachtsman, John F. Kennedy helped bring sailing to the forefront of the American public’s mind.

Though he sailed many large yachts, Kennedy favored small boats throughout his life, appreciating the simplicity, intimacy and ease of handling that a good little sailboat provides. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the 26-foot Wianno Senior sailboat Victura – a gift from his parents for his 15 th birthday – remained his favorite throughout his life.  It was the boat on which he taught many others, including his wife, Jackie, to sail, and it was the boat that captured and held his imagination throughout his life.

Kennedy loved competitive sailing. In 1938, sailing with his older brother Joe for Harvard, he won the MacMillan Cup, the East Coast Collegiate Championship, outsailing two future America’s Cup skippers. On display at the JFK Library are the Nantucket Sound Star Class Championship cup that he won in 1936 sailing his boat, Flash II , and a smaller cup for the Hyannisport Yacht Club race to Edgartown.

Sailing-related Accomplishments and Honors

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The Life of John F. Kennedy

Many family observers feel that sailing was JFK’s favorite sport. Spending the summers of his boyhood on the water at Hyannis Port, JFK learned how to sail early in life and was given his first sail boat the Rose Elizabeth when he was 10 years of age.

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Selling J.F.K.’s Boat

By John Clarke

After going up for auction on Monday, with a starting bid of a hundred thousand dollars,  President John F. Kennedy’s boat  is still for sale. Nobody has yet taken the chance to add their name to a long line of owners, ranging from the young President to, far less reputably, a pot smuggler.

The sailboat is a twenty-two-foot International Star sloop, a class designed by the draftsman Francis Sweisguth in 1910, according to Heritage Auctions, which organized the sale. The relatively tall mast and narrow hull give the boat a massive mainsail, which made it extremely responsive and sensitive to touch but also meant it was tricky to handle and required tremendous skill to race. The Star class has been used for the Olympic keelboat event since 1932, with the exception of the 1976 games. More than eight thousand Stars have been built since 1910. Kennedy’s boat, Star No. 721, was built in 1929 and 1930 by the original owner, H. B. Atkin, of Manhasset Bay, Long Island. Atkin raced it under the name Jubilee from 1930 to 1933.

It was swift and impressive enough to catch the eye of the teen-aged Kennedy and his brother Joseph, who already owned a Star class boat (No. 902), which they called Flash. The Kennedy brothers bought Jubilee in 1934 and renamed her Flash II (records show that they sold the original Flash in 1936). It quickly became John's favorite racing boat and gained a reputation among East Coast sailing clubs as being the fastest in its class. Jock Kiley sailed against Kennedy in the waters of Nantucket Sound, and he insisted that Flash II, not Kennedy’s sailing skills, was to thank for the streak of wins. According to Tazewell Shepard’s “John F. Kennedy: Man of the Sea,” the ribbing proved too much for Kennedy, who in the summer of 1936 finally made a proposition to Kiley: let's swap boats and race. Shepard writes:

Flash II with Jock Kiley at the helm jumped to an early lead. The boat was running true to form, when in the middle of the race both boats were becalmed. As a little breeze began to stir, Jack took a different lark, as he often did. In the trailing position, he was the first to feel the effect of the wind. He hugged the shore line where the breeze was freshest and began to close the distance, managing to pull ahead at the end and—just barely—to win the race. There was no more switching of boats after that.

Kennedy went on to win the Nantucket Sound Star Class Championship that year, and then competed in the 1937 Atlantic Coast Star Class Championships, winning one race by a massive four-minute margin. He raced Flash II at Harvard, as well, and won the prestigious McMillan Cup on the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, in 1938.

Kennedy joined the Navy in 1942 and shipped off to the Pacific, where he sailed on a much bigger vessel, the PT-109. Flash II, meanwhile, passed along a series of owners: Millard Vanderwald, of Casco Bay, Maine, sailed her under the name until 1948, when he sold it to Ken Schwartz, of Larchmont, New York. Schwartz raced her out of Larchmont Yacht Club for two years before selling to Richard Percoco, of Mamaroneck, New York, who bought her with money he earned from delivering newspapers. He sold the boat to Charles Morgan in 1962, who in turn sold it to D. William Ehler, of Clearwater, Florida, in 1963, the year Kennedy was killed, for a reported three hundred dollars. In 1972, the boat was moved to a shed, which is where it remained until Ehler died, in 1996, at which point the vessel went up for auction.

Enter Gregory Olaf Anderson. Anderson had the idea to restore the old boat and, based on its historical pedigree, sell it for at least a million dollars. He assembled a group of investors and purchased the boat for nineteen thousand eight hundred dollars at an auction in Monticello, Florida, in 1996.

With the help of a shipwright at the Marblehead Trading Company, a boatyard in Massachusetts, Anderson stripped off several layers of fibreglass to expose the original wood hull, repaired the old spruce mast and keel, replaced the pine deck, refinished the hull, and spent weeks applying eleven coats of paint. Finally, after the fittings were polished and the teak varnished, the boat was ready. Anderson and his investors sunk approximately seventy thousand dollars into Flash II, according to court documents, and occasionally exhibited the boat at nautical museums and boat shows. "I'd like to see somebody sail her for a summer and then give her to the museum. That would be great,” Anderson  told the Associate Press  in 1997. "I'd love to be the crew."

But Anderson would never get the chance. In December, 2001, he was arrested in Arizona with more than thirteen hundred pounds of marijuana in his truck and was sentenced to eighteen months in state prison. Anderson was in fact transporting the marijuana for one of his investors; after his arrest, he agreed to stay silent in exchange for payment—including the investor’s share of the Kennedy boat. After his release, Anderson was still planning to sell the boat when, in 2004, it was  seized by the Drug Enforcement Agency : Anderson’s investor was coöperating with the authorities, and tipped them off to the likely pot-financed sloop.

The boat was auctioned off by the U.S. Marshals Service in 2005, where it was purchased for a hundred and twenty thousand dollars by its current owner, Frank Harvey, a Houston businessman who volunteered for Kennedy's 1960 Presidential campaign and now collects Kennedy memorabilia. Flash II had been sitting in his backyard under a tarp. After a decade, Harvey was ready to sell Kennedy's boat. He said that he's downsizing.

Harvey told me that Anderson turned down an offer for eight hundred thousand dollars before he was arrested and sent to prison. Anderson, according to court documents, believed that he could sell it for more than a million. "That was the biggest mistake of his life," Harvey said. "I think Olaf got screwed."

But Harvey thinks that Flash II is worth a million dollars, too—a figure largely based on Kennedy nostalgia. He also believes that Anderson's ownership adds to the boat’s story. "It puts a little romance in it," he says. "I can't see it hurting the value."

That romantic patina was not enough to move the boat, however. On Monday, there were no bidders. So, for the next two weeks, Flash II is on the block for a hundred thousand dollars.

It’s an emotional buy, Barbara Beigel-Vosbury, the executive director of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association, said. Prices for a Star in good condition—one not owned by a U.S. President or a drug dealer—can range from five hundred to fifteen thousand dollars. But for Flash II? “The buyer will be a Kennedy aficionado who will pay whatever they think it’s worth,” she said. “It’s like buying Picasso. If you love Picasso, you’ll pay wherever it is they ask.”

Mark Prendergast, a director at Heritage Auctions, said that the boat did succeed in drawing attention to the rest of the Kennedy auction items, which included J.F.K.’s back brace (sold for twenty thousand dollars) and a collection of cameras owned by Jackie Kennedy (sold for $8,125). “It was a tough thing to sell,” Prendergast said about Flash II. “It's very specific buyer base.”

Ben Miller, who restores boats in Texas, readied the boat for its latest auction and took her out for a quick test sail. Other than a leak around the rudder, the boat is in great condition, he says, though by no means for everyday sailing: the rigging is questionable, and he doesn't trust the mast. "It handled just fine," Miller said. "But it's a boat that belongs in a museum."

Kennedy owned a number of boats in his lifetime, and sailing was never far from his mind. On November 21, 1963, he slept at the Rice Hotel in Houston, before flying to Dallas the next day. Sometime that night, he sketched in pencil a simple drawing on hotel stationary. It was a small sloop, sleek on a full keel.

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Cruising the Moskva River: A short guide to boat trips in Russia’s capital

There’s hardly a better way to absorb Moscow’s atmosphere than on a ship sailing up and down the Moskva River. While complicated ticketing, loud music and chilling winds might dampen the anticipated fun, this checklist will help you to enjoy the scenic views and not fall into common tourist traps.

How to find the right boat?

There are plenty of boats and selecting the right one might be challenging. The size of the boat should be your main criteria.

Plenty of small boats cruise the Moskva River, and the most vivid one is this yellow Lay’s-branded boat. Everyone who has ever visited Moscow probably has seen it.

This option might leave a passenger disembarking partially deaf as the merciless Russian pop music blasts onboard. A free spirit, however, will find partying on such a vessel to be an unforgettable and authentic experience that’s almost a metaphor for life in modern Russia: too loud, and sometimes too welcoming. Tickets start at $13 (800 rubles) per person.

Bigger boats offer smoother sailing and tend to attract foreign visitors because of their distinct Soviet aura. Indeed, many of the older vessels must have seen better days. They are still afloat, however, and getting aboard is a unique ‘cultural’ experience. Sometimes the crew might offer lunch or dinner to passengers, but this option must be purchased with the ticket. Here is one such  option  offering dinner for $24 (1,490 rubles).

If you want to travel in style, consider Flotilla Radisson. These large, modern vessels are quite posh, with a cozy restaurant and an attentive crew at your service. Even though the selection of wines and food is modest, these vessels are still much better than other boats.

Surprisingly, the luxurious boats are priced rather modestly, and a single ticket goes for $17-$32 (1,100-2,000 rubles); also expect a reasonable restaurant bill on top.

How to buy tickets?

Women holding photos of ships promise huge discounts to “the young and beautiful,” and give personal invitations for river tours. They sound and look nice, but there’s a small catch: their ticket prices are usually more than those purchased online.

“We bought tickets from street hawkers for 900 rubles each, only to later discover that the other passengers bought their tickets twice as cheap!”  wrote  (in Russian) a disappointed Rostislav on a travel company website.

Nevertheless, buying from street hawkers has one considerable advantage: they personally escort you to the vessel so that you don’t waste time looking for the boat on your own.

Prices start at $13 (800 rubles) for one ride, and for an additional $6.5 (400 rubles) you can purchase an unlimited number of tours on the same boat on any given day.

Flotilla Radisson has official ticket offices at Gorky Park and Hotel Ukraine, but they’re often sold out.

Buying online is an option that might save some cash. Websites such as  this   offer considerable discounts for tickets sold online. On a busy Friday night an online purchase might be the only chance to get a ticket on a Flotilla Radisson boat.

This  website  (in Russian) offers multiple options for short river cruises in and around the city center, including offbeat options such as ‘disco cruises’ and ‘children cruises.’ This other  website  sells tickets online, but doesn’t have an English version. The interface is intuitive, however.

Buying tickets online has its bad points, however. The most common is confusing which pier you should go to and missing your river tour.

“I once bought tickets online to save with the discount that the website offered,” said Igor Shvarkin from Moscow. “The pier was initially marked as ‘Park Kultury,’ but when I arrived it wasn’t easy to find my boat because there were too many there. My guests had to walk a considerable distance before I finally found the vessel that accepted my tickets purchased online,” said the man.

There are two main boarding piers in the city center:  Hotel Ukraine  and  Park Kultury . Always take note of your particular berth when buying tickets online.

Where to sit onboard?

Even on a warm day, the headwind might be chilly for passengers on deck. Make sure you have warm clothes, or that the crew has blankets ready upon request.

The glass-encased hold makes the tour much more comfortable, but not at the expense of having an enjoyable experience.

Getting off the boat requires preparation as well. Ideally, you should be able to disembark on any pier along the way. In reality, passengers never know where the boat’s captain will make the next stop. Street hawkers often tell passengers in advance where they’ll be able to disembark. If you buy tickets online then you’ll have to research it yourself.

There’s a chance that the captain won’t make any stops at all and will take you back to where the tour began, which is the case with Flotilla Radisson. The safest option is to automatically expect that you’ll return to the pier where you started.

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Endorsements | Keeping up with the Bezoses: Mark Zuckerberg…

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Breaking news, endorsements | san jose exorcism: coroner details how 3-year-old died, endorsements | keeping up with the bezoses: mark zuckerberg buys a super yacht, reports say, a report says that zuckerberg’s luxurious new $300 million vessel was originally was commissioned by a russian oligarch who was the target of sanctions imposed after that country’s invasion of ukraine.

Given that Mark Zuckerberg enjoys a respectable 16th place on a list of the world’s richest people, he probably figured it was time for him to acquire one of the ultimate status symbols for the mega-wealthy — a super yacht.

A new report from The Sun said that Zuckerberg is now the proud owner of a $300 million vessel that he has christened “Launchpad.” The 387-foot-long vessel, which comes with a helipad and a $30 million companion boat, was seen docked this week at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with its unique chrome finish reflecting in the sun.

This purchase shows, among other things, that the Facebook and Meta founder and CEO has branched out from buying islands and building an underground complex to help him survive the apocalypse. Perhaps, he wants to cruise the Mediterranean this summer and be among the moguls who can play host to Leonardo DiCaprio.

The yacht definitely grants him admission to the watery playgrounds of such multibillionaires as Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates and any of the Russian oligarchs who haven’t been the target of sanctions imposed by the United States or its allies over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In fact, Zuckerberg reportedly came by Launchpad due to the misfortunes of one of those oligarchs. The yacht originally was commissioned to be built by Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia’s richest men who is on multiple sanctions list, according to a report by Autoevolution.com , a transportation industry site. The yacht was known as Project 1010, and the shipbuilder in the Netherlands was legally barred from delivering it to Potanin when it was completed in 2022, though Autoevolution also said that Potanin was not the yacht’s actual owner.

The Sun reported that the yacht recently received “special permission” to be imported. It has since arrived in the United States, a couple months ahead of Zuckerberg’s 40th birthday on May 14 — which raises the question of whether he meant Launchpad as a birthday gift to himself.

It’s quite a gift: Launchpad can comfortably fit 24 guests aboard. It also requires a crew of 48 and is said to cost $30 million a year for upkeep and usage, according to Superyachtfan.com . But shelling out $30 million for maintenance a year shouldn’t be a problem for Zuckerberg, who reportedly earns between $6 million and $12 million a day, The Sun said.

But as spectacular as Launchpad sounds, super yacht fans might say it’s not as spectacular as Jeff Bezos’s super yacht, Koru. The $500 million sailing vessel features very tall masts, a swimming pool, a helipad and room for a second, smaller yacht. The most noteworthy thing about Koru is that Bezos commissioned a special sculpture to decorate its prow. It’s a “curvaceous winged goddess” that is said to bear a striking resemblance to his fiancee Lauren Sanchez.

The Amazon founder, his wife-to-be and the goddess figurehead spent much of last summer sailing around the Mediterranean, cruising from Spain to Croatia and hosting such famous guests as Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom and Usher. The couple also threw a lavish engagement party off the coast of Positano on Italy’s Amalfi coast, attended by another pack of famous friends, including Kris Jenner, Wendi Murdoch and, yes, Leonardo DiCaprio.

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