President and yachtsman - the story of John F. Kennedy

Everything starts from the family

John's love for sailing didn't come out of nowhere. The future president owed his love to one of the main hobbies of life to his family. Most of John's close and not so close relatives somehow shared a love for yachting. Some of the members of the Kennedy family took part in amateur regattas, and someone was engaged in yachting quite professionally.

Almost all his life, John was engaged in sailing. Moreover, it was often possible to meet him at regattas. Passion for yachting has become an important part of the life of Mr. President long before, in fact, the presidency, senatorship, and even joining the university.

All the children of the Kennedy family (John and his eight brothers and sisters) began to actively engage in sailing at the suggestion of their father, Joseph Kennedy. Joseph was chairman of the Maritime Commission, and in addition he held a number of other important positions. 

Perhaps one of the most interesting points is that even though the family was wealthy and could afford huge luxury yachts, the Kennedys still preferred small sports sailboats. The main thing is that you can manage such a yacht with your own hands.

Joseph encouraged his children for their interest in yachting and the desire to become yachtsmen. From an early age, together with his children, he organized friendly competitions and joint conquests of lakes and rivers.

However, it was John who stood out in particular - he scored a number of serious victories in regattas, including victory in the Nantucket Sound Star Class Championship in 1936. His brother Joseph Jr. and sister Kathleen kept up with their older brother and were also actively involved in yachting, becoming experienced sailors.

Victura is a reliable companion of the President

The vessel on which John studied and comprehended the wisdom of maritime affairs was the 10-meter Flash II boat. On board this particular boat, Kennedy won several major victories in American regattas.

However, Flash II was only the beginning of the journey. Ahead of the president was the same yacht - Victura. The boat was 7.62 meters long and was given to John as a 15th birthday present by his father.

For the rest of his life, Kennedy treasured this classic wooden sailboat. John continued the tradition of his father and taught his children, Caroline and Johnny Jr., the basics of sailing aboard the Victura.

Interestingly, the history of the boat did not end with the death of the president. For another 50 years, family members went on a boat, repairing it periodically. Now Victura is in the John F. Kennedy Museum in Boston.

Yachting as a way to deal with stress

Not only Albert Einstein sailed in order to put the nervous system in order, but also John F. Kennedy. And if Einstein led a more relaxed lifestyle, the rhythm of Kennedy's life left much to be desired.

However, it was the love for boats and the sea that gave such a desired and necessary peace, made it possible to take a break. The years of the Kennedy presidency can not be called calm, so John had to keep himself in good shape. 

There is a story that at a time when the White House administration was in intense negotiations over the Cuban Missile Crisis and nuclear missiles, John was drawing yachts as a distraction. 

In addition, often in his speeches he turned to the maritime theme: “We are going to this new seabecause new knowledge and new rights must be gained and won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.

After all, space science, like nuclear science and all technologies, has no conscience of its own. Whether it becomes a force for good or evil is up to the individual, and only if the United States assumes a position of superiority can we help decide whether this the new ocean is the sea of the world or a terrifying new theater of war."

Other presidential boats

Naturally, already as a senator, Kennedy could not receive guests aboard his 7-meter sports boat. For such techniques, he purchased a 19-meter Manitou yawl. 

On board this sailboat, the president met with Hollywood stars and statesmen. Manitou was launched in 1937. The main material from which the yacht is made is mahogany with teak sheathing.

Interestingly, as soon as John became president, the boat was almost instantly converted into a floating office. From there, he could communicate not only with the White House, but also with the government of almost any country. For this, Manitou was nicknamed the “Floating White House”.

Other official presidential vessels included the motorboat Marlin and the presidential yacht The Honey Fitz. The President's family spent most of the weekends and holidays during the Kennedy presidency on board The Honey Fitz.

In summary, I would like to share another quote from John F. Kennedy: “I really don’t know why we are all so attached to the sea, but I think that in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and the ships change, it’s all because we all come from the sea. And it's an interesting biological fact that we all have in our veins exactly the same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean. We are connected to the ocean. And when we return to the sea, whether it be swimming or watching it, we return to where we came from.”

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18.02.2023