Celebrities on a sailing trip: John F. Kennedy, the president who found peace on a sailing trip

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The sailing president

Hardly any statesman is as closely associated with images of youth, dynamism and positive charisma as John F. Kennedy. As the 35th President of the United States, he shaped an era that came to an abrupt end after only around 1,000 days with the assassination in Dallas in 1963. Beyond the grand stage of world politics, there was one constant that shaped Kennedy’s personality long before his political career: his deep passion for sailing. For him, boats were not merely a backdrop for the media, but an indispensable place of refuge.

Apprenticeship years on Cape Cod

The family’s connection to the sea began in the late 1920s, when the Kennedy family moved into a summer house in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod. For young John, known as ‘Jack’, and his siblings, Nantucket Sound became their daily playground.

However, this was not merely a leisure activity, but rather a deliberate educational programme devised by their father, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. He demanded the very best from his children and deliberately used sailing as a means of instilling ambition, team spirit and mental resilience. Come what the weather might, the siblings had to take to the water in order to develop a high level of seamanship.

My first boat: the ‘Victura’

On his 15th birthday in 1932, his parents gave him a very special present: a wooden sailing boat of the Wianno Senior type, just under 8 metres long. Kennedy christened it ‘Victura’, Latin for ‘she who will triumph’. The boat became his most cherished possession. John F. Kennedy spent countless hours on board the ‘Victura’ and learnt to read and master the complex currents and wind conditions of his home waters. He kept the boat for more than three decades, until his death.

Tough competitions and regattas

Sailing quickly became an ambitious competitive sport for Kennedy. Together with his older brother Joe Jr., he sought out direct sporting competition. The brothers established themselves as fixtures on the regional regatta circuit. Whilst studying at Harvard University, they successfully continued their sporting careers, winning, amongst other things, the Eastern College Championship.

The test of character during the Second World War

The physical and mental resilience that John F. Kennedy had developed at sea was put to a severe test during the Second World War. As commander of the wooden patrol boat ‘PT-109’, he was on duty in the South Pacific when, on the night of 1–2 August 1943, the boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer.

There are several accounts of the subsequent rescue operation stating that Kennedy took charge of the surviving crew members. He is said to have swum several kilometres to a nearby island and to have dragged a seriously injured comrade through the sea by the strap of his lifejacket. Kennedy’s endurance in the water is said to have saved the crew’s lives.

The ‘Floating White House’

After taking office in the Oval Office in 1961, Kennedy brought his passion for sailing to the presidency. Two ships became floating outposts for his administration:

• The ‘Honey Fitz’: A 28-metre luxury motor yacht, named after his wife Jackie’s grandfather. It was mainly used on the Potomac River and off Cape Cod for family and informal gatherings.
• The “Manitou“: A 19-metre-long, slender sailing yawl-ketch built in 1937, which the US Coast Guard kept on standby for the President. Kennedy affectionately referred to the boat as his ‘floating White House’. To ensure that the government could continue to function whilst under sail, the classic yacht was fitted with what was then state-of-the-art communications technology. This included UHF/VHF radio telephones and encryption devices designed to secure a direct dedicated line to the White House, the Pentagon and the Strategic Air Command (SAC).

During the most serious crises of the Cold War, particularly during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, sailing offered the President a rare opportunity to escape the enormous pressure of his office for a few hours. Confidants and political advisers also noted that Kennedy would return to the negotiating table visibly more refreshed and focused after spending time at sea.

Diplomacy on the water and humility in the face of the elements

The yachts also served as a setting for informal diplomacy. Away from the strict protocol of Washington, Kennedy welcomed key political figures such as the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on board. The seclusion of being out at sea made it easier to break down barriers in a relaxed atmosphere.

John F. Kennedy expressed his philosophical connection to the sea in September 1962 in his famous Speech at the opening of the America’s Cup in Newport expressed before the assembled international crews:

[...] I think that’s because we all come from the sea. It is an interesting biological fact that we all have exactly the same percentage of salt in our blood as there is in the ocean [...] When we return to the sea – whether to sail or simply to watch – we are returning to where we came from.”