The surprising place where presidents once made major decisions | Opinion

The presidency is often defined by the Oval Office, but for nearly a century, some of its most consequential moments unfolded aboard vessels that served as a kind of floating White House.

The first government-owned presidential yacht, USS Despatch, was refitted for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. Thereafter, a succession of presidential yachts – sometimes more than one in service at a time – stood ready for the commander in chief. These boats – Dolphin, Sylph, Mayflower, Potomac, Williamsburg, Honey Fitz, Sequoia and even John F. Kennedy’s ocean racer on loan from the Coast Guard, Manitou – reflect a little-known tradition of leadership conducted just offshore, beyond the reach of Washington, DC.

They were tools of diplomacy, places of decision and, at times, the only spaces where a president could think clearly beyond the reach of crowds.

In 1910, President William Howard Taft sailed the 273-foot Mayflower along the Maine coast. His wife, Helen Taft, observed that such voyages offered rare moments of rest – "steaming away out of the reach of crowds" – perhaps the only way a president could truly step back.

Time at sea was something like an escape

Three decades later, Franklin D. Roosevelt turned to the water for similar reasons. In March 1941, speaking by radio aboard the Potomac, he reflected that time at sea offered "a chance for a bit of sunshine or a wetted line, or a biography or a detective story or a nap after lunch." More importantly, he said, it allowed a president space "for thinking things through."

That same year, Roosevelt used the Potomac as cover for one of the most consequential meetings of World War II. In August 1941, he appeared to be on a routine fishing trip off Cape Cod before secretly transferring to the cruiser USS Augusta to meet British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Newfoundland to draft the Atlantic Charter. Such secrecy at sea was essential in a world at war.

While Roosevelt used the Potomac to facilitate a key wartime rendezvous, Harry S. Truman relied on the Williamsburg throughout his presidency, including on 11 working vacations to Key West, where the ship served as both a communications hub and a place for downtime – whether for conversation, cards, or an often uneasy ride in rough water.

It was Sequoia, used by nine presidents, that served across more than four decades of choppy and calm waters – and times.

Built as a private yacht before entering government service, Sequoia was acquired during Herbert Hoover’s presidency and quickly proved its appeal. In 1932, Hoover cruised aboard her from Savannah to Florida and along the Chesapeake Bay, often stopping to fish.

Presidents Nixon and Kennedy used their yacht to get away

Over time, Sequoia evolved into something more than transportation. At a cozy 104 feet long, it allowed for conversation and privacy. On board, presidents could gather advisers, foreign leaders or family members.

Shortly after World War II, Truman hosted British and Canadian leaders aboard Sequoia to discuss the exchange of nuclear technology (among other matters) – an early example of how the vessel could serve as a discreet setting for sensitive conversations.

During the Kennedy years, the yacht balanced official use with lighter moments. President John F. Kennedy celebrated his 46th and final birthday aboard Sequoia with family and friends on May 29, 1963. According to contemporary accounts, the evening was lively, with music, dancing and a guest list that brought together figures from both Hollywood and Washington, including actor David Niven and Washington Post editor Benjamin Bradlee.

Kennedy’s connection to presidential waters extended beyond Sequoia. He also frequently sailed on the coast guard racer Manitou and the smaller yacht Honey Fitz, named for his grandfather (and Boston mayor) John Francis “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald. On summer afternoons aboard the vessel, Kennedy often sat in a deck chair reading a newspaper or smoking a cigar while family members swam nearby and children and dogs raced through the passageways.

If Honey Fitz reflected the glamour and ease associated with the Kennedy years, Sequoia would come to embody something far heavier during the Nixon presidency.

It was President Richard Nixon who made the most extensive use of Sequoia. Throughout his presidency, he held high-level meetings on board with advisers, including Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, discussing negotiations to end the Vietnam War and the state of U.S.-Soviet relations. In June 1973, the president hosted a head of state for a cruise: Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev joined Nixon, conducting Cold War diplomacy to the quiet rhythm of the Potomac River.

The boat also served a more private purpose for Nixon. It was aboard Sequoia that he wrestled with the decision to withdraw from Vietnam. And as the Watergate crisis deepened, the vessel became a place of retreat. According to later accounts, Nixon sat at the yacht’s piano, repeatedly playing “God Bless America” while contemplating whether to resign the presidency. 

President Gerald R. Ford, who took office in 1974, continued to use the yacht as both a working and ceremonial space, including a reception honoring the Apollo-Soyuz astronauts. Today, presidential yachts are a vestige of another era – one that effectively ended in 1977, when President Jimmy Carter ordered the Sequoia sold as part of his broader efforts to reduce government spending. But as summer begins and many Americans take to the water, it’s worth remembering that it and other presidential vessels offered something the White House rarely could: distance. Out on the water, presidents could step back from crisis to both relax and consider what lay ahead.

Stewart D. McLaurin is president of the White House Historical Association, a private nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961, and is director of The People’s House: A White House Experience multimedia educational center and museum.