The Sequoia underway
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It was 1996, a perfect Indian summer
day in October. Mark and I were in Alexandria,
Virginia, following the suggestion of a RoadTrip
correspondent who'd suggested a restaurant on
Cameron Street, near the Potomac River.
As we watched the light of the
setting sun play on boats in the marina, our
eyes fell on a yacht bearing a seal. The craft
in front of us was none other than the USS Sequoia,
the Presidential Yacht. By remarkable good fortune,
we had appeared on the scene the very day the
newly refurbished Sequoia was making her first
public appearance in decades. Almost lost after
her decommission in the seventies, the Sequoia
had been meticulously restored.
Mark and I were treated to a tour
of the USS Sequoia that unforgettable afternoon,
a rare peek into a remarkable and unique piece
of American history. We felt privileged to have
the chance to walk on decks that had hosted
every president from Herbert Hoover to Jimmy
Carter, and to sit in the same salon where John
Kennedy celebrated his last birthday. Best of
all, our serendipitous arrival in Alexandria
allowed us to meet the people who are preserving
the Sequoia's heritage for the future. Ben Brown
and Giles Kelly had just formed a non-profit
foundation dedicated to her preservation and
operation. Thanks to their efforts, the USS
Sequoia had been officially designated a "National
Historic Site."
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The main salon,
with its
twenty-guest Chippendale table
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Originally built in 1925
by Trumpy Shipyards, the Sequoia is a
masterpiece of luxury wooden boat building.
We joined Brown and Kelly in the main
salon where a long Chippendale table seats
twenty guests for formal dinner parties.
They explained how they needed to raise
several million dollars to keep the yacht
in good repair and operational. Brown
said, "We invite our major contributors
to have a dinner cruise with their friends
aboard the Presidential Yacht, usually
to Mount Vernon and back." Kelly,
who is a retired navy captain added, "We
try to run the yacht 'navy style' as when
she was in presidential service. We even
render the honors, as is required of all
naval vessels, whenever we pass George
Washington's tomb."
As we continued our tour,
we saw photographs on display of the various
presidents from Hoover to Ford on board
the Sequoia. They were either conducting
business, relaxing with friends, or partying.
"The Sequoia provided a convenient
way for Presidents to entertain their
foreign visitors when they came to town,"
Kelly told us. "She was also a good
place to strike up deals with Congressional
leaders in private."
Below the main deck we visited
the four staterooms. The whole ship seemed
remarkably modest for the presidents of
a super power. "Although she served
eight presidents," Brown explained,
"She was not always designated the
Presidential Yacht, but often was known
as, 'The Secretary of the Navy's Yacht,'--
but that did not stop Presidents from
borrowing her!" Kelly pointed out
the step down to the shower in the Presidential
suite. He said the shower floor had to
be lowered for President Johnson, who
was so tall he otherwise could not get
his head under the shower head easily.
We also heard how Johnson had a little
bar installed in the space where an elevator
had once accommodated President Roosevelt
and his wheel chair.
Although our real-life paths
have not crossed the Sequoia's since 1996,
we continue to keep in touch with the
foundation that is ensuring her future.
The yacht spent the winter of l999-2000
being spruced up for her return to her
traditional home at the Washington Navy
Yard, where she can be seen close to the
Navy Museum. Among other things, Sequoia
serves as a hands-on training ship and
educational center for young Naval Sea
Cadets.
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