As we celebrate Presidents Day 2018, we couldn't help but wonder which U.S. presidents were recreational sailors. Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, of course, are the two standouts. Both learned to sail with their families while growing up on the East Coast.
President Kennedy sailed his 22-foot International Star sloop Flash II for many years, including while as a student at Harvard. In 1938, as a sophomore, JFK won the prestigious McMillan Cup on the Chesapeake Bay. Perhaps more famous is Kennedy's Victura, a 25-foot Wianno Senior sloop,which is now at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Libray and Museum.
President Roosevelt sailed with his father aboard the family's 51-foot schooner Half Moon, before sailing his own 21-foot sloop New Moon. FDR also owned another small sailboat Vireo, and enjoyed canoeing, as well.
Read more about presidential sailing in this American Sailing Association article from Presidents Day 2016.
