Page 155 - Historical Study of Yerba Buena Island, Treasure Island and Their Buildings

• The Potomac - The Potomac was President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt's
presidential yacht. The Potomac, originally built as an "Argo" class patrol
boat by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin,
was commissioned as the Coast Guard Cutter Electra in 1934. The steel
hulled cutter was 165 feet long, weighed 376 gross tons, and could reach a
top speed of 16 knots. In November 1935, The Electra was transferred to the
US Navy and became the replacement vessel to the then current presidential
yacht Sequoia. President Roosevelt disliked the Sequoia because he
considered it to be gaudy and too dandified for deep sea fishing, as well as
presenting him great difficulty in moving about the vessel with his weak legs.
The Electra, converted into a presidential yacht for approximately $60,000,
was renamed the Potomac in 1936. President Roosevelt obviously loved the
yacht because he used it during the following five years on a regular basis.
The outbreak of the war in Europe in 1939 gave the the Secret Service cause
to worry that at any time a German submarine could · destroy the yacht with
the President onboard. As a result, in 1941, a panel of US Coast Guard
inspectors declared the yacht to be "unseaworthy" and, therefore, withdrew
the Potomac from presidential service. The vessel was subsequently turned
over to the Navy's anti-submarine warfare research center for use as a
research ship until the end of the war. The Potomac was decommissioned in
November 1945. In 1946, the vessel was transferred to the Maryland
Tidewaters Fisheries Commission. The Commission used the vessel for
research and as the Governor's yacht until 1960, when it sold at auction. It
was Purchased by Warren Toone, who sold it to the Hydro Capitol
Corporation to ferry passengers between Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
By 1964 the Potomac had made its way to Long Beach where it was bought
by Elvis Presley in January 1964. Mr. Presley donated the yacht to the St.
Jude's Hospital of Memphis, Tennessee in February 1964. The St. Jude's
Hospital sold the Potomac to a Fresno-based real estate developer, whose
identiy is unknown. Eventually the ownership of the vessel passed to a Mr.
C. Taylor, who leased it to Aubrey Phillips (part-time bail bondsman and
private investigator) in 1971. Mr. Phillips, who wanted to display the yacht
as a floating museum, relocated the vessel to Stockton where he opened it to
the public in January 1980. In August 1980, Mr. Phillips moved to San
Francisco and berthed the vessel at San Francisco's Pier 26. A month after
his arrival in the City, he was arrested in a major drug raid. Because the
Potomac was involved in the drug raid, the US Customs Department seized
the vessel and towed it to Treasure Island in September 1980. On March 18,
1981, the Potomac sank at its mooring from damaged caused by a piling
which had punctured its neglected hull. A week after sinking, it was refloated
by members of the US Navy Reserves. Later that year, the vessel was again
sold. This time, to the Port of Oakland for $15,000. With efforts by the Port
of Oakland and eventually the Potomac Preservation Association, the
Potomac was slowly restored after fourteen years and $5,000,000 in donated
funds. The Potomac was declared an Historical Landmark in 1990 as the
result of these dedicated efforts. In 1993, ownership of the Potomac was
turned over to The Potomac Preservation Association. The vessel, fully
restored and operational, was opened to the public for tours and private

September 1, 1995 Historical Study ofYerba Buena Island, 2-51
Treasure Island, and their Buildings