Sequoia, a 104-foot (32-meter) classic wooden yacht, has hosted many of the 20th century’s towering figures.

The yacht served eight presidents from Hoover to Ford before being auctioned off by Jimmy Carter. Now there are moves afoot to buy it from its private owners so that the boat may be returned to public service.

Sequoia began its presidential service during the Great Depression, before airconditioning, when the commander in chief took to the water for relief from the oppressive political and summer heat of Washington.

See an IPIX of the Sequoia’s interior Photograph by Mark Christmas/NGS ENLARGE >>

But it quickly became a place for solitude and deep thinking in times of trouble.

Johnson retreated to the boat to assess the impact of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Nixon is said to have searched his soul while seated on the boat’s stern deck, concluding that he had no option but to resign the presidency after losing his way during the Watergate scandal; crowds of reporters hung over the Potomac bridges to watch the Sequoia pass below, sensing the impending death of the beleaguered administration.

Sequoia Chief of Protocol Bill Codus in the yacht’s diningroom. Photograph by Mark Christmas/NGS

The Sequoia was also a powerful tool in furthering America’s international relations; world leaders such as Churchill, Brezhnev, and Emperor Hirohito were among the many who enjoyed a sundowner as the yacht slid past the tangled, verdant banks of the Potomac.

Auctioned Off by Carter

President Carter’s election in 1976 signaled, for a while, the end of the “Imperial Presidency.” One of his first actions to strip the pomp and waste from the White House was to auction off the Sequoia. A private buyer purchased the boat for U.S. $270,000.

Changing hands several times, the Sequoia ended up in the hands of a group of investors who proposed to refurbish the yacht and donate it back to the government. President Reagan, in office, said his administration would accept the gift—provided that it came with an endowment to offset its operating expenses.

The Sequoia was sent to a Norfolk shipyard for restoration. The work was done in part, but when the financial backers of the project defaulted on payment, work was suspended and the boat was mothballed for years.

The wet bar on board the boat was originally an elevator installed to hoist President Roosevelt between decks. President Johnson had it converted into a facility to dispense cocktails. Photograph by Mark Christmas/NGS

In November 2000 Washington lawyer and presidential memorabilia collector Gary Silversmith bought the Sequoia for U.S. $1.9 million and moved it back to the nation’s capital, where it is now available to the public for charter at U.S. $10,000 a cruise.

The Sequoia Presidential Yacht Foundation has been formed with a view to raising donations to buy the yacht from Silversmith. The idea, according to Foundation Vice President Bill Codus, is to raise at least $5 million for an endowment that would allow for the boat to be fully restored and maintained.

It is the goal of the foundation to continue to make the Sequoia available for public charter as well as a vessel for programs for the Sea Scouts and Sea Cadets, Codus says. “The emphasis is on seamanship skills and discipline and on Sequoia’s history and also of the history of the presidents she served.”

Once the yacht is acquired by the foundation it will be moved in to the U.S. Navy Yard on the Potomac, Codus says. “And once more she will available for the use of the President of the United States as well as members of the U.S. Congress, U.S. Supreme Court, and the cabinet.

“It is our goal to return this national treasure to the American people,” says Codus, who is also “Chief of Protocol” of the Sequoia. “There is too much history here to be lost.”

• Happy hour on board the Sequoia: view a list of presidential favorites.

For more information about the Sequoia visit the Foundation’s website or call 202.872.8228.