Buying Manitou was one of JFK’s first presidential actions, yet the boat was nearly lost. By Guy Venables

White YACht

J F K’S

8 CLASSiC BOAt DECEMBER 2012

The glittering twin scoops of Cannes Bay squat between the Mediterranean and the shimmering lavender hills of the Estérel mountains like a bum print in the sand. It is a place where life is slow enough to split the day with a siesta and

fast enough to benefit in the thrilling warmth of the night. The old port is surrounded by tall, dark streets where

reassuringly surly waiters entice diners into their restaurants. It was fitting that I was in Cannes to join this particular boat, as one of the previous owners was so intrinsically connected with the film business that it is excusable to forget his political career entirely.

Manitou was built at the MM Davis & Son yard in Solomons, Maryland, in 1937. She was conceived by James Lowe of Grand Rapids, who was so determined to win the Chicago Mac Race (from Chicago to Mackinac Island, Ro

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9CLASSiC BOAt DECEMBER 2012

made an impression on him because, when he was elected, the presidential yacht at the time was the 92ft (28m) power yacht Honey Fitz (named after his own grandfather) and, as was customary, a fighting ship ready for naval action.

Being a keen sailor, however, and now the president, Kennedy sent naval aide John Tazwell to search out a suitable sailing yacht that could accommodate the equipment needed for him to keep in touch with the White House, and even the Kremlin. One of the yachts on the list was Manitou and, in the style befitting of his entire career, the signing of her deeds was one of the first things he did sitting at the presidential desk.

She was promptly moved to Chesapeake Bay where engineers fitted her out as a working presidential office. Indeed she was soon given the nickname “The Floating White House”.

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across Lake Michigan) that he commissioned the young naval architect Olin Stephens to design her specifically.

What he wanted was a performance cruising yacht that would race well under heavy and light conditions. So Stephens designed a 62ft (18.9m) cutter-rigged bermudan yawl with 44ft (13.4m) in the water, a 13ft 9in (4.2m) beam and a four-ton keel. She had teak planking on deck and mahogany on oak for her hull.

Manitou was launched in 1937 and promptly won the 1938 Chicago Mac Race in the cruising division (on corrected time), beating all previous records. She came a close second the next year and came back to win it again in 1940 and 1941. After these successes Mr Lowe sold her, and in 1955 she was donated to the US Coast Guard to be used as a training vessel.

It was while she was at Annapolis that Manitou was first spotted by a young Senator Kennedy. She obviously

Previous spread:

Kennedy never

raced Manitou

Opposite: JFK

relaxes with his

wife Jackie (in

white) and a

young John Kerry,

among others

Above: The boat is

now owned by a

syndicate of keen

Med racers

Length on decK62ft (18.9m) WateRLine Length44ft (13.4m) beam13ft 9in (4.2m)dRaught8ft 6in (2.6m)dispLacement60,000lb (27.2 tons) saiL aRea1,778sqft (165m2)

MANITOU

bath

10 CLASSiC BOAt DECEMBER 2012

MANITOU

Although he never raced her himself, Kennedy and a friend, future America’s Cup winner Emil “Bus” Mosbacher, had an impromptu competition off Newport to see whether Manitou could beat his 38ft (11.6m) Weatherly. Sadly, the boats got so close approaching a mark that the secret servicemen in their RIB, nervous already at this sudden and unexpected turn of speed, intercepted Bus – much to the annoyance of the president.

During his time he not only used her as a presidential yacht, but also invited a bevy of stars and starlets aboard as guests, due to his fascination with Hollywood. The bathtub in the aft cabin, sunken under the cabin sole, is said to have been host to, among others, Marilyn Monroe.

the star wanesIn 1968, long after JFK’s assassination, she was finally sold at auction to Paul Hall, the leader of the Harry Lundeburg School of Seamanship, and became once more a vessel for learning. In the same year, Aristotle Onassis was wooing Jackie Kennedy, and, as a token of his love, twice attempted to buy it back for her at “any price”. But Hall was a proponent of the common man, so the offer only strengthened his resolve to keep her for teaching less privileged children about teamwork.

In 1999, in poor state and neglected, her history a mere forgotten footnote, she was bought by Laura Kilbourne, the great-granddaughter of none other than James R Lowe, the original owner. Manitou was given a major and meticulously accurate refit at the Chesapeake Marine Railway in Deltaville, Virginia – just down the road from where she was built.

By 2010, however, Laura was forced to sell by the arrival of triplets, relinquishing Manitou to the present

Above: She has

been meticulously

restored at

Solomons and at

Villefranche

Opposite: The bath

in the stern cabin

famously once

soaked Marilyn

Monroe (inset)

owners Phil Jordan, Pat Tierney, Claes Goran Nilsson and Melinda Kilkenny. Though Laura’s refit had started a decade before, the boat was as yet unsailable and there was much to do. The interior, panelled beautifully in American butternut, a hard but light wood, was totally bare. There were no doors below, the original sails were still with her but could be seen through like greasy paper, and her rig, it was considered, could be improved.

And so, in December, in another fateful turn of events, she was taken back to Solomons where she had been built. Here, her stem was replaced, her engine changed for a 120hp Yanmar, the wiring redone, new tanks fitted and new batteries and navigation equipment were installed. She was given new winches and tracks and then came the varnish.

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11

“They have their rules: no shouting is one

I particularly agree on”

13CLASSiC BOAt DECEMBER 2012

MANITOU

After a gruelling four months of varnishing every inside inch of her, the interior finally sparkled once again. An interior that, it is important to note, has a sunken bath, a fireplace and a fridge that has been modified to be opened from the top or sides. None of this detracts from one of the most elegantly laid-out living quarters and galleys you will come across. She seems large, light and airy with plenty of headroom and nothing seemingly compromised.

On top, the decks are uncluttered and the companionway, being amidships, leaves the cockpit free. She left the yard on 10 July 2011 and sailed into New York Harbor, flashing her cream sides past the Statue of Liberty with all sails up, making a triumphant 9 knots. Many a proud eye may have dampened with salt spray that day. From there, she went up to Newport, Rhode Island, and was shipped across to the Mediterranean.

Then the next chapter unfurled. She went into the famed Villefranche boatyard near Nice and, along with recaulking her hull and replacing the garboards, the rig was improved. The original mainmast had three sets of

spreaders, and this they reduced to two, also removing the jumpers. The upwind performance was improved to such a degree that, with the mizzen staysail balancing it all, Manitou is now the envy of the fleet. Although this year was planned as a training year, no one seemed to have told the boat, and she started winning races regardless, taking first place in the Puig Vela and Alcudia and coming second in Palma, Nice and Imperia.

sailing manitouI stepped aboard as the sun was just drying the dew over the toerail and was welcomed by what at first seemed like a multinational but close family made up entirely of men. They were milling about in the restrained excitement before a race, putting on sailing gloves, taking off socks, discussing tactics and stowing breakables. The winds were light and I was soon pulled into a discussion about the advantage this gave the smaller boats in the class. We made ready and sailed out of Cannes into the Golfe de la Napoule. The wind, little that there was, perked up a bit, so we raised the jib and Manitou woke up.

Top: Revarnishing

took a “gruelling”

four months

Above: Manitou’s

30-strong crew

syndicate always

furnishes enough

for a race

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MANITOU

There were 11 people on board and she didn’t feel crowded. Six minutes were called. We admired the posture and varnish of our adversaries like jockeys leaning on the race paddock fence. Five minutes. I fiddled with my camera and changed the lens. We raised the main. Three minutes. One of the Swedes on the foredeck changed his knee pads. One minute. We no longer admired our adversaries. Go!

One of the things that is unique in sailing is that there’s no suddenness about the start of a race, no screech of tyres. You merely carry on doing what you were doing before. The crew is a syndicate made up of old friends, all evenly tanned and most of them in their fifties. I was immediately intrigued by the dynamic, and as other skippers could be heard yelling at their crews, here was calm. On a full race charter there are constant questions and eternal strangers. Here there was cohesion, the ease of familiarity and the knowledge of each other’s abilities.

I sat down next to a particularly distinguished French gentleman who lived on the western edge of the bay. He explained to me how wonderful the lobsters used to be at a restaurant on a nearby island that had been closed down by the monks who owned the lease. The wind picked up a little more and Claes swung on shrouds and gave complex trimming signals to the well-manned cockpit. Having three of the four owners on board also lightened the potential hierarchy and it became evident that this was a crew of mixed ability but shared enthusiasm.

They had their rules: no shouting was one I particularly agree on; no paid crew, and they’d decided that 30 people was the maximum syndicate size – small enough to avoid confusion but large enough to provide a full crew for most

regattas. Friends, and friends of friends. And when the more salubrious regattas became oversubscribed, they decided to put extra money into the funds. Everything was done with the doff of a gentleman’s agreement. Not that there aren’t any women involved. Far from it. When on board, the ladies, as well as one of the owners, Melinda Kilkenny, are known as “The Mizzen Sisters” such is their expertise at dealing with all things mizzenly.

And so we raced. And as we raced, the skipper Alex Tilleray, prised from The Blue Peter, guided us through the race, adjusting sheet cars ready for a tack, setting the spinnaker boom in case we needed it and even explaining how to tie a particular haul knot. His influence was pervasive; his racing knowledge unquestionable and his demeanour lacked that manic violence of the fanatical winner. We won, it seemed – it’s always difficult to tell – and we headed back to the old port to drink beer in the cockpit and talk of our tactics, joined by wives who’d been shopping.

It was on dry land, however, that I fully understood the advantage of a syndicate. There was, as there often is, an altercation during the race, which led to an inquiry. The inquiry led to one of Manitou’s owners, Phil Jordan, being threatened by the skipper of the other boat in the pub straight afterwards. He was surrounded by the syndicate, shoulder to shoulder, ready to defend him. Had they been a group of strangers, that may not have been the case.

Pat told me that when they were looking for a boat to buy, Phil had said he was looking for one with significance. There can be few, if any, with more.

www.manitouyacht.com

Clockwise, from

bottom left: The

boat needed new

garboards;

replanking and

refastening; in the

Villefranche yard;

being lifted on to

a carrier en route

for the Med

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