Welcome to USS Potomac
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Historic Presidential Yacht
→Public cruises start again Sun, April 26 Opening Day on the Bay
→Potomac Tours – most Wednesdays and Sundays year ’round
Built in 1934, the US Coast Guard cutter Electra was recommissioned and converted in 1936 by the US Navy to serve as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential yacht. Renamed USS Potomac, the ship served FDR until his death in April, 1945.
Learn more about Potomac’s remarkable history and how she came to be here, in San Francisco Bay.
More than half a million people have visited and cruised aboard the Potomac, a National Historic Landmark, since she was opened to the public at Jack London Square in Oakland, California, in the summer of 1995 after a 14-year, $5 million restoration. Tours and cruises are offered throughout the year. Please see our current schedule.
At 165-feet-long, the ship was used by FDR for leisure time and to host dignitaries, high government officials, diplomats, kings and queens, and family members. Today, the Potomac is dedicated to the story of FDR who, as the 32nd president of the United States, led the nation through the Great Depression and World War II. He also authored the New Deal post-war rebuilding plan which included, among many local projects, the construction of the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay bridges.
Now you can join us aboard this captivating vessel for two- or three-hour live narrated cruises on San Francisco Bay! You can also take a dockside tour or charter the Potomac for your private event.
Watch this video that tells the fascinating, colorful history of FDR’s beloved USS Potomac:
Upcoming Cruises and Events
Check out our various events and cruise opportunities! If you have any questions, please give us a call at 510-627-1215.
Currents – The Potomac Blog
Grounded at Shangri-La
In the fall of 1941 after five years of maritime service including on ocean waters, a panel of Coast Guard inspectors suddenly announced that the USS Potomac was unseaworthy. The cause given was that she was “top heavy” with a new deck added when...
FDR’s Run for a Third Term as Planned on the USS Potomac
George Washington set the precedent, reinforced by Thomas Jefferson, of a two-term limit for United States presidents. It was challenged 141 years later by Franklin D. Roosevelt. He had won two terms by landslides in 1932 and 1936. No president...
USS Potomac’s Role in President Roosevelt’s Tehran Conference
Recent release of the bestselling book, “The Nazi Conspiracy, the Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin & Churchill,” reminds us of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1943 North Africa/Middle East trip including the first meeting with Winston...