Lightship Relief
The Port of Oakland has just completed construction of the USS Potomac berthing improvement as well as a new berth for the U.S. Lighthouse Society's vessel the Lightship Relief. This $740,000 project includes a new shore side ADA access facility for the USS Potomac now accessible from the foot of Clay Street in Oakland next to the Oakland Fire Station. The Potomac has been restored and been available to the public with tours and charters and shore side docent lead history tours for the past 10 years, however this is the first time the facility accessing the vessel complies completely with ADA access requirements. In addition a new public access walkway was completed along the shoreline from Clay Street west to the Howard Terminal Pier. Within a matter of a few weeks the Lightship Relief will assume its new public berth in Jack London Square and will be open to the public. The Port is very happy with new improvements featuring great close up vistas of the operating terminal, additional shoreline walkway and the beautiful railings that the Port has used throughout Jack London Square.

A little history on the Lightship
Built: 1951
Decommissioned: 1975

The Lightship Relief was commissioned in 1951 as Light Vessel No. 605, and was built by the Rice Brothers Shipyard in Boothbay, Maine. She first went into service as Lightship Overfalls off Delaware until 1960 when she was transferred to the Blunts reef station off Cape Mendocino, California. Then in 1969 she became Relief , relieving all west coast lightships when they left the station for overhaul. Decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1975, she was given to the City of Olympia, Washington in 1976. The city sold the vessel to Mr. Alan Hosking of Woodside, California in 1979 and he donated the ship to the U.S. Lighthouse Society in 1986. Well over 10,000 hours have been spent restoring the vessel by Society members. The ship has many historical artifacts on board, and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Relief is 128 feet long, with a beam of 30 feet, a draft of 11 feet and a displacement of 617 tons. She is propelled by an Atlas Imperial 8 cylinder diesel engine (450 HP) and single screw. She has a speed of 11.5 knots with a range of 22,000 miles.

Find more information about the Lightship Relief on the Internet Public Library site: (http://www.ipl.org/div/light/PAC/LtShipRelief.html)

A little history on the USS Potomac
Please visit the website (www.usspotomac.org)

The U.S.S. Potomac originally was built in 1934 as the Coast Guard cutter Electra. The 165-foot-long vessel, weighing 376 gross tons and with a cruising speed of 10 to 13 knots, was converted to the presidential yacht U.S.S. Potomac by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had her recommissioned as a U.S. Navy vessel in 1936. As former Assistant Secretary of the Navy, FDR had a deep love for the sea and the Navy tradition. He hated to fly and preferred to travel by train or ship throughout his presidency.

FDR suffered from sinusitis most of his adult life. Particularly during the sultry summers days in Washington, D.C., he preferred to cruise on the U.S.S. Potomac rather than stay in the White House. The U.S.S. Potomac gave the nation's 32nd president much-needed respite from the cares of governing the United States through the Great Depression and World War II. He loved holding informal strategy sessions with close advisors and Congressional leaders in the privacy and seclusion of the yacht. Recreation aboard the vessel included fishing, poker games and family gatherings, and he spent endless hours on board with his beloved stamp collection.

A paraplegic since he was stricken in 1921 with polio at the age of 39, FDR's greatest fear was being caught in a fire and being unable to escape. He therefore preferred the U.S.S. Potomac, an all-steel vessel, to the all-wood Sequoia, the 100-ton ornate yacht used by his predecessor Herbert Hoover. FDR installed a hand-operated elevator inside a false stack, and the president - who had developed an extremely strong upper body - was able to use pulleys to move up and down between the saloon and upper boat deck.

There are a few records of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt coming aboard her husband's "Floating White House." In 1941, she celebrated her 57th birthday with family members aboard the U.S.S. Potomac. She also came aboard during the June 1939 visit by the United Kingdom's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The two couples cruised past Williamsburg, Virginia, and George Washington's home at Mt. Vernon during their outing on the Potomac. Other royalty to board the presidential yacht included Crown Princess Martha of Norway, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden.

At least one of FDR's famed radio broadcasts originated from the U.S.S. Potomac, on March 29, 1941.

In August of 1941, four months before Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, FDR boarded the U.S.S. Potomac ostensibly for a fishing trip and a visit to Martha's Vineyard. The President secretly was transferred to the heavy cruiser U.S.S. Augusta that evening, where he met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for the first time. During this top-secret rendezvous, the two world leaders forged the principles of the Atlantic Charter which formed the Allied partnership during World War II, and what Roosevelt called the "United Nations" to plan the post-war peace. With the United States' direct involvement in the war at the end of 1941, the president's recreational use of the U.S.S. Potomac decreased.

After FDR's death in April 1945, the U.S.S. Potomac began a long and ignominious decline from her former role in world affairs. The vessel fell into private hands and in 1980 was seized by U.S. Customs for her role as a front for drug smugglers in San Francisco. Eventually, the proud vessel's hull was pierced and she sank at Treasure Island.

She was refloated by the Navy two weeks later and sold to the Port of Oakland for just $15,000. The Port of Oakland spearheaded a cooperative effort with organized labors, maritime corporations and dedicated volunteers to complete a $5 million restoration.

The Association for the Preservation of the Presidential Yacht Potomac now operates this National Historic Landmark as an active memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the momentous times through which he led our nation.