''Manitou'' is a performance cruising yacht designed and built for racing on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

and specifically to win the Chicago-Mackinac Race. It notably served as a

presidential yacht Presidential yacht may refer to a vessel of a country's navy that would be specially used by the country's president. It is common for a vessel to be designated as the presidential yacht during a fleet review. Some countries (below) have vessels p ...

for United States president

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

and was known as the "Floating White House." ''Manitou'' was built in 1937 at the M. M. Davis & Son shipyard in Solomons Island,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It was Design No. 99 of naval architects Sparkman & Stephens, who built many America's Cup racing yachts. ''Manitou'' was originally commissioned and privately owned by race car driver James Lowe. She was launched in 1937 and promptly won the 1938 Chicago-Mackinac Race in the cruising division (on corrected time), beating all previous records. She came a close second the next year. In 1940 and 1941, ''Manitou'' won the

Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race The Bayview Mackinac Boat Race is run by the Bayview Yacht Club of Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the longest fresh-water races in the world with over two hundred boats entering the race each year. There have been at least six changes to the co ...

. After these successes, Lowe sold her, and in 1955 she was donated to the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

to be used as a training vessel at the

United States Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1876, it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast G ...

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

. President Kennedy used ''Manitou'' while he was in office. ''Manitou'' was returned to private ownership in 1968 when she became a training vessel for the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Maryland. The boat took on the nickname: "Floating White House". In 1999 ''Manitou'' was sold to Laura Kilbourne, granddaughter of James R. Lowe, the original owner. ''Manitou'' was then given a comprehensive refit at Deagle's Marine Railway in

Deltaville, Virginia Deltaville is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place on the eastern tip of Middlesex County in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Virginia. It is known for being a vacation spot for those looking for sailing, fishing, a ...

. In late 2010 she was sold to four joint owners and underwent an extensive refit in early 2011. She was then shipped to the Mediterranean where she was raced extensively and made available for charter out of ports on the French Riviera.

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* 1937 ships John F. Kennedy Ships built in Maryland Presidential yachts of the United States Ships of the United States Coast Guard Yawls 1930s sailing yachts Sailing yachts built in the United States Sailboat type designs by Olin Stephens Sailboat type designs by Sparkman and Stephens Sailboat type designs by American designers {{boat-stub