In the late fall of 1969 a young captain was hired to pilot President John F. Kennedy’s yacht Marlin from Hyannis Port, Massachusetts to Melbourne, Florida, where, in the wake of the President’s passing and lack of use by his family, she was to be donated. The captain nearly shipwrecked in the night 10 miles off Orient Point, Long Island but made for safe harbor in Greenport, where he quickly tied her up and then disappeared. Soon after my Grandpa bought the boat at auction, where she remained in my family for over 25 years and anchored a legacy that would last generations.
Marlin at Barrett Beach, Fire Island, with my parents in the cockpit, 1980s
President John F. Kennedy and wife Jacqueline Kennedy with Captain Frank Wirtanen at the helm, Hyannis Port, Massachusetts 1961
Much has been written about President John F. Kennedy’s famous yacht Marlin. Any cursory Google search will tell you about her origins in 1930 - how she was originally commissioned by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, as a commuter yacht designed by noted naval architect Walter McInnis and built by Fred D. Lawley of Quincy, Massachusetts (specs 51’ 6” length, 12’ 6” beam, 3” draw). How later she was drafted into service by the U.S. Coast Guard for patrol during World War II (her “rumrunner” hull making her both fast and fierce), and how following the war, she was purchased by Joseph P. Kennedy of Hyannis Port and used by his son John as an “escape from the pressures of office” during his time as a Senator and then ultimately, President of the United States. (Switch your Google search to 'images' and you will see many photos of the statesman with wife Jacqueline Kennedy, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and many other notable guests aboard.) Marlin even makes an appearance in Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.’s excellent chronicle 1000 Days and is the focus of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s breezy Brief Encounters on the Inland Waterway, both recommended reading for any JFK-enthusiast.
Marlin when first built, 1930
There is more recent information available about her purchase in 1998 by Italian fashion magnate Diego Della Valle (rumor has it Mr. Della Valle was having lunch with Ralph Lauren when word of his winning auction bid came through), who gave her a beautiful and (mostly) historically accurate restoration, and who even launched a recent campaign based on Marlin for his brand Tod’s, showcasing the refreshed vessel elegantly cruising the waters of Lake Como. (OLD SOLDIER released a t-shirt featuring Marlin in 2018.)
What’s not as clear is the time between her Kennedy ownership and then Della Valle’s - a period during which Marlin was nestled on the Great South Bay, New York, brought here by a chance encounter in stormy waters off Long Island’s east end one wintry night in 1969. And so the purpose of this writing is not a full history of Marlin, but instead to fill that almost 30 year gap between her departure from the famous Kennedy’s and her splash landing in Italy, a time during which she was under the ownership and care of my grandfather and his family, and to uncover how such a historic vessel even came up for public sale in the first place.
This account was written using original newspaper articles, photographs and magazine clippings published during and after the Kennedy administration, as well as original documents, letters and photos both personal and professionally prepared by my family for Marlin’s eventual sale, in addition to conversations with my father and grandmother, who at 92 remains the longest living connection we have to this maritime saga.
JFK Jr. with secret service agent Clint Hill keeping watch on the rest of the Kennedy family, September 1963. © JFK Library
On a cold November morning in 1969 an abandoned boat was discovered floating at the dock of Greenport’s Shipyard - a sleek, 50 some-odd foot commuter yacht bobbing amongst some bunker boats. The vessel looked to have been hastily tied and tired, and no captain or crew were in sight to claim her. A storm had rolled through the night previously - possibly a nor’easter, one of those powerful storms familiar to any east coast mariner - and so most of the quiet, waterfront town was still locked down tight against the weather.
Upon closer inspection a hole was discovered above the water line in the stern, perhaps why the boat had seemingly miraculously appeared overnight. Recognizing the quality of build and distinction of the vessel, the yard owner had her hauled in for repairs. He then began the tedious process of trying to find her owner.
With no registration numbers to reference (the vessel was registered federally with the U.S. Coast Guard and therefore not required to display state registration numbers), it took some time to discover that the boat was under the ownership of Joseph P. Kennedy, patriarch of the Kennedy family and of recently deceased President John F. Kennedy. And so slowly, like bottom paint peeling off an old ship's hull, her prior trial was revealed.
Captain Frank Wirtanen and crew tying up in foul weather, Hyannis Port, 1960s
The day before her surprise discovery in Greenport, an unnamed captain fired up Marlin’s twin 413 Chrysler Imperial engines in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, revving a smooth 250hp each. His course was set. He would travel southwest along the coast, through Vineyard Sound past Martha’s Vineyard, and out into the open waters of Block Island Sound. From there he would head south, first for a stop in Virginia and then ultimately to a delivery point in Melbourne, Florida, where the boat was to be donated - or so that was the plan.
The skipper was young - a send up from the Florida Institute of Technology (the university accepting the donation from the Kennedy’s, established in 1958 to educate those working in the U.S. space program at the Kennedy Space Center), and so perhaps not too familiar with the wintry waters and weather of the North Atlantic. This journey would be no pleasure cruise. A storm was building, formed by cold Canadian air hitting the warmer, moist air on the Atlantic coast of the United States, bringing heavy winds, rain and seas. (This same November, on the 5th, the SS Keo, a 639-foot Liberian oil tanker was split in two in a storm 120 miles southeast of Nantucket. Her SOS radio message was first heard through the International Telegraph and Telephone service at Amagansett, Long Island, after which the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard were deployed to the scene. Air Force pilots described “poor visibility, heavy rain, and 20-25 foot waves.” All 36 men aboard perished. Up until that time, the Keo search was one of the most intensive search and rescue efforts in Coast Guard history.)
It was getting dark by the time the captain made it within 10 miles of Long Island’s Orient Point. Suddenly, in the heaving seas a heavy piece of debris (likely a rogue dock piling, those telephone-pole sized posts used for structural support in dock building) struck the boat's hull, piercing a hole two feet above the water line. She began taking on water. The captain quickly abandoned his planned route and made for the nearest port - westward through Gardiners Bay and into the maritime town of Greenport, tucked under Long Island’s North Fork. He hastily tied up the boat and then left her at the dock.
With her miraculous appearance solved, the yard owner contacted both the Kennedy’s and the university to claim the boat. But she was now considered “damaged goods” - the Kennedy’s felt they had already given her away and the university didn’t want her in the condition she was in. So it was decided to sell the boat at auction, with a listing drafted up for The New York Times. Word went out, the auction date was set, and all in all 3 men showed up to vie for the injured vessel - one being my grandfather, an avid reader of the paper who saw the listing in the classifieds. A few moments and $17,000 dollars later (around $150,000 in today’s dollars) he was the new owner of a historic but battered boat. (For reasons unknown Marlin was not advertised as a Kennedy vessel. According to my grandmother, my grandfather didn’t know who the previous owner was until after he had won the auction. What initially drew him to the listing was his general interest in old wooden boats and her large size, as he was in the market for a bigger boat to accommodate his growing family.)
The boat remained full of Kennedy effects, including flags, silverware, paper, two folding mahogany tables, a sportfishing chair, an oar etched with the name 'Ethel Kennedy' (Robert F. Kennedy's wife), and even a handwritten speech draft by the President himself. The yacht ensign flying in many of the previously mentioned photos remains in my family, and Marlin's original compass and binnacle, a beautifully patina’d treasure, sits on a book case next to me as I type.
Papers left on board, including a handwritten speech draft by the President himself, discovered on the back of a nautical chart. It beings "Once again the Republican Party..."
Once the damage was repaired my family chartered Marlin home, back west along Long Island’s south shore. The voyage took them through Peconic Bay, the locks at Shinnecock, to Moriches Bay and Bellport and Patchogue and beyond, to where she finally made home port at Oakdale Yacht. Shortly thereafter she was rechristened DEAMA (letters combining the names of my grandmother and their two daughters), and began her stint as the most historic yacht to grace the Great South Bay. (She was moved to the Sayville Yacht Club in 1972, where she remained until her sale.)
Family photos from the day Marlin was chartered home from Greenport, NY, early spring 1970. My grandpa, standing barefoot aboard his new prize, is bottom right
For the next 29 years (the Kennedy’s owned her for 17) Marlin was used as a pleasure boat, going to Fire Island and taking trips east to Greenport and then Block Island. Summer weekends were spent sleeping over at Watch Hill or Davis Park. My grandma cooked dinners in the galley and the family gathered around a large table in the cockpit. My grandparents slept in the main berth below while their 8 children slept in their sleeping bags on deck after dinner was cleared. (At some point a dog and cat were also added to the mix.)
In his tale Brief Encounters on the Inland Waterway recalling his own voyage aboard Marlin in 1966, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. observed “lockers crammed with water skis, fishing tackle, and unclaimed sneakers of every size…Captain Wirtanen has the yacht fitted out with a system of rubber mats and scuppers that make it possible for him to hose away the remains of chocolate cake and peanut butter jelly sandwiches in a fairly short time.” And so Marlin was used by my family as she was by the Kennedy's; not as a delicate political heirloom but as a family boat - one to be enjoyed and enjoyed thoroughly.
Davis Park, Fire Island with my grandpa at the helm, July 1977. He had the hull painted black for a few years before reverting back to the original white.
My grandparents at Davis Park, Fire Island, 1986
In 1983 my dad, a marine mechanic, upgraded the engines to 440 Chryslers, adding 100hp to each motor, bringing Marlin’s max speed from 20 to 26 knots. He also began a correspondence with the previously mentioned Captain Frank Wirtanen (captain throughout the Kennedy’s ownership, responsible for piloting the President and his guests during trips political and for pleasure, the secret service following in their own flotilla) and the John F. Kennedy museum in Boston, tracking the boat’s history. He dutifully organized his findings and correspondence into a binder that he has since passed on to me, sowing the original seeds for this story. Inside are original documents including service bills chronicling Marlin’s maintenance and repairs as well as original photographs (some previously unpublished) of the boat with President Kennedy aboard. Captain Wirtanen also shared that the President was not just a passenger but would often run the boat himself, stating to my father that "he enjoyed it very much," a notable anecdote adding to Marlin's lore.
My dad upgrading the engines to 440 Chryslers, early 1980s
I was two years old the first time I stepped aboard (or was carried, more likely). Later I remember playing in her large open cockpit with my mother, lifejacket on, and sneaking down the narrow companionway starboard of the helm, past the galley and bunks to the forward cockpit, my favorite spot on board. To me she was just “Grandpa’s old boat”, but looking back there was certainly a sense of spectacle while in her presence.
My mom and I at Barrett Beach, Fire Island, early 1990s
Rechristened DEAMA, cruising the Great South Bay
By 1997 my grandpa was nearing 67 years old. His kids were off with families and boats of their own, and the maintenance bills were mounting. He began exploring the idea of a sale, and was approached by Christie’s to sell the boat at auction. Appraised at $200,000, she ultimately sold for $150,000 to the aforementioned Diego Della Valle, in what was considered a bust at the time.
While not initially perceived a financial success, her impact is still felt all these years later. Perhaps her true value then was not financial, but the memories she made and the legacy she left in her wake. Marlin is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind vessel with a past both historic and personal. I’m glad her story lives on.
Previously unpublished photo of President John F. Kennedy with Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson and crew aboard Marlin, August 1961. Photo by Janet L. Mackenzie of Dover, Massachusetts, who happened to be passing in another boat and quickly snapped a few photos.
Grandpa and his boat, June 1991
