Port Of Oakland Offers Free Tours Of FDR's Presidential Yacht, The USS Potomac
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Port of Oakland officials said Friday that they are offering free tours this summer on President Franklin Roosevelt's yacht, the USS Potomac.
More than 200 Oakland school children boarded the Potomac Friday for the first two of the 12 free tours that are being offered this summer. Mayor Libby Schaaf and superintendent of schools Antwan Wilson were there to welcome the students aboard.
Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle said in a statement, "We're proud of our port and of the relationship we have with our communities. Inviting our neighbors to these tours gives them a way to know us even better."
The Port has scheduled two 90-minute harbor excursions each month on designated Friday afternoons and evenings through October.
The 165-foot Potomac, which has been berthed at Jack London Square in Oakland since 1980, can carry 120 passengers on each excursion.
Schedules and registration for the tours will be open to the public beginning on Monday at the port's website.
Port of Oakland officials said the boat trips will give area residents a close-up look at how Oakland's seaport works, as the trips will go along the Oakland Estuary and Outer Harbor.
Port officials said passengers will see all five Oakland marine terminals, pass within yards of massive container ships and enjoy views of San Francisco's waterfront and skyline.
Known as "The Floating White House," the Potomac was Roosevelt's presidential yacht from 1936 until his death in 1945.
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