The Last Presidential Yacht Sells for Zero Dollars

The USS Sequoia is a one hundred and four foot yacht that was once used by American presidents to entertain dignitaries and other important guests.

Now, the deteriorating vessel sits in a ship yard and is home to a family of raccoons.

The Guardian is reporting that a judge in Delaware ruled on Monday that an investment group could acquire the yacht at an adjusted option price of zero. Sounds like a steal!

Judge Sam Glasscock (lol) said:

The Sequoia, an elderly and vulnerable wooden yacht, is sitting on an inadequate cradle on an undersized marine railway in a moribund boatyard on the western shore of the Chesapeake, deteriorating and, lately, home to raccoons.

There had been a loan dispute between the investment group and the boat’s current owners, Sequoia Presidential Yacht Group LLC. An agreement gave the investment group the right to exercise an option to purchase the yacht for over seven million in the event of a default.

The judge found that the loan was fraudulent and knocked the price down to zero after totaling up the lengthy lists of repair costs.

It's really too bad the the boat ended up in this condition. Sequoia was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. Herbert Hoover would sneak in a few drinks aboard the yacht during Prohibition times. JFK even celebrated his last birthday aboard the Sequoia.

It's also said to have once visited the Rondout Landing in Kingston.

Jimmy Carter was the last  U.S. president to sail it for personal use. The Sequoia sold at an auction in 1977 for $286,000.

There's so much history that's taken place aboard the Sequoia that hopefully it's new owners can fix it up and restore it to it's former glory. At least kick out the raccoons.