News Media Resources
Graham Author InterviewVideo b-roll and photos
Public domain B-roll video of President Kennedy sailing Victura, July 29, 1962. Courtesy of John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum,
The Daily Boston Globe's caption: "Bob advises his brother John how to bend the jib of the Victura." July 1934. Photo from Victura and courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
After the war, Ted and Jack on Victura. Jack is fifteen years older.
Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt steadied himself on Victura's bow to capture eighht-year-old Ted forward andfrom left, Jean, Rose, Joe, Bobby, Patricia and Eunice. From Victura, photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images, 1940.
In 1963, artist Henry Koehler was commissioned by three Kennedy sisters to create three paintings of the Victura, each depicting one of their three brothers and their wives. Eunice, Patricia and Jean gave this one to Robert and Ethel. Photo and painting (c) Henry Koehler, 1963, reprinted with permission
Koehler's 1963 painting of JFK and Jacqueline on Victura.
Koehler's 1963 painting of Ted and Joan Kennedy.
The author, left, aboard Glide with Kennedy family members Ethel, Ted Jr., Max, Sheila, Kiki and Chris Kennedy, and family friend David Nunes. Photo by crewman. August 6, 2012
A presidential doodle during the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. From Victura, photo courtesy of JFK Library, ca. 1962.
JFK sailing July 28, 1962. From Victura, photo by Cecil Stoughton, White House/John F. Kennedy President Library and Museum, Boston, July 28, 1962.
When they were a family of ten, they named a boat Tenovus. With Ted's birth, a new boat was christened One More, here iwth Eunice and a friend. From Victura, (c) John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, Summer 1934.
James W. Graham speaking at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum on May 18, 2014. (Photo: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/Tom Fitzsimmons)
James W. Graham, next to the Victura, speaking at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum on May 18, 2014. (Photo: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/Tom Fitzsimmons)
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NewsFor Immediate Release
Victura, the beloved sailboat that taught the Kennedys about life, family, leadership and winning. James W. Graham’s new book -- Victura: the Kennedys, a Sailboat, and the Sea -- offers new insights into the dynamics and magic of the Kennedy family and their intense relationship with sailing and the sea. Many families sail together, but the Kennedys’ relationship with Victura, the 25-foot sloop purchased in 1932 shortly after the family’s move to Hyannis Port, stands apart. Throughout their brief lives, Joe Jr., Jack and Bobby spent long hours on Victura, competing in countless races every summer. They were joined by their younger brother Teddy when he grew old enough. Joe Jr. and Jack ranked among the best collegiate sailors in New England, driven by their father Joseph P. Kennedy who insisted that winning was essential. Among their sisters, Eunice emerged as a gifted sailor and fierce competitor, the equal of any of her brothers. Tracking their story beginning in 1932 when Jack was 15 and continuing today in an identical family boat of the same name, readers will learn to admire the Kennedys for what Victura taught them about life, family, leadership, determination, winning, and dealing with tragedies. Celebrating the sailboat’s deep influence on Jack, Bobby, Ethel, Ted, Eunice and other Kennedys, it offers a new way of experiencing their intimate sibling relationships and growth as an extended family. Kennedys credit young Jack’s sailing with helping him survive the sinking of his PT boat in the Pacific. Life magazine photos of Jack and Jackie on Victura’s bow helped define the winning Kennedy brand in the 1950s. Jack doodled sketches of Victura in Oval Office meetings, and his love of seafaring probably played a role in his decision to put a man on the moon, an enterprise he referred to as “space-faring.” When the Kennedy siblings married, sailing connected them with their children and nephews and nieces. Sailing was an everyday event, even in dangerous weather and in the darkness of night. The sport influenced how they celebrated and observed happy events, managed grief, and grew close to one another. Ted loved Victura as much as any of them. In the years following the untimely deaths of his three older brothers, Ted sailed with his children and the children of his lost brothers as crew. He also sailed past the shoals of personal shortcomings and an ebbing career to become known as the “Lion of the Senate,” helping fulfill patriarch Joe Sr.’s desire that his children pursue careers in public service rather than in business. Rich with colorful and intimate anecdotes, the book features author interviews with family members, including children of Ted, Robert and Ethel Kennedy. Victura is a story of redemption, strong family bonds, character, sport, tragedy, the power of metaphor and the influence of a little boat on the lives of great men and women. In Victura, James W. Graham charts the progress of America’s signature twentieth century family dynasty, in a narrative both stunningly original and deeply gripping. This true tale of one small sailboat is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the impressive story of the Kennedys. ************************************************ Review copies, photography and interviews are available upon request. High-definition photos can be downloaded by going to the news media page on www.thevictura.com and using the password “sailboat.” Contact: Jim O’Connor at 847-615-5462 or [email protected] or simply hit reply to this email. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||