Florida Man Pays $18,500 For Jfk Boat

It was 1936 when John F. Kennedy raced his prized 22-foot sloop Flash II to an Atlantic Coast Championship.

On Saturday, 60 years later, a marine dealer paid $18,500 for the boat at auction despite its broken mast and weathered hull.

Chuck Fitzgerald, owner of Sailorman Used Marine Gear Emporium in Fort Lauderdale, plans to restore the 66-year-old boat.

“We are delighted the yacht is in such good condition after her years in storage, and look forward to giving the boat the tender love and care she deserves,” Fitzgerald said in a statement.

The going price was a big jump from the $300 the late Don Ehler paid for the boat in 1963 in Clearwater - with no idea who the former owner was. The boat was kept in a shed for years.

As a 19-year-old member of the Nantucket Sound Star Fleet, Kennedy sailed Flash II to a four-minute victory in the 1936 Atlantic Coast race, according to Star records.

Kennedy, an avid sailor who skippered many boats, sold Flash II in 1942.