life. I decided to sell the presidential yacht Sequoia, and to minimize the playing of “Ruffles and Flourishes” when I arrived at public meetings. I was surprised when some of these changes proved to be quite unpopular, and to learn how much the public cherished the pomp and ceremony of the presidency." Winston Churchill and the Sequoia Sequoia served as refuge for presidents to relax with friends and conduct business outside of the public spotlight. As a result, no official documentary evidence exists for many events which took place aboard the yacht, and certain lore has developed, particularly regarding British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's activities aboard Sequoia. This includes, but is not limited to, Churchill and Roosevelt planning D-day together on the large table in Sequoias main salon, Churchill gifting deck chairs from the Queen Mary for Sequoias upper deck and Churchill being the impetus behind Roosevelt decommissioning the USS Sequoia so that the two leaders could drink on board – alcoholic beverages were prohibited aboard commissioned naval vessels. Despite these persistent legends, Churchill was never documented as being aboard the yacht. Private ownership Sequoia has been owned by seven different owners since being sold by the U.S. government in 1977. Certain of the past owners sought to offset the costs of maintaining and operating the vessel by offering Sequoia for private charter, and others were non-profit groups seeking to maintain her for historical reasons and/or return her to presidential service. Thomas Malloy purchased Sequoia from the U.S. government in May 1977 for $286,000. Three months later, Malloy resold Sequoia to a partnership led by Norman Pulliam for $355,000. Mr. Pulliam maintained Sequoia in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and then sold her to The Ocean Learning Institute of Palm Beach, Florida during March 1980 for $750,000. The institute used Sequoia to entertain potential donors. The Presidential Yacht Trust, a non-profit organization, acquired Sequoia from the Institute for approximately $1.1 million in 1980 and brought Sequoia back to Washington, D.C. for use by the president and his cabinet. Michael Doud Gill, who headed the yacht trust, said, "There is some feeling in the White House that [the president] should not be on a million-dollar yacht when he has to cut programs such as food stamps and such." Although, Reagan preferred to appear on horseback, he authorized his Cabinet's use of Sequoia. During an August 1982 luncheon aboard Sequoia, EPA administrator Anne