Grace is one of the last remaining pre-World War I wooden motor yachts still in operation. Originally named Sispud II, she was built by the New York Yacht, Launch and Engine Company in the Bronx for prominent businessman Joseph Cousins, owner of “J&T Cousins," one of New York’s leading lady’s shoe manufacturers.
Her 50-horsepower gas engine gave Sispud II the power to cruise at a blazing 12 miles per hour in her duties as both commuter and recreational vessel. A regular feature in the New York Harbor and Long Island Sound, she also hosted events in the Miami area in the winter.
For Sispud, life was about to get interesting: After an upgrade to a 150-horsepower, six-cylinder gas engine, Mr. Cousins sold her to James Adams of Philadelphia.
Former trapeze artists, Mr. Adams and his wife Gertie created and operated The James Adams Floating Theater on a barge that also housed the troupe of performers. The 800-seat theater was towed to port towns to bring entertainment to residents along the Eastern Seaboard. Sispud II accompanied the theater and served as the Adams’ mobile residence.
The Floating Theater was memorialized by Edna Ferber, a popular author (and apparently, frequent guest of the Adams’ on Sispud II in 1926). Her experience was the basis for her acclaimed 1927 novel Show Boat, which became an award-winning musical and later a hit motion picture.
She was sold to Chester, Pennsylvania dentist Dr. Jay Paul Jeter who, as an avid yachtsman, enjoyed her for over 20 years. But financial distress caused her next owner, agricultural supply business owner Richard M. Tunis of Kennett Square, PA, to give her up after only three.
Sispud II was acquired by Henry & Stella Szablewski of Lansdale, PA. According to their son Fred, the yacht was re-named Acquilla, and was moved to Maryland to cruise the Chesapeake Bay until the late 1970’s. Following Henry’s death, Stella reportedly had difficulty managing the vessel, and by 1980 had abandoned her at a marina in Rock Hall, Maryland. She would be out of the water for over a decade and fall into total disrepair.
Earl McMillen III of Newport, Rhode Island, a restorer of classic wooden yachts and owner of McMillen Yachts Inc., re-discovered Acquilla, bought her for a mere $2,000, and trucked her to a Massachusetts warehouse. Of course, the restoration of vintage, one-of-a-kind wooden yachts is a complex and expensive endeavor. Using a financial model they named “Fractional Ownership”, McMillen Yachts Inc. gathered a consortium of patrons, known as “Partners," to fund and maintain each restoration project.
Mr. McMillen learned that The Cloister at Sea Island, Georgia was seeking a vintage motor yacht for its guests. Acquilla seemed to be the perfect fit. An Atlanta native, he turned to friends in the area to fund her restoration. In just eight months, her rotted hull was rebuilt. A modern diesel engine was installed, and all mechanical systems were upgraded. The original mahogany interior was refinished, and a custom above-deck group seating arrangement was designed and installed.
She was re-named Zapala (in honor of the personal yacht of Harry Coffin, the original developer of Sea Island) and was used by the Cloister to serve the area for nearly a decade.
Crescent Communities, developer of Palmetto Bluff, acquired her and brought her to South Carolina to serve as an iconic symbol for the owners and guests of the community. Fittingly, she was given the name Grace, after the youngest sister of New York banker R.T. Wilson, Jr., who had purchased (and named) Palmetto Bluff in 1902.
Father Time is cruel to wooden yachts. A Coast Guard inspection revealed significant structural and mechanical problems, and Grace underwent a year-long restoration. In 2015, to the delight of homeowners and guests, she returned with much fanfare to Palmetto Bluff to continue cruising the May River.
In December, Grace suffered a catastrophic engine failure. Her owners, now South Street Partners, had to seriously consider whether to continue with such a costly venture. She was hauled out of the water in 2021, and once again faced certain demise unless someone came to her rescue.
At a marina in Beaufort, South Carolina, Lee Leonard, an avid boater and Palmetto Bluff homeowner, discovered Grace rotting beneath a live oak tree. Determined to find a path to resurrection, he gathered a group of passionate, like-minded Palmetto Bluff homeowners to form “Operation Saving Grace.”
This “Saving Grace” team worked collaboratively with both South Street Partners and The Palmetto Bluff Club to find a way to bring Grace back to life and keep her afloat. The solution: The Grace Club. This not-for-profit organization of Palmetto Bluff homeowners would take over ownership of Grace, finance restoration, and fund her future care and maintenance.
Thanks to 45 founding Grace Club members and South Street Partners, Grace’s 2023 restoration was fully funded and completed including replacement of the engine. On November 12, 2023, Grace was accompanied by a large flotilla of boats on the May River as she returned to her home at The Grace Dock on the water of at Palmetto Bluff.
With a full slate of scheduled social cruises, Grace Club events, and availability for private charters, there are so many ways for you to enjoy time aboard Grace. We invite you to support our mission of keeping Grace alive by becoming a sustaining member of The Grace Club - open to membership by anyone within Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, Savannah and the broader Beaufort County area.
