THE GRACE CLUB

The journey took 110 years, but Grace is home now, safe under the love and care of The Grace Club in the heart of Bluffton, SC. If her hull could talk, oh the stories she could tell. She’s one of the last of her kind, a pre-World War I wooden motor yacht still in operation.

Her journey began at the New York Yacht, Launch and Engine Company in the Bronx in 1913. Christened the Sispud II, her 50-horsepower gas engine gave her the power to cruise at a dazzling 12 miles per hour.

In 1925 she was upgraded to 150-horsepower, six-cylinder gas engine and sold to former trapeze artists James and Gertie Adams and served as their mobile residence while operated an 800 seat theater, The James Adams Floating Theater, on a barge that also housed a troupe of performers. Famous author, Edna Ferber, was a frequent guest on the Sispud II and her visits inspired the 1927 novel Show Boat which became an award-winning musical and a hit motion picture.

Giving up the theater for a quieter lifestyle, Sispud II was sold twice over 23 years. Her next owners renamed her Acquilla, and she moved to Maryland and cruised the Chesapeake Bay until the late 1970s. By 1980 she was abandoned at a marina in Rock Hall, MD. There she sat, out of water, for over a decade, falling into complete disrepair.

The owner of McMillen Yachts Inc., Earl McMillen III of Newport RI found her, purchased her for a pittance and hauled her to a warehouse in Massachusetts. Because restoration of rare, vintage wooden yachts is complicated and incredibly expensive a consortium of patrons was formed to fund and maintain each restoration project. It so happened that The Cloister at Sea Island, GA was in the market for a vintage motor yacht for its guests. Within eight months her rotted hull was rebuilt, mechanical systems upgraded, a modern diesel engine installed and her original rich mahogany interior refinished. Along with her new look came a new name, the Zapala. She faithfully served the area for ten years.

Then in 2004, the developer of Palmetto Bluff, Crescent Communities acquired her and brought her to her new home in South Carolina where she proudly served as a distinctive icon for the owners and guests of Palmetto Bluff. With this new life came yet another new name, Grace, the name she still holds today.

Father Time and Mother Nature can be cruel taskmasters. In 2014 a Coast Guard inspection revealed ominous structural and mechanical issues. After a yearlong restoration process, Grace returned to Palmetto Bluff touring the May River. In December 2020, the grand dame suffered a catastrophic engine failure. She found herself rotting under a live oak tree at a marina in Beaufort, SC. There she was discovered by Lee Leonard, a Palmetto Bluff homeowner and avid boater. Operation Saving Grace had begun. A team consisting of South Street Partners and The Palmetto Bluff Club worked diligently to find a way to restore Grace and keep her afloat. The solution is “The Grace Club,” a not-for-profit organization of Palmetto Bluff homeowners taking ownership, financing restoration and funding Grace’s future care and maintenance.

Thanks to the dedication and perseverance of the 45 founding Grace Club members and South Street Partners, restoration was fully funded and completed (including yet another engine replacement). On November 12, 2023, Grace returned home to The Grace Dock at Palmetto Bluff in the style befitting the grand lady, escorted by a large flotilla of boats including the Coast Guard, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and Bluffton Police Department escort boats.

These days Grace has a busy social calendar, filled with private charters, Grace Club events and social cruises. Charter fees, annual dues and donations provide Grace with all she needs to stay the elegant lady on the May River that she is today.

The Grace Club membership is open to anyone within Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, Savannah and the broader Beaufort County area. If you are interested in becoming a member or chartering Grace for a special event visit https://thegraceclub.org