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I have one story left. It is not part of my monthly newsletter and it only is being sent to those people who might be able to help.
In the last few months I have been looking into helping to save some of the smaller Trumpy yachts that were constructed after WWI. I have seen Tramp and August Cotton, both from 1919. Then there is Grand Lady. All three are from the same era.
When I was up I Beaufort I received a call from a captain in Key West. “They are going to crush a Trumpy tomorrow”! It turned out to be August Moon. She had been neglected for many years and after a long legal battle over non-payment she was crushed.
Sean Simmons, who loves Trumpy yachts, recently contacted me and so did Jerry Foster. Both were about the same thing, Grand Lady. She’s small, 52 feet. A Mathis Trumpy, Contract No. 102 built for George G. Shelton and originally named Riette II. Conversations about her go back five or so years. I had always made plans to stop up and see Grand Lady. Every time that I have passed the area south of Jacksonville, I have been on my way to some place in a hurry and had no time. Besides, the last time I stopped with my wife, Stephanie, we ended up owning a Trumpy, Jacqueline, the 46- footer.
This time heading south from Beaufort to West Palm, I drove fast with my radar detector on. It is a 14-hour drive and I left early, around 7 a.m. I had plenty of time to think this time. I knew that I really needed to stop and see Grand Lady.
Jerry had told me that she was in rough shape. Sean had forwarded me correspondence from the owner’s son, Dan. His father is battling cancer and he may not have long to go. I got to Exit 323 and followed Jerry’s directions. Of course, I got lost.
Jerry was my telephone navigator and with a little help and a lot of his patience I found Grand Lady. There she sat in a boathouse built to protect and preserve her. As I got out of the car my eyes glanced around at the dock and the boat. As I walked in I became entangled in cobwebs like in the movies, something out of Raiders of the lost Ark. As I stepped aboard the Grand Lady, the air was still. My eyes moved around and I took in everything, what was original and what was not. I was very impressed at how much of her was original.
I have been on Tramp, a sister ship. The interior of that boat has been changed many times since 1919.
Mr. Herman Schieis purchased Grand Lady in a 1983 at an auction in Baltimore. He moved her to New Bern, North Carolina for awhile then found this place and built a boathouse over her. While his yacht lived in a beautiful boat house, the owner lived in house trailer next to it. Here’s a man who knows his priorities. His son, Dan Schieis, confirmed that Grand Lady was his father’s greatest love, yachting.
Even though his father was not financially able to restore her, he has kept her safe for 26 years. Now his time is coming to an end. He wants to find someone to take care of his beloved yacht. I have been asked to help and I’m going to try my best. There are only a few remaining of the small Mathis-Trumpy yachts from this era, which was the dawn of the shallow draft age for motor yachting. They were the first to be built after World War I. They have their own distinct design and are a part of American yachting history.
I had a lot of think about on the rest of my drive south. I made it home around 11:30 p.m. It had been a long day. The last half went pretty fast with my mind focused on Grand Lady. I plan to find out as much as possible about her history and hope to find the right person that can see the dream, what she was and can be again. The dream is still there with Grand Lady.
Jim
