A passionate cohort at Palmetto Bluff revive a century-old yacht — and invite the next generation on board
Written by AUSTIN FREEMAN
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Savannah magazine. Since then, Grace has suffered major damage from Hurricane Helene and is unable to sail.
If you would like to make a donation to the restoration efforts, visit The Grace Club’s website at thegraceclub.org.
IT’S ANCHORS AWEIGH and full steam ahead for residents of the Lowcountry this summer. Docked in Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina, the lovingly restored pre-World War I era wood-hulled yacht, christened “Grace,” is fully operational and ready to make memories for residents and guests. The Grace Club, founded by members of Palmetto Bluff to repair and maintain Grace, hopes to use the vessel to share the area’s rich history. “Everyone is welcome to enjoy Grace,” says Penny Baldwin-Leonard, The Grace Club founding member, and chief marketing officer. “We very much want Grace to become a beloved member of the broader Beaufort, Savannah and Charleston communities.”
Commissioned in 1913 by New York shoe manufacturer Joseph B. Cousins, Grace was originally named “Sispud II.” Grace would go on to be owned by several colorful individuals for various purposes throughout the course of its life, including at one point serving as the residence for James Adams of the James Adams Floating Theatre. Then, the boat would follow the theatre to all its destinations, often carrying distinguished guests such as the novelist Edna Ferber, who wrote “Showboat,” which later became a smash Broadway production, from her experiences aboard.
“[The vessel] has had four names and nine owners in [its] life, been integral to the writing of a renowned novel and award-winning musical, been linked to a couple of ghost stories and may have been an accomplice to a murder,” explains Dr. Gray C. Stahlman, an orthopedic surgeon of Nashville, Tennessee, and The Grace Club historian. “[It] has nearly died twice,” he adds. Needless to say, there are plenty of stories held inside Grace’s rich Honduran mahogany interior, original to the vessel and carefully restored by vintage yacht restoration expert Earl McMillen III.
The yacht was renamed for Grace Graham Wilson when purchased by Palmetto Bluff in 2004. Wilson was the youngest sister of Richard Thornton (R.T.) Wilson Jr., who bought the 18,000-acre tract overlooking the May River in Bluffton in 1902 and named it Palmetto Bluff. Remembered for her soap opera-like love story and later marriage to Cornelius “Neily” Vanderbilt III, she was one of the “preeminent socialites of the age, known by many as The Queen of the Golden Age,” explains Stahlman. But that’s another story.
The story of Grace (the vessel) almost ended when it suffered a crippling engine failure in 2021 that left it languishing in a Beaufort marina. Fortunately, the vessel was found by Captain Lee Leonard, The Grace Club president and founding member along with his wife, Penny, who saw potential in restoring the yacht and got to work organizing a group of 45 Palmetto Bluff families to resurrect it. “Grace is literally part of the foundational fabric of the Palmetto Bluff community. This is why we felt compelled to save [it],” Lee says. “We want to use Grace to bring the history of this area to life.”
Due to the work of The Grace Club and its “Operation Saving Grace,” Grace returned to the waters of Palmetto Bluff in November 2023. Along with its regularly scheduled social cruises and private charters hosted through Outside Brands, The Grace Club is looking to expand its educational offerings for the next generation. “We are working with someone who specializes in developing educational platforms to inspire children and engage them, so they are drawn to learning more about the rich heritage of the area,” Lee says.
“Grace remains a vital, cherished and beloved asset within the Bluffton, Beaufort, Hilton Head, Savannah and Charleston communities for many years to come,” says Penny, who hopes that with this new lease on life, Grace will have many more stories to tell.
