Like a migrating bird, the motor yacht “Tireless” spends the winters in the Florida Keys and returns to the Sassafras River every summer. The legendary Annapolis boat builder, John Trumpy, built the 68 foot yacht in 1963 for the Firestone family, who then owned Knight Island on the Cecil County side of the Sassafras. They kept “Tireless” in Back Creek, just across from Mount Harmon Plantation. Since the family made tires, “Tireless” seemed an especially appropriate name. The Firestones entertained presidents and British royalty aboard the yacht. After Roger Firestone died in the late 1960s, the boat had a couple of other owners, and it was renamed “Principia.”
Current owner Dale Fetterolf found the yacht in 1999 in Florida, when she was looking for a house to live in. A former antiques dealer in Galena and in Bucks County, PA, she fell in love with the wood, the lovely lines, and the myriad details that characterized Trumpy yachts. She jokes that she decided to buy the yacht only after she hit her head on a travel lift, which caused a serious concussion. Her partner, James Silva, had a U.S. Coast Guard Captain’s License for a 100-ton vessel. Growing up on Long Island, he had always worked on boats and built boats. James studied trumpet at the Eastman School of Music, but his first love was boating.
Dale and James spent nearly three months restoring “Tireless” to its original elegance. They live aboard and share their enthusiasm for it with guests who come from all over the country and abroad. For several years, their clients were mostly corporations that held employee and customer appreciation parties aboard “Tireless.” However, after the stock market crash of 2008 and the subsequent recession, many corporations cut back on such events, so the business now attracts mainly individuals who hold weddings, bridal showers, anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions on board. People can charter “Tireless” for two hours or two weeks or almost any length of time in between. In the thirteen years since acquiring the vessel, nearly 5,000 passengers have come aboard.
Each autumn, after the end of Hurricane Season, Dale and James journey down the Intracoastal Waterway with passengers who like the leisurely pace of about 80 miles per day. (They also enjoy Dale’s fabulous cooking.) And each spring “Tireless” returns to the Sassafras River with different passengers. They have made 25 trips on the Intracoastal Waterway. The entire trip is 1,400 statute miles and uses $10,000 worth of fuel. With all the loving care that James and Dale have bestowed on “Tireless,” it has proven to be tireless indeed.
During the summers, “Tireless” lives at Georgetown Yacht Basin, located in Georgetown Harbor in the Sassafras River. If you like the great natural beauty of the Chesapeake Bay, the great manmade beauty of a classic yacht, and like wonderful food, give Dale or James a call at (215) 499-8288 or visit their website, www.tirelesscharters.com.
Bill Anderson says
I was in Rock Hall on Sunday, August 19 and saw “Tireless” making her way out of the Rock Hall Harbor with probably about a dozen people on the forward deck. That boat bears a very striking resemblance in every respect — size, style, and appearance, to a craft named “Silver Dawn”, which was home ported in Rock hall in the early 1960’s and also traveled to Florida each winter. Silver Dawn was owned by Edgecomb Steel Co. in Philadelphia, and captained by the late Pres Jacobs, whose widow still lives just up the street from the harbor. I believe Silver Dawn may have been built in the late 1930’s. She was a spectacular boat. Does anybody know if and where she still exists? How about it Rep. Jay Jacobs — do you have any insight?
Kay Blinebury says
Hi Bill,
About 5 years ago I posted an inquiry about the Silver Dawn on Wooden Boat Rescue and still receive tidbits of information. Unfortunately know one seems to know her fate. I would really love to find her, she was the epitome of style to me as a young girl and still is when it comes to boats.