Elizabeth Dupont

Elizabeth Dupont

- Rumi

Elizabeth (Tiedemann) duPont got her first taste of the sea while in her early 20s off New-port, Rhode Island, watching the final race of the 1983 America’s Cup from an 85-foot spectator boat. Today she’s the owner of Seascope Yacht Charters and the caretaker of a fleet of five wooden vessels, including the historic 12 Meters Gleam and Northern Light.

DuPont started in the charter business after leaving a hotel career to work as a mate for Seascope aboard the 12 Meter Gleam. Here she met her future husband Bob Tiedemann, who had formed the charter business after buying Gleam in 1975. The couple worked together for a few years, restoring a 62foot wooden commuter yacht named Pam before tying the knot in 1994.

They continued to grow the business, specializing in team-building activities aboard the 12 Meters while adding a 40-foot double-ended launch named Fawan to the fleet. Bob died of pancreatic cancer in 2006, which left Tiedemann at the helm of Seascope and its classics.

Today duPont and her husband, Lane, work hard to keep the fleet well maintained and Coast Guard-compliant for charter. She says it has been a challenge during the past 11 years, and she hopes to find new caretakers for this special fleet.