09/08/2023
: A tour bus brings visitors to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's campus for a cruise aboard PATRIOT in 1970.
PATRIOT started out as the wooden fishing boat Tek-Ni-Color. It was refitted by Jim Heikes as a cruise vessel and welcomed its first passengers in 1969.
In 1990, subsequent owners Dave and Norma Etzel replaced the original vessel with a steel-hulled design reminiscent of a 1930s Chesapeake steamboat. With a capacity for 150 passengers, PATRIOT hosted charter cruises with catered food and drink, and became a favorite venue for bus tours, parties, and corporate events under the Etzels’ ownership.
John and Robin Marrah began operating PATRIOT Cruises in 2009, continuing to provide an up-close experience on the Miles River to nearly 20,000 guests annually.
Over the past five decades, PATRIOT Cruises helped to launch and sustain the transformation of St. Michaels from a working community centered on the seafood industry to a bustling retail and travel destination.
📷 Gift of Dave and Norma Etzel, Collection of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, MS165.
