May 8, 2023

The Great Lakes Area recently lost a leader in James C Acheson, 86 of Port Huron, Michigan. Jim had been a Great Lakes Cruiser for over 60 years. His classic 57-foot Pacemaker motoryacht Lady J carried him over 67,000 miles throughout the Great Lakes, the Canadian Maritimes, the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States, the Bahamas and Cuba. He was a lifelong advocate and philanthropist in support of recreational and commercial marine interests across the Great Lakes and beyond. He passed away April 2, 2023.

Jim was very active in the Great Lakes Cruising Club (GLCC), an organization of over 2500 US and Canadian power and sail boaters focused on cruising in the Great Lakes region, and in the United States Power Squadrons now known as America’s Boating Club, an organization of over 20,000 members focused on promoting safe boating through education.

Great Lakes Cruising Club

Commodore Acheson joined the Great Lakes Cruising Club in 1968 and became a member-at-large of the board of directors in 1981. He was elected Commodore in 1988. Subsequent to his watch he was elected Fleet Captain, an office he held for 25 years.

Early on Jim codified uniform standards for the club and promoted proper flag etiquette. He subsequently established the club’s first computer system, computerizing the club’s membership records and overseeing the computerization of the club’s over one thousand municipal and wilderness Harbor Reports, or cruising guides, which together represent the most extensive cruising information available for the Great Lakes region.

Jim created the club’s Admiral Bayfield Award to recognize members for their extensive Great Lakes Cruising, and established the William J. Kivell Award for outstanding performance by a Port Captain. He created the position of Port Captain coordinator and wrote the first Port Captain’s Handbook.

United States Power Squadrons

Jim was a member of the USPS for 61 years where he had been a district commander and chaired four national committees: Flag & Etiquette, Operations Manual, Rules and Forms Management. Jim also taught boating courses at his local squadron. He substantially modified the coastal-oriented boating course to teach Great Lakes students charting. Jim was declared a member emeritus of the Governing Board in 2012.

Philanthropy and More

Acheson attended Culver Military Academy and the University of Michigan. He retired from business in 1998 after leading his family’s hundred-year-old global specialty chemicals enterprise. In addition to his GLCC and ABC boating advocacy efforts, in his later years he focused on philanthropy and community development. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2002 for his philanthropic contributions. Some of his significant contributions to Port Huron, MI, include revitalization of the river front including a Maritime Center, and a gift of land that was turned into a mile long river walk park. He made significant contributions for a new YMCA and a women’s hospital wing.

Jim held a 150-ton Coast Guard master’s license and was a two-term member of the Coast Guard’s Rules of the Road Advisory Council (now BSAC). He had been protocol officer for the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club and a member of the New York Yacht Club for 43 years. Whether or not they personally knew Jim, every Great Lakes Boater has benefitted greatly from his myriad contributions toward Great Lakes recreational and commercial marine interests. He was always engaged and approachable. It was often said that when first meeting Jim, he would make you feel like you were his best friend.

Jim Acheson is survived by his wife Susan Nelson Acheson, his three adult children, Larry, Joe and Dan, and his six grandchildren. He was preceded in death by an infant son.