Hy-Line Cruises
Hy-Line Cruises
About Hy-Line
Hyannis Harbor Tours, Inc. was founded in 1962 by Richard and Robert Scudder along with E. Raymond Taylor. The Scudder brothers, both graduates of Massachusetts Maritime Academy, operated ìScudderís Sunocoî on the corner of Ocean and South Streets in Hyannis. Mr. Taylor had long been involved in the oil business on Cape Cod and founded Scudder & Taylor Oil Company with Frederic Scudder, father of Dick and Bob.
With the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960, there was an increasing demand to view the homes in the Kennedy Compound. This encouraged the brothers to enter the marine sightseeing business from a parcel of land (received as payment for an outstanding oil bill) at the ìnorth endî of the Ocean Street Docks.
When an advertisement was seen in a local paper listing the 150-passenger M/V ìPrudenceî for sale, the partners moved to acquire her. The ìPrudenceî, circa 1911, began service in the summer of 1962 with the Scudder brothers sharing the captaining chores while the other ran the gas station. The ìPrudenceî acquisition proved to be very successful and Hyannis Harbor Tours was born.
In 1966, the sightseeing business expanded to include a new venture, deep-sea fishing. The ìSea Queen IIî and ìSea Swan IIî handle the fishing duties, plying the waters of Nantucket Sound on full and half day fishing excursions.
The Scudder brothers made another important decision in 1970 when they contracted to build a boat to run seasonally to the island of Marthaís Vineyard. The M/V ìEast Chopî (named after a lighthouse on the Vineyard) was launched in 1971 and began daily trips to the island from the same docks at the ìnorth endî.
In 1972, a decision was made that helped put the company in the position it is in today. Hyannis Harbor Tours bought out Nantucket Boat Company. The sale included three of its five vessels, their docking facility, ticket office, parking lots and the trade name Hi-Line, which the new owners changed to Hy-Line. Hy-Line was now operating two boats seasonally to each island (including the newly built M/V ìBrant Pointî) at the ìsouth endî of the Ocean Street Docks along with the sightseeing and fishing boats at the ìnorth end.î
Hy-Lineís philosophy of ìopportunity through growthî continued in 1988-1989 with the introduction of a ìfirst-classî traveling option to Nantucket aboard the newly built, 800 passenger ìGreat Point.î We also started, through licensing of the Steamship Authority, seasonal service between the islands of Nantucket and Marthaís Vineyard commonly known as ìinter-islandî service with the M/V ìCross Ripî based on Nantucket Island.
The seasonality of the business changed in 1996 when we introduced a new and innovative traveling option for the public ñ year-round high-speed service to Nantucket. The high-speed catamaran ìGrey Ladyî cut the travel time to Nantucket in half and concentrated heavily on customer service and amenities. The service proved to be so popular that îGrey Lady IIî was built in 1997 to provide further comfort and convenience to our passengers. Hy-Line Cruises welcomed their third generation high-speed Nantucket ferry, ìGrey Ladyî in April 2003. This solidified Hy-Lineís position as one of the most successful passenger ferry services in the country.
In the summer of 2005, Hy-Line embarked on a new adventure to provide high-speed ferry service from Hyannis to Oak Bluffs, Marthaís Vineyard. Hy-Line reacquired their ìGrey Lady IIî and renamed her ìLady Marthaî to provide this one-of-a-kind service.
The growth of Hy-Line hasnít been limited to its Hyannis and island operations. In 1975, we introduced our receptive operator division called Cape Cod Custom Tours. Custom Tours provides all phases of itinerary planning for motorcoach and convention groups traveling to Cape Cod, the Islands, New England and the Canadian Maritimes.
In 1979, we began operating cruises on the Cape Cod Canal from Onset with the purchase of Cape Cod Canal Cruises. The M/V ìVikingî runs daily cruises on the canal along with charters and nighttime specialty cruises.
Hy-Lineís ìnorth endî sports a Bait and Tackle Shop with all kinds of fishing supplies and accessories.
From its beginning in 1962 with one boat and three employees, Hyannis Harbor Tours, Inc. d/b/a Hy-Line Cruises has grown to about 350 employees with about 100 of those being year-round employees. Today the company is still led by Richard M. Scudder, President. The Scudder brothers purchased the stock of E. Raymond Taylor in 1973 and the stock of Robert Scudder was transferred to his children upon his death in 1978. Besides Richard Scudder, the principals of the company now include Bobís son, Frederic Scudder II, and Dickís children, Susan DeMartino, Philip, David and Murray Scudder.
Staff Directory
R. Murray Scudder Jr., VP/Operations
508.775.7185 Ext. 203
David F. Scudder, VP/Operations
508.775.7185 Ext. 216
Philip S. Scudder, VP/Marketing
508.790.7280 Ext. 202
Mark M. Joseph, Treasurer
508.775.7185 Ext. 209
Ellen Lonergan, Asst. Treasurer
508.775.7185 Ext. 218
Sandra Scudder, IT
508.775.7185 Ext. 213
Jayne Poyant, Clerk
508.775.7185 Ext. 200
Richard Bigelow, Security
508.778.2694
Marty DeMartino, Parking/Property Mgmt.
508.775.7185 Ext. 224
Jerry Poyant, North End Operations
508.790.7280 Ext. 200
Lori St. Cyr, Payroll
508.775.7185 Ext. 240
Frank Barbato, Food & Beverage
508.775.7185 Ext. 211
Dick Moore, Maintenance
508.775.7196
Dee Forand, Group Sales & Charters
508.778.2688 Ext. 206
Rene Poyant, Cape Cod Custom Tours
508.778.6933 Ext. 207
Laura Raimo, Nantucket Operations
508.228.3949
Jim Lynch, Nantucket Island Tours
508.228.0334
220 Ocean Street, Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts (800) 492-8082
Contact Us
Reservations / Ticketing 220 Ocean Street, Hyannis, MA 02601 800.492.8082
Administrative Offices 22 Channel Point Road, Hyannis, MA 02601 508.775.7185
Marketing Department 27 Nantucket Street, Hyannis, MA 02601 508.790.7280
Group Sales 36 Ocean Street, Hyannis, MA 02601 508.778.2688
For further information or a printed brochure, email us at betsyk@hylinecruises.com
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