Live From The Lantern Queen Riverboat: Nap Time?

Becky Fitzgerald, owner of , is submitting occasional blogs during , telling the tale of her husband, Carroll, who is manning the ship, which was from its normal mooring at Hutchins Park to the .

Lantern Queen – 5:30 p.m. on August 27, 2011: Carroll says the wind and rain are starting to behave more like a hurricane, with gusty and variable conditions. The NOAA Smart Buoy reports 20kt sustained winds and 30kt gusts at 5:30 pm. Carroll reports the rocking is gentle—in fact he had moved to the wheelhouse to relax in the deeply cushioned and reclining captains chair. From that high perch he was doing some people watching. A steady parade of cars circle the yacht basin parking lot; folks checking out the storm conditions. Boat owners who are riding out the storm have begun moving their cars and trucks to the top of the hill at , in preparation for high water (High tide is between 9-10 p.m.).

I asked Carroll about high water and he said that there’s at least four feet to go before the water is even with the pier. Let’s hope the storm surge is less than that!

The Lantern Queen has a couple of characteristics that make it unique. Obviously the paddlewheels (referred to by Capt. Steve as the big red turny things) is the first. But the two things that come into play in weather like this are its flat bottom and the large amount of freeboard. First, freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck. So, the enclosed dining room on the lower deck is part of the Lantern Queen’s freeboard. Having lots of freeboard means that the Lantern Queen behaves much like a sailboat, getting pushed around a lot by the wind. Unlike sailboats, which have keels to help balance it as the wind pushes the sails, the Lantern Queen’s flat bottom just lets the wind push it along. On the other hand, that flat bottom makes for a really, really smooth ride. So, the wind wants to push the boat around, but Carroll’s not getting too much action because of the way the lines are rigged and the flat bottom. Now, some of that will change as the winds get heavier.

As we ended our conversation, Carroll was figuring on napping for a while in that big captain’s chair.

And yes, the man CAN sleep through a hurricane!