Live From The Lantern Queen Riverboat: Waiting it Out

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 – 2:30 p.m. on August 27, 2011: Carroll Fitzgerald is riding out the storm aboard the Lantern Queen. The riverboat is currently moored at the end of Pier 2 in the Havre de Grace Yacht Basin. With an Aero-bed, a galley full of both healthy food and yummy snacks, a computer and a stack of DVDs, Carroll’s not exactly roughing it!

Because of the difference in shore power supply, we spent yesterday and last night running on generators. So, Carroll raided the garage last night and came up with enough parts to rig a 30amp/120v shore power connector (Our crew calls him McGyver). So, with the 30 amp. service we can run everything EXCEPT the air conditioner. So, when the boat gets too miserably hot, he switches on the gen set and the A/C and cools it down again.

I just asked Carroll what he’d been up to so far today. He made a run to Home Depot and spent most of the morning and early afternoon sealing up any known leaky spots, and securing anything that we missed yesterday (Not much was missed! I know!). He’s adjusted some lines, and brought his handheld marine radio downstairs. Although he has his computer, there’s absolutely NO internet available at the Yacht Basin. (Wouldn’t that be a great amenity to add?) So, our only communication is via cell phone. 

So, now the rain is falling steadily with 12 kt winds gusting to 16 kts. Carroll reports that he’s comfortably watching his  “Saving Private Ryan” DVD on his computer, nibbling on snacks, and waiting…