Beautiful May 1!

I'm not sure it gets any better than this past weekend! This sunset photo just perfectly portrays the Lantern Queen experience. I'm thinking our tagline out to be "Relax and Enjoy!"

2010 - I promise to blog!

It's been a wild and crazy winter, with lots and lots of snow even though we're south of the Mason-Dixon line! But in spite of the snow, we cruise throughout the winter. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, Easter all brought great cruises.

Now, it's spring, 2010 and I need to get blogging! And of course, please visit the Lantern Queen Facebook page too! We Tweet too, so follow us on Twitter. (I've always wanted to say, "I tweet!")

The Fall Foliage was splendid this past weekend. This is one of my favorite photos from the lovely afternoon cruise.

Nighttime Man Overboard Drill

Capt. Fred was due to complete a man overboard drill this month. Little did he know it would be a nighttime drill. But once again, Capt. Fred got the Lantern Queen turned around and positioned so that the "victim" (boat cushion) could be brought aboard in the required 2 minutes! Nice work with the spotlight by deckhand "Krazy George" Henderson. Pictured is Carroll bringing the "victim" aboard. (When I said nighttime I really meant it - pitch dark! What a team!

Congratulations to Carroll on his first docking. NICELY DONE!

Brunch Cruises Rule!

I have a new favorite Lantern Queen cruise: the Brunch Cruise!
I think a brunch cruise is a way to extend breakfast (my favorite meal) into the day,
and get a cruise too! Plus this menu is just simply fabulous!

Brunch Menu

Baskets of Pastries, Danish and Bagels
served with cream cheese, butter and jam

Strawberry Affair Salad
crisp lettuces, strawberries and candied nuts
tossed with a poppy seed dressing

Smoked Salmon Mousseline
served with pita triangles, capers and red onion

Fresh Fruit Salad
seasonal fruits to include cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pineapple,
garnished with berries and served with a fruit yogurt dipping sauce

Slow – Roasted, Honey Glazed Ham
served warm with mini – buttermilk biscuits and honey mustard

Baked French Egg Casserole
smothered with onion, mushroom, sweet-bell pepper
served warm and sprinkled with shredded cheese

French Toast Sticks
with warm maple syrup

Oven Roasted Red Potatoes
cut baby red bliss potatoes tossed in a hint of roasted garlic
and fresh herbs


Above: Salmon Mousseline
(It tastes even better than it looks! Yum!)

Rescue!

Yesterday, during a lovely brunch cruise with a group from St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, we noticed a good sized pleasure boat drifting in the channel just north of I-95. A swimmer was in the water with a raft a fair distance away from the boat. Since the boat was blocking the channel, Captain Steve chose to go around behind it. As we approached a woman stood up in the boat and waved both arms, and the swimmer was also waving. The woman yelled that they needed help! Apparently the swimmer, her husband, had drifted away from the boat and couldn't get back. And the wife didn't know how to start the boat.

The Lantern Queen crew went into "man overboard" mode. As Capt. Steve maneuvered the boat toward the swimmer, we lowered the gangway and "scooped" the swimmer up, along with his raft. As the swimmer came aboard to much cheering from our passengers, Capt. Steve moved the Lantern Queen toward the pleasure boat. Capt. Steve's plan was to allow the swimmer to step from our gangway onto his own boat. However, the swimmer jumped off the gangway into the water between the Lantern Queen and his boat, planning on climbing the swim ladder to his boat.

We're so happy that this story has a happy ending! But there are several lessons for all of us!
1. Life jackets, life jackets, life jackets! Particularly in a river known for it's treacherous currents. (In this case the fellow DID have a nice raft, with lines running through grommets around the edges - good to hang on to.)
2. The more people who know how to operate the boat the better. (And this lady had the good sense to NOT try to start the boat for the first time - it could have been tragic.)
3. The more people who know how to operate the boats' radio the better. (We have no idea if this boat was even equipped with a radio - but there had been no distress call.)
4. Swimming in the channel is a recipe for disaster.
5. Never, ever, for any reason, jump into water between boats or between a boat and a bulkhead, etc. It's a very good way to get squished to death!

Finally, once again, having ongoing training and practice in place pays off. For the crew of the Lantern Queen this was business as usual, because we do "man overboard drills" so often. One of our passengers remarked that we were able to keep to our schedule, even with the unanticipated rescue. As Carroll says at the beginning of every cruise, "Our captain can get this boat turned around and get back to you within 2 minutes." And he did.