Queen not allowed to sail after NYE incident
By Kathryn Reed
While the Tahoe Queen did not sustain any damage during a mishap New Year’s Eve, it is still grounded by the U.S. Coast Guard.
During an inspection on Jan. 1, Coast Guard investigators from San Francisco found an unrelated mechanical problem that is keeping the paddle-wheeler docked. USCG Ensign Jake Urrutia called it an “unrelated deficiency”, but had no more details.
“I don’t know how long that will take before that is lifted,” Urrutia told Lake Tahoe News of the “no sail” edict.
There are conflicting reports as to whether the boat with more than 200 passengers hit a sandbar or winds disabled it during the annual New Year’s Eve cruise. Urrutia said that is what investigators are trying to determine. He told Lake Tahoe News on Friday morning that investigators don’t know why the Queen required the assistance of a tugboat.
At 1:29am Jan. 1 Christi Murphy tweeted this from the boat, “Stuck in the middle of Lake Tahoe on the queen tahoe… Jerks keep lying to us. Boat is stuck in 5 ft deep water with 200 people+kids. Suck.”
Coasties were not notified of the incident until about 2:30am Jan. 1, and by that time the vessel was no longer disabled.
Multiple calls to Victor Gomez, tour manager of Aramark’s operations on the South Shore, went unreturned. Aramark runs the Queen as well as the M.S. Dixie II, Zephyr Cove Lodge and other operations. Dave Freireich, with corporate offices, also was not available.
With the Queen out of service indefinitely, it means there is no paddle-wheeler operating on the South Shore. This is because the Dixie is undergoing $1 million worth of renovations and is not expected to be plying the waters of Lake Tahoe until the spring.
The Queen hit a sandbar near Regan Beach on Aug. 4, which necessitated the 257 passengers be ferried to shore by much small vessels. No one was injured in either incident. The August incident is still under investigation by the Coast Guard.
In all seriousness, the USCG needs to take a hard look at this operation and put some mandatory actions (staff training, hiring processes, equipment updates/repair and operational procedures) in place before someone gets seriously hurt or killed. Two incidents in 12 months where the ship is stuck for an extended period of time is no laughing matter.
Given their snowmobile operations are down due to lack of snow and now the passenger revenue is on hold, Aramark’s next move will be to cut expenses which does not bode well for dealing with safety issues. There is no way I would suggest this company to anyone I know or anyone who asks.
Drunken party boat on New Year’s Eve. Bring the kids! Yah! (sarcasm)
Oh boy. Cold New Years Eve cruise… what could go wrong? You would think that “precaution” would be at the top of a list.
I’m with Reza on her comment about The Queen and the
USCG. That operation needs to be thoroghly inspected. Pilot error is most likely the problem.
But while I’m not defending Aramark or It’s staff, I will say I’ve been on the lake on a calm day and that Tahoe wind can come up fast! Making navigation and passenger safety a real challenge. Even with a marine radio and monitoring the weather , sometimes it’s not always accurate then you find youself in a bad situation. Safe boating. OLS
Before u post. Get the facts. It has nothing to do with the sand bar or staff
Hi Scott, Do you have some facts that were’nt in the article? Maybe just wind or shallow water or pilot error? Or maybe something else.
The good thing is no one was hurt, and lets pray for snow to get that lake level up! Take Care, OLS
OLS. Sorry, but praying for snow has no effect.
rock4tahoe, For snow it depends who you pray to. Ullr, a Norse god from the 13th century who’s connected to skiing is good ,but even better is Stein Eriksen. A great skier and Gold Medalist from Norway from way back when.
Whether Stein can bring in snow is debateable, but if he can, he’ll look fine carving some big turns on the face at Heavenly Valley just like he used to!!!!
Lets get some snow and fill the lake!!!
Old Long Skiis
Yeah, I washed my car and left it out the night of “storm-aggedon” but you know the rest. Darn Tonopah high killing storm after storm that comes across the valley. Looks like another dry January.
Having come from 20 years in the salt water, I thought the Queen would have been a dream to Captain, and was hired in 2006, 2007 to pilot and maintain. It didn’t take long to realize how bad some of these issues were. First let me say I believe Aramaic to be basically a good company, but plagued by the same issues a lot of corporations are. ( bad and unqualified managers, lack of field knowledge, experience etc. When I was there, I had a port captain,( boss) who had no maritime experience, but had landed the job from being brought up through the ranks from being a bartender on the ship.( hardly qualifying “seatime” for licsencing. We were even forced to run without even a makeshift engineer the whole season. As far was the tugboat, that is an actual part of the requirements to operate that vessel,it has to be on standby as part of the ships right to operate. During the time I was there , unfortunately that tug was never available as it had been allowed to sink at the dock twice in the same season. ( management bonuses were much more important than hiring someone qualified to oversea the maintenance end. The hull was so seriously corroded you could stick your finger through it. At the end of the season at the time of the biannual layoffs I did what is required by not only company policy, but also by the coast guard and records these issues to the department heads. Instead of addressing these issues I was labeled disgruntled. To cover my rear these issues were written in the ship log, and took pictures of the jury rigging in the engine room and elsewhere. ( I still have them.) As far as the sand bar goes there was a lot of pressure put on by management to get close to shore so the hotels and casinos could see the boat and would want to book a ticket. This is hardly the only operation run like this, the industry as a whole is infested with these kind of issues. I have made it a point to bite my tongue and not speek out publicly on these issues, but no more. Capt D.
John, Thank you for your first hand knowledge of The Queen. This really tells it like it is and fills in a lot of the gaps into what happened on NYE.
I hope you don’t get in trouble for telling the truth and thanks for speaking out!!! OLS
The Tahoe Queen has gone to the weigh side…. Ever since Joe lost the Marina etc. that boat has been sinking. It looks like crap! Purple and puke cream? Who came up with those colors. Red, white and blue was much classier and more PATRIOTIC. Even tho Joe did some crazy things he kept that boat looking sharp and did a fine job with Susan Neilson keeping tourist happy and returning year after year. Along with all the repairs needed don’t forget to paint it and put in fresh carpet…and for goodness sake polish the brass in the boat. The purple and cream look like a trailer that floats! Eye Sore! Red, white,& blue are happy Nautical colors! Take it from a native… Your marketing dept. Needs help! Unfortunately, both the Queen and Dixie are no longer owned by private sector…. If Joe was still here he would have not only compt that evening, but a dinner cruise for another time with a quest per person.
john,
if you are no longer the captain, and not employed by aramark so you aren’t afraid of losing a job, why have you not spoken out before ?
Paddle Wheel – What do you mean when you say “unfortunately Queen and Dixie no longer owned by private sector “?
Aramark is a private company that owns Zephyr Cove Resort and Lake Tahoe Cruises (says so on their website) . Fortune rates Aramark as one of the most admired companies, perhaps because of all the cost saving measures mentioned in Capt. Johns post above :
http://www.aramark.com/PressReleases/PressRoom/ARAMARK-Fortune-Most-Admired-Companies.aspx
Sounds to me like the government (USCG) interfering with the private sector again. These are profitable cost savings, now the USCG will force them to do repairs and such. Meddling bureaucrats…
Eco A… An individual owned company/corporation that is known in the community. Before Aramark it was Hornblower…. By the way the boat should be out on the lake by Tuesday. Repairs?
It’s about public health and safety. It doesn’t matter who owns it. The paddlewheeler needs to be water worthy and the captain and shipmates adequately trained.
I agree C&S. If Aramark is such a admired company and do quite well, then maintaining their vessels not only aesthetically but mechanically is paramount!
Also, maybe their main captain should have been handling the vessel that evening, due to being late and a large crowd… Safety first. Still admirable? I just remember the Kimballs and Theiman being local to our community and had a little more foresight for a Tahoe run business.
Also, it’s important to make money and be successful with these vessels, but the upkeep on boats is huge!
B-bring O-out A-another T-thousandssss
In fact I have pictures of the Queen being launched when it was built in the Keys!
Paddle wheel your holding Up Joe Thieman as a good operator? I will take Aramark any day.
Whatever floats your boat….but Joe/Susan would have been available after such incidents. Unlike Aramark? But it should be up and running by Tuesday…Bon Voyage!
The paddle wheel turns !
Captain kiwi Steve here offering my 65 cents worth.
I worked 5 years recently on the TQ and was here in SLT when the old girl was assembled in the TKM parking lot.What a project !
the TQ is subject to annual USCG inspections which are more than thorough.
hull inspections are also done periodically with a diver under the direction of the USCG inspectors.The actual steel thickness on the hull are measured and all data recorded, so comments stating that you could put your finger through the hull are ridiculous and unfounded.I will say that there are areas above the waterline suffering from corrosion but nothing that affects the integrity of the structure.
The USCG has very high safety standards and they are applied to the TQ upon every inspection.To appreciate these standards you would have to participate in an inspection first hand and see just how meticulous, the inspection teams are.
The TQ has a very unique anchoring system known as “spud anchors”
They consist of 4 square steel pipes that are lowered and raised as necessary to secure the vessel to to lake bottom.
Many of you have probably cruised on the TQ and may have observed first hand the winches raising these spuds prior to departing the dock.
In the event of strong winds pushing the vessel off to the shallow sides of the channel, the spuds can be lowered to hold the vessel in the channel until the wind drops .
Whenever a USCG inspected vessel “runs aground” the USCG will issue a no sail order , until such time the hull can be inspected for damage and any repairs made.
It is my understanding that this has already been accomplished and the TQ will be back on the lake very soon .
I personally know the crews on the TQ and the M S Dixie and they are a very professional and responsible group of Mariners.
Well this is perhaps my 75 cents worth, Keep on cruising . Cpt Kiwi Steve.
Joe certainly had his issues, however local ownership did have it’s benefits. The Kimball brothers were characters, too. Indeed, corporations have their drawbacks. I was fortunate to have known and worked with all three.
The “finger through the hull” comment was clearly referring to the tugboat, not the TQ.
If there was a routine inspection being made by the USCG, the only reason that it was not well-known is because, in typical corporate fashion, any information was kept from the public through their pattern of denial through silence, or “unavailable” as they like to say.
Although the captain is always responsible for the safe operation of the vessel, I remember another incident years and years ago where the Dixie ended up on the beach at night with wind being a factor.
Both the Queen and the Dixie are wonderful pieces of history for our community. Our visitors love them both, despite the occasional glitches. The best part is that no one was injured.
I think the queen beached every day in E-Bay to let the tourists see Vikingsholm.
Did the queen sail today and not get stuck anywhere ?