A fun day on the water...

As some of you know, one of the things that GW and I have done for several years is donate dinner cruises to local charities. They auction these cruises off at their annual fund raising events and over the years they have made quite a bit of money. The charities keep all the proceeds, we buy and prepare the food and serve the guests a gourmet-level meal that’s been prepared on board. The cruises have always been
for two couples and last four hours.

This year we decided to do a different style cruise offering for one of the charities. The local Tri Cities Cancer Center was the charity we did this one for and it started out to be an 8 hour cruise for 10 people, with the Cancer Center supplying the food. It sold at their fund raiser for $1800 and was one of the major money maker items for them.

As the cruise got closer, the lady who bought it kept asking if she could add “just one more friend” or “just one more couple” to the list and we were glad to oblige. As it turned out, there were 15 guests who came and we had a ball. She also promised to bring lots of food and drink for the event.

We held the cruise yesterday, with everyone meeting us at the dock at 9:30 so we could depart at 10:00. Our itinerary was to head down the Columbia to the Snake River and turn up the Snake. We would pass through Ice Harbor Lock then continue upstream where we’d anchor for awhile so people could swim. Then we headed back to Ice Harbor Lock and back to the slip. The weather cooperated beautifully. It was in the low 90’s with about a 15kt-18kt breeze most of the day.

We headed out of the slip right on schedule after a short safety briefing that covered where all the life jackets were, how to use the head without plugging it, etc. With that many people on board we had bodies everywhere. Several chose to ride on the bow on the way up the Snake.



While others stayed inside or in the cockpit or on the flybridge.



There was a TON of food, and all of it very nicely done. The boyfriend of the lady who bought the cruise brought a large tenderloin that he’d smoked and sliced for sandwiches, plus some sandwiches made from smoked salmon, fresh fruit, a veggie tray, snacks of all kinds, chips, dips, etc. You name it, they had it. They also brought copious amounts of bottled water, pop, beer, white wine and a large cooler filled with their own recipe “spode” made from white wine, vodka, Pellegrino, lemonade and fresh lemon juice.

We slow cruised up to the lock and got there right on time for the upstream lockage. Again, several people chose to sit on the bow while we went up…..




Here’s a shot of my favorite deck hand as we’re going up inside the lock.


There was more socializing after we left the lock…






Once we got anchored and the swimming started the activity seemed naturally to shift to the cockpit…







This is the lady who bought the cruise and her boyfriend as they’re clowning or the camera…




Before we hoisted the anchor and headed for home I got everyone on the bow for a group shot and a toast to a fun cruise….



After we got the anchor up we ran on plane back to the lock so we’d make it on time. Everyone was a bit surprised to see a boat that size get up and stretch her legs.

We got back to the slip just about 6:00, and hour later than what we’d planned on, but nobody complained a bit about being late. By anyone’s yardstick this cruise was very successful. Everyone on board ate well, didn’t go thirsty, had a chance to swim if they wanted and had lots of time for socializing. We covered about 48 miles all together and for almost everyone it was their first time through any of the locks on the rivers.

Congratulations and what a fun day for the group too. How nice for the cancer society too......

Great trip for a great cause, a real win-win

terrific day,always nice to see people enjoy boating and your contribution to a great cause!

Thanks for all the comments. We enjoy doing these cruises and having people on the boat who don't get to experience boating. Plus, we have made many good friends.

We're doing one of our standard "4-hour dinner cruises" tonight for two couples who bought the cruise at an auction to raise funds for Pet Over Population. That's a good cause and one of four charities we donate cruises to.

I have a friend who does the same thing as a fund raiser for his church. I always wondered about the issues of liability insurance if someone was injured on a cruise where money had been charged. Would this require some type of captains license and commercial insurance for carrying paid passengers? I congratulate you for helping to raise funds for a very worthy cause.

I would love to do something like this with our boat as well, but I, too, am curious about licensing and insurance requirements.

There's no money changing hands our direction, so there's no issues with insurance or licensing or any of that other legalese stuff.

The guests buy the cruise from the charity at the charity's fund raising auction. They pay the charity directly for it. We provide the boat, the fuel, the food, wine and a great time.

If you were accepting money for a cruise, even money for gas or food then it puts you into an entirely different category with your insurance (they're going to insist you get licensed) and with the USCG. Your insurance company will also want much higher liability limits and may want your boat surveyed prior to you accepting paying customer.

Doing it the way we do it, the people on board are our guests just like any other guests we have.