The River: Anywhere on river is home, but ‘unnamed buyer’ is taking the SPIRIT of Peoria out of Peoria

By Capt. Don Sanders
Special to NKyTribune

(The riverboat captain is a storyteller, and Captain Don Sanders is sharing the stories of his long association with the river — from discovery to a way of love and life.

Lately, the river’s been abuzz with gossip regarding the sudden and unexpected sale of the sternwheel excursion boat, the SPIRIT OF PEORIA, to an “unnamed buyer.” Complicating the transaction was the City of Peoria, Illinois’s first-refusal rights to purchase the vessel and stop its sale to Yacht Starship Cruises of Tampa, Florida. Allies of the SPIRIT rallied in support of preventing it from leaving its home on the Illinois River where it has been an entertainment attraction since 1988. But, this past week, the Peoria City Council “voted to let the SPIRIT OF PEORIA leave the city,” according to the STAR JOURNAL, the local newspaper.

For several weeks now, social media players have coyly hinted at the identity of the prospective purchaser of the SPIRIT and the steamboat JULIA BELLE SWAIN that’s been laid-up and awaiting rescue for several years in a slough near LaCrosse, Wisconsin on the Upper Mississippi River. Those who knew the buyer’s identity dangled hints above the heads of steamboat’s followers like a juicy morsel overtop a hungry pup. Their reluctance for disclosure reminded me of a childhood taunt heard on the playground of an elementary schoolyard:

“I know something you don’t know…”

Of course, I was just as curious as the next to discover the identification of the buyer of these two riverboats. After two usually sincere players in the river game disclosed they knew the ID of the mystery person “but couldn’t tell,” I contacted a friend close to one of the boats. Within minutes I found the identity on the promise I would not reveal “his/her” or “their” specifics until either party announced a public disclosure concerning the sale of the vessels. To that promise, I’ve kept my word. At the same time, I watched more and more hints tossed about until this past Wednesday when the Peoria STAR JOURNAL carried a story with a link identifying the mysterious purchaser as the owner of Yacht Starship Cruises of Tampa, Florida.

Besides other newspapers and blogs ID’ing the company and the person behind the transactions, the STAR JOURNAL added on Wednesday, the 23rd of March 2022:

“What we know about Yacht Starship Cruises (YSC). Started in 2001 by CEO Troy Manthey, Yacht Starship Cruises offers public and private charter cruises out of Tampa Bay and Clearwater, Florida, according to its website. It is a 145-employee operation. Manthey, a Coast Guard-licensed captain and pilot, represents the fifth generation in his family to be involved in operating passenger vessels. The family history in the business dates to 1884…”

Still, I remain cautious of discussing this matter publically without hearing from sources other than news releases and Facebook posters, most of whom are unfamiliar with what it’s really like making a living on a riverboat to support themselves and a family.

What I do know from experience, the CEO of YSC, Captain Troy Manthey, was in charge of my last commercial command, the Hilton FLAMINGO, before Hilton sold it to Hyatt Gaming. Renamed the GRAND VICTORIA II, the former New Orleans casino paddlewheeler became “my boat” for 16 years. I cannot think of a better, more experienced passenger boatman than he to take over these two stalwart vessels. I’m confident that giving up the FLAMINGO was difficult for Captain Manthey. Likewise, from what I’ve gathered, the Peoria crew members have similar feelings about the loss of their locally-owned employer. However, as we often hear, “business is business,” but too often it’s the “little guy” who feels the changes the most.

My first instinct is to ask crewmembers from the SPIRIT why they don’t just follow the boat and go where it goes. No one had to twist my arm to force me to sell a lucrative business in Covington, my Kentucky hometown, pack up a young wife and two small boys, and traipse off to Nowheresville-on-the-Mississippi in anticipation of earning a licensed officer’s slot on a paddlewheeler gambling boat that never came to town.

As a longtime boatman, anywhere on the river is home. Try telling that, however, to a much younger mate packing two young children amidst an unfamiliar small, isolated, and economically-deprived backwater town appearing third-world-ish after leaving behind the bounty of opportunities of a large and industrious metropolitan area. It’s not always easy to toss one’s belongings into a duffle bag and follow a job, whether it’s an adventure on a winding, scenic river or even the deep blue sea.

As an old steamboatman, Captain Anthony “Tony” Tollewinger usually remarked whenever outcomes of demanding situations seemed unpredictable, “Let’s wait and see what happens.”

Thankfully, I was eventually able, through my southern Mississippi river town connection, to gain employment aboard the DIAMOND LADY in Bettendorf, Iowa, and began an enjoyable career in the casino boat biz lasting for nearly 20 years.

Meanwhile, close to the Falls of the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky, the Captain, Chief Engineer, Staff, and Crew celebrated raising vapor pressure in the boilers of the 108-year-old Steamer BELLE OF LOUISVILLE in anticipation of the upcoming 2022 cruise season. Pilot, Cap’n Pete OConnell blew the first whistle of the year on the BELLE’s legendary three-chimed “baby-waker” whistle. This whistle, of unknown origin, is the same one that I harkened to over 63 years ago as a skinny, exuberant, 17-year-old deckhand having more fun on the Mississippi and tributaries than anyone should ever be allowed to enjoy. In those long-ago summer days, the BELLE, then known as the Steamer AVALON, was the most widely-traveled steamboat on the river – steaming more places on the Western Rivers, perhaps, than any other boat in history.

Five years ago this past week, Chief Engineer Phillip Johnson and I slipped the bonds holding the Rafter CLYDE fast at WaterWays Marina on Hogan Creek in Aurora, Indiana. While I steered, Chief Johnson made a live Facebook broadcast as we slid smoothly beneath the 1887 George Street Bridge and entered the Ohio River, northbound on the Ohio River, at Mile 496.6. Those were delightful days aboard the CLYDE, but they passed all too quickly like everything else in life. 

Who could have guessed when Phillip recorded CLYDE’s videocast what shape the world would be in today, just five short years later? Since then, over 974,000 Americans, and counting, have died from a virus unknown in humans as the CLYDE glided under the antique iron bridge. Now, with a war worsening in eastern Europe threatening the use of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, North Korea launched, this past week, its first ICBM capable of striking Washington, DC.

Oh, how I long for those lovely days of yore, just half a decade ago, when the world seemed infinite, and a bright, uninterrupted future promised endless possibilities.

Captain Don Sanders is a river man. He has been a riverboat captain with the Delta Queen Steamboat Company and with Rising Star Casino. He learned to fly an airplane before he learned to drive a “machine” and became a captain in the USAF. He is an adventurer, a historian and a storyteller. Now, he is a columnist for the NKyTribune and will share his stories of growing up in Covington and his stories of the river. Hang on for the ride — the river never looked so good.