Edmonton Queen ready to set sail
Riverboat renovated and ready to cruise once a captain, crew brought on board
Ahoy, mateys — The Edmonton Queen could set sail by the end of the month for the first time since 2015 if a captain and crew can be mustered to take her out of harbour.
“It’s been a two-year process to satisfy all the legal requirements. The City of Edmonton has been very helpful giving us a temporary development permit,” owner Jay Esterer said Friday on the deck of the 52-metre riverboat.
“It’s exciting to be getting this thing paddling up and down the river. The one thing we need is a crew, and finding a crew in Edmonton is difficult because there aren’t a lot of ships in Edmonton.”
Esterer bought the Queen for $608,000 in May 2016, but hasn’t been able to take a trip on her yet because of low water levels in the North Saskatchewan River and the need for electrical and mechanical upgrades.
Although Transport Canada recently gave him approval to operate this summer, he requires a captain, first mate, engineer, safety staff, and servers before setting sail.
He has had a couple of applications for the captain’s post and is looking for more.
“The type of person that might do this might have operated a ferry up in Peace River or a ferry on the B.C. coast or a passenger cruise ship.”
The initial schedule will likely involve trips Thursday to Sunday, which might be expanded to the rest of the week if there’s enough interest, Esterer said.
The length of the journey will be dictated by water levels, but probably won’t be more than a couple of kilometres.
He wants to run a restaurant and private events while tied up at Rafter’s Landing when the river isn’t high enough for travel, saying he has support from residents in nearby Cloverdale.
However, under Transport Canada rules, nothing can happen without a captain, even when the boat is moored, he said.
Esterer, who works at a company that makes coatings for aircraft and other equipment, wouldn’t say how much he has spent upgrading the Queen, but said it cost less than the purchase price.
While he isn’t sure he’ll be more financially successful than other owners of the boat, he said he wanted to preserve an iconic piece of Edmonton’s river activity.
The 210-tonne steel paddlewheeler was launched in May 1995.
The previous owner, the Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council, put the Queen up for sale in an online auction after it was docked in July 2015 because of low water.