Not that I don’t love the idea. And what a wonderful rumor that is: “A German family is interested in buying the Delta Queen.”, as obviously told to a visitor this year on the American Queen by a crew member.

Unfortunately we will not even be able to buy tickets for a single cruise on the Delta Queen in 2008, not to speak of buying the whole boat!

If 2008 is her last season (which I’m still sure won’t be the fact), then it’ll very likely happen without us. It’s a simple matter of financials. We just bought a new condo after heavy water damaged more or less forced us out of our old one. The Delta Queen doesn’t have triple occupancy staterooms, so for the three of us, Carmen, Leonie and me, this would be two almost fully paid cabins – check the 2008 rates and you know what our problem is …

We might buy the Delta Queen if …

… well, if we win the lottery (and I try hard, believe me!). When that happens, I’ll give Ambassador’s International a call to talk about the conditions of buying the boat.

We might cruise the Delta Queen if …

… well, if Majestic America Line gives us a generous discount (hint, hint! ;-). Then at least we’d be able to have a cruise on the Delta Queen, possible one last time. And I promise, if it’s not her last year in service, we’ll be supportive and happy passengers in the coming years.

Support from the distance

But as long as we don’t either win the lottery or some financial support from Majestic America Line, we’ll continue to fight to Save the Delta Queen publicly and in the background, but from the far away distance in Germany only.


What a nice rumor. Us buying the Delta Queen …

(just to avoid misinterpretion: This picture of course is a fake :-)

From how many steamboats can be said there are at least seven different songs written about them? The DELTA QUEEN can! Let me take you on a short but sentimental journey through these songs. Please let me know if I missed a DQ song.

“The whistle came out, such a deep mellow sound in the night”

First of all, there is John Hartford‘s wonderful bluegrass song “Delta Queen Waltz” (from the album “Down On The River”, 1989; at Amazon as CD or as MP3 download). Van Dyke Parks made a cover version of this song played by a country music orchestra (album: “Moonlight – Live At The Ash Grove”, 1998).

“When you go, you take a lot of dreams”

There are two songs related to the first Save The Delta Queen campaign of 1970. The more famous one is the “Salute to the Delta Queen” song Johnny Cash presented as part of his legendary “The Johnny Cash Show” at the Nashville Ryman Auditorium (No. 35, Oct 14, 1970, ABC) which literally is a “Good Bye” song more than an enthusiastic “let’s save her” tune. Unfortunately it’s very hard to find a recording of this show. Bootleg DVDs show up at eBay from time to time.

“Mr. Muster called it treason”

The other song related to the 1970’s campaign is from a relatively unknown band named CARP which only published one album (simply named “Carp”, 1970) plus this single record “Save the Delta Queen”, a powerful rock’n’roll song in favor of the boat. Unfortunately not many people did hear the song than as it had been banished from all major radio stations: The term “damn” appeared in the lyrics – something unheard of in these days … The singer and drummer of the band Carp was a man who became famous with his second career as actor: Gary Busey.

“This old gal got a lot of soul” (Country Gentlemen)

Some more Delta Queen songs are from the famous The Country Gentlemen (“Delta Queen”; at Amazon as MP3 download), Rockabilly Hall of Fame member Bobby Joe Swilley (“Roll on Delta Queen”, album: “Delta Pride”, 2006; at CD Universe as music CD), Danny O’Keefe (“Delta Queen”, album: “So long Harry Trueman”, 1975; at Amazon as music CD; Danny O’Keefe website) and The Andy Owens Project (“Delta Queen”, album: “A Compilation”, 2007; Andy Owens website).

Ragtime Mary Greene

I include Jazzou Jones‘ “Ragtime Mary Greene” to this collection of Delta Queen songs, though strictily it’s not a DQ song. But Mary Greene and the Delta Queen do have such close ties that I think it belongs here anyway. Jazzou published this wonderful piano tune just last year and the premiere performances actually was on the Delta Queen. (sheet music “A Ragtime Trilogy” available from Jazzou Jones, e-mail: jazzou@aol.com, the music CD “Hilarity” can be ordered at Amazon.com).

The Online Petition on steamboats.org for an exemtion for the steamboat Delta Queen has more than 1,000 supporters as of today. People from all over the country are shocked and feeling very sad about the plans of the Congress not to issue a new exemption for the Delta Queen allowing her to run as an overnight passenger vessel past 2008.

As Tom & Lucy Claggett (Knoxville, MD) are writing it, being the 1,000st supporter of the petition: "To allow politics to take the Delta Queen out of service would be one more American tragedy. If Congress allows this, we should petition to be allowed to return to colonial status under England – we don’t deserve to be an independent nation."

How can one express his feelings more clearly than with this comment? And who doesn’t agree?

Definitely all of the supporters agree in what former Delta Queen Steamboat Company entertainer Laura Sable of Seattle, WA, writes in her comment: "It’s a journey back in time and a connection to the glorious history of our country. Save the DQ!"

Rep. James Oberstar has commented an articles by Katherine Kersten in the Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune, "Could Oberstar sink the majestic Delta Queen?". He compares the 1904 steam sidewheel excursion boat GENERAL SLOCUM with the Delta Queen today. There is not much to add to this weird idea of comparing these two boats (see Wikipedia for details about the General Slocum disaster in 1904). Just compare it with the safety features of the Delta Queen today …

But there is one fact I’d like to point out as it makes Rep. Oberstar’s comparison even more weird.

The General Slocum won’t be effected at all by the Safety at Sea Law or SOLAS. The Congress won’t be able to stop the Slocum by refusing an exemption even today. That is because she is was not an overnight passenger vessel but just an excursion boat. SOLAS only effects overnight passenger vessels with 50 or more passengers.

Looking closer on the Safety at Sea Law it show how thoughtless Congress has been when making the Safety at Sea Law in 1966. The law effects overnight passenger vessels with 50 or more passengers but it’s explicitly exempting vessels on the Great Lakes. They forgot about exempting boats on the US rivers because there was only one little boat (the Delta Queen) around at this time and they just overlooked her.

Then of course it doesn’t make sense to target such a law only to boats with 50 or more passengers. Is there some significant difference whether 49 or 51 people effected by any kind of disaster? And why applying it only to overnight vessels? Many of the most tragic disasters on steamboats in the (not so good) old times happened to day excursion boats. Why? Because they were much more loosely inspected and often cases of bribary, assuming that the risk on these boats is lower. Overnight passenger vessels rely on their good reputation and on repeat passengers. They can’t afford to be unsafe. This effects their business much more than on a day excursion vessel where tourists do come just once. overnight passenger vessel business is a long-term business and hence safety is much more important to the operators of the boats.

Fact is that the Gen. Slocum would be allowed to operate still today while the Delta Queen might not if the exemption will not be issued.

On the other hand, of course the Slocum won’t operate anyway because she won’t pass Coast Guard inspections. And that’s the other thing with the Delta Queen: She has to pass Coast Guard inspections, anyway, of course. If the Coast Guard finds that she is not safe regardless of an exemption from the Congress they can still refuse the inspection certificate anyway. But then it’s a fair, technical decision and not a political game like it is now when discussing the exemption.

Literally the Safety at Sea Law doesn’t say anything about boats else than that the Coast Guard must not give a certificate of inspection to any boat that doesn’t fulfill the law’s requirements. It does not say the Guast Guard has to give a certificate to any other boat. It’s still the Coast Guard’s decision whether they clear a boat or not. The big difference is that this Coast Guard’s decision can be questioned in court instead of having an obscure political decision for even more obscure reasons.

Congress, Senators and Representatives: Issue an exemption for the Delta Queen and let the Coast Guard do the job as they do on any other vessel.

Eventually, after months of total silence and refusing to comment the case in any way, the Seafarers International Union (SIU) now comments on the Delta Queen  (http://www.seafarers.org/HeardAtHQ/2007/Q4/dqstatement.xml).

In essence, the SIU says they neither "could or would guarantee congressional action on the proposed waiver", but "our [SIU’s] role in helping safely operate the vessel is one reason why the waiver had been granted in years past."

I’d like to remark that the SIU so far did completely ignoring requests for statements and e-mails we sent to SIU officials, not just once. They had the chance to comment, but they didn’t. Several newspaper reporters I talked to personally did contact them for statements and in the best case they got a "no comment" statement. So the question remains why SIU kept silent for such a long time instead of making their position clear from the beginning.

Now that this statement is out, at least their position is somewhat clearer to the public.

Jon Tschiggfrie has produced a marvelous video to save the Delta Queen. The video can be seen at Youtube:

Don’t forget to add the videos to your Youtobe favorites, vote for the video and comment it there. This helps to make the video more popular, hence more people will see it and will learn about the Delta Queen’s struggle for a new exemption from Congress!

Added: Jazzou Jones has announced that $1 from the purchase of each of his “Ragtime Trilogy” music books will be donated to the  production costs for Jon Tschiggfrie’s Save the Delta Queen video. See steamboats.org “Book of the Month” for more in this marvelous river buff collectible item.

Below are some pictures from the Save the Delta Queen press conference on Friday. Thanks to Tom Schiffer for the pictures!

The local ABC news station, WCPO, has a video about the press conference on its website. And Sentimental Productions, too, posted a video clip regarding the press conference by Congressman Steve Chabot concerning the bill to Save The Delta Queen.

Sean Hamill has published a wonderful article about the Delta Queen and the Save the Delta Queen Campaign in The New York Times ("A Riverboat Could Be Cruising to the End of the Line") which also showed up worldwide in the International Herald Tribune. The beautiful pictures in the article are from Nicole Bengiveno and where taken especially for this article just a few weeks ago when the Delta Queen cruised the Cumberland River.

The author of the Article, Sean Hamill, lives in Pittsburgh, PA, and grew up along the Ohio River, knowing the Delta Queen since he was a kid. He sums up the actual situation perfectly and I like the positive attitude of the article – other than a relatively pessimistic article by Jane Engle in the Los Angeles Times which of course is great anyway as it at least raises attention to their readers but doesn’t help much in supporting the Save the Delta Queen campaign directly.

Sean, I love your very positive article in the New York Times!

Another very positive turn comes from Majestic America Line: According to Modern Agent Ambassador’s vice president-corporate development, Joseph McCarthy, said  they are now "100 percent supportive and will do whatever we can to get it [the exemption bill] through." My comment: That’s wonderful, no matter whether Majestic America Line officials really have changed their minds or whether they just recognized that the campaign is gaining enough momentum to possible being successful and Majestic America Line might suffer from not supporting the campaign. As soon as the DQ’s owner really supports the efforts to get the exemption and is giving up its dormant and passive position, this alone helps tremendously.

There will be a PRESS CONFERNECE in Cincinnati on Friday, October 26th, at the Steam boat Park, by the Big Paddlewheel, with U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, of Ohio, at 12:30 PM. Anyone knowing ANYONE in Cincinnati, ask them to show up with a home made sign to Save the Delta Queen, or We Support Cincinnati’s Delta Queen, or other positive signs to let people know we havea lot of support to Save The Delta Queen.

Please call the mayors around Cincinnati, and ask them to call their local Radio Stations, and ask people to show up. You can also call te radion Stations yourself. This will be the first BIG KICKOFF to get National Publicity . This meeting will have feeds to the National Television Staitions and get the coverage we desperately need. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, put on your thinking cap, and think of any and everyone you know in Cincinnati, or across the River in Kentucky and urge them to show up. We need 1,000 or more people.

There is great news: As reported by Nori Muster’s "Lastest News" page, Congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio has introduced a stand alone bill to save the Delta Queen – that is, granting her a new exemption fom the Safety at Sea Act. Co-Sponsors of the bill are, so far: Representatives W. Todd Akin (MO), Richard H. Baker (LA), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Wm. Lacy Clay (MO), Jo Ann Emerson (MO), Kenny C. Hulshof (MO), Ron Kind (WI), Jean Schmidt (OH), Timothy J. Waltz (MN), Zach Wamp (TN), Ed Whitfield (KY).

Now is the big moment where the efforts of the whole steamboater’s community need to be combined, supporting this bill, H.R. 3852.

Now it’s your turn, and as Jo Ann Schoen uses to say: GO, GO, GO!  and I add: NOW!

– Contact your local politicians, city councils, Congressmen and urge them to support the bill. We need their help, so please be polite, but let them know how important it is for you and your community to keep the Delta Queen running.

– If you know a Representative willing to co-sponsor the bill, please contact Rep. Steve Chabot’s office in Washington (Anna Rack (202) 225-2216). The more support the bill gets, toe better the chances to get it through the Congress. (see Nori Muster’s site for more details.)