Betsy Ann Riverboat

Three women bedecked in authentic looking 1920’s costume – makeup, hair, and flapper dresses – strut up the plank to board the Betsy Ann Riverboat docked at St. Andrews Marina.

A cool, gentle breeze blows as the near-exact replica of the original Betsy Ann Riverboat, the first steel-hull paddlewheel boat built in 1898 that operated on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers during the first

half of the 20th Century, leaves the dock. The captain blasts the loud horn as the boat heads into the bay and a brilliant blue-orange sunset.

Passengers may enter the air-conditioned cabin straight ahead, fully decorated to reflect the old steamboat days, or climb the stairs to the second deck. That is where Capt. Rick Ackerman takes his place at the big wooden steering wheel in the pilot house. That is also where passengers can walk around openly, sit on one of the many benches that convert into picnic tables, or watch as the paddlewheel gently churns the water, propelling the boat forward.

The three brightly-costumed women – Suzanne Govan of St. Louis, Mo., Katrina Barr of Columbus, Ind., and Penny Peters of Tifton, Ga. – choose the stairs in anticipation of watching the sun set into the quiet bay. Unbeknownst to them or any of the other 50-plus passengers aboard, they will be performing in a mystery play following dinner. Not only that but it will be up to them and the others to solve the mystery played out by the participants.

For Govan, Barr and Peters, who knew the theme of the play before they boarded – hence their elaborate costumes – were rather surprised to learn they would be part of it all.

“We thought we were going to be watching a play, not to be in one,” Govan said. “This was so much fun and it’s a great way to get into character and enjoy life.”

There are no surprises for Nancy Ackerman and her fellow actor Scott Williams. They have both been conducting the short mysteries since the Ackermans purchased the Betsy Ann seven years ago, and have been entertaining tourists and locals ever since. There are four mystery dinner themes, including a 1920’s gangster play on this particular cruise. Williams, the only other paid actor, directs the audience-turned- cast into what seems like massive chaos. Other themes include mysteries revolving around pirates, a Love Boat or the fictitious Margaritaville.

“Everyone is given a choice as to whether they want to play a primary or secondary role,” Ackerman, a cardiac nurse by day, said. “They are all strangers in the beginning but before you know it, they start really getting into it.”
After a buffet-style dinner of barbecue, fried chicken and sides, catered by Vittles, the company that owns Po’ Folks, a wide variety of props are set out for the ensuing production. There are plastic handguns/ machine guns, sheriff badges and other “evidence”, plus pieces of costumes such as feather boas, hats and headpieces. These props help people get into the authenticity of the characters they play. An element of surprise makes it even more fun, as the participants don’t know who they will be until they open an envelope that holds information about their roles.

Govan and her two friends have been visiting Panama City for one week at the same time every year for the past 17 years. The three long-time friends said they try to find something different each time they visit and had learned about the dinner cruise in the Panama City Visitors Guide.

“Once a year we come for a week for an all girls’ week,” she said. “It’s the best because the tourist season is over, all the kids are back in school, it’s less crowded and the weather is still warm enough for us to enjoy the beach.”
Her friend, Barr, said she thought the mystery cruise was well worth the money spent. It makes you go outside your box,” she said. “It was lots of fun.”

The third in the trio, Peters, said she was surprised at how soon the people who began as strangers got to know each other by the evening’s end.

For most the 2 ½-hour cruise, Capt. Ackerman sits quietly at the helm of the paddlewheel boat, occasionally moving aside to let someone else steer. The pilot house sits one deck above where all the action takes place. Ackerman, once a professional musician, has held a 100-ton captain’s license for eight years. He said he originally got the license to help a friend of his who owns the Sea Screamer. Then about a year later he and his wife purchased the Betsy Ann. His wife, Nancy, also holds a 100-ton captain’s license though she prefers to run the show below deck, he said. “She doesn’t like parking the boat,” he joked.

The couple also owns an environmental airboat adventure business which takes people out on West Bay. Those trips include searching for alligators, he said. “I absolutely love the water,” Ackerman said. “If I didn’t own this boat I’d own another one.”

But it is the Betsy Ann he seems quite smitten with, along her history – a history he shares fondly with his passengers. This boat was built in 1989 by Capt. Ed Bull of Palatka, Fl, who was 75 at the time. At 85- feet long and 26-feet wide, it is one-third the size of the original.

“It was built as a tribute to the original,” Ackerman said. “Frederick Way Jr., the man who owned the original Betsy Ann, and Capt. Bull were best friends. It is one of only a few true stern-wheel, paddlewheel boats still in existence today.”

The original Betsy Ann was retired in 1942 and was sunk in 1948 or 1949”.

Mystery dinner cruises will continue until about December and after a short hiatus will resume cruises sometime in February. And just as it has for the past seven years, the Betsy Ann will lead the annual St. Andrew’s Christmas Boat Parade.

“I think it’s because we keep a good pace for others to follow,” he said. “The only thing this boat does fast is taking you somewhere you don’t want to go.”

By Diane Mercado, Photography by Desirée Gardner Photography