A Little
History About
Wagner Charter Co. Cruises
History of Wagner Charter Co.
History
of the MV Buccaneer.
History of
the MV Jamaica.
Plans for
our new Working River Charters down
the
Mississippi to New Orleans.
Plans
of our 180 foot 500 passenger boat.
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Wagner Charter was started in 1957 by Robert Wagner and his wife Helga. Their first boat was the MV Antigua, which was their own yacht. So many people had asked to use their yacht that they started renting it out to help pay for the expenses.
In 1960 the company built the first MV Jamaica at Dubuque Boat and Boiler Works. The Jamaica was 65 feet long and carried 150 passengers. The Jamaica was such a success that in 1961 a third boat was purchased from Boston. It was remodeled and renamed Jamaica II and was going to run from Miami to Bimini. However the deal fell through and the Jamaica II was remodeled again to operate in Chicago with the Antigua and original Jamaica. The Jamaica II was renamed to MV Trinidad so the confusion between boats would be limited. In August of 1961 the Trinidad started cruising on Lake Michigan from Chicago. In 1963 the Antigua while being rebuilt in a shipyard was damaged and sold off. In 1965 the Jamaica was sold.
The 100 foot long Trinidad continued cruising carrying 150 passengers. In the winter of 1965 the Trinidad was chartered to operate in the Gulf of Mexico carrying powdered Nitro Glycerin. The Nitro was used the help find the oil fields that we use today. Until 1983 the Trinidad was the largest strictly charter boat on the Great Lakes.
In 1981 Robert Wagner died of a stroke. His son Kenneth Wagner ran the business for the courts during the 1981 season. Since there was no will, the business was sold in 1982 to the highest bidder during an open sale. Ken Wagner purchased the business after 8 months of bidding and locating financing from North Community Bank in May of 1983.
The Trinidad during
the next 4 years would have more work done on it than ever in it's life. The
entire boat was remodeled, new engines and generators where installed and major
portion of her hull was replaced.
In 1988 it was decided to add another boat.
The new boat was converted from an offshore supply vessel in 1990 by Kody Marine outside of New Orleans. The new boat was first named the Antigua but too many people had troubles with the name, so we renamed her Jamaica. The Jamaica starting cruising in Chicago on August 3rd 1990. Financing was also provided for this vessel from North Community Bank.
In 1993 we converted the Trinidad into a pirate theme vessel, the Buccaneer. The Trinidad had been the largest charter boat on the Great Lakes since 1961, however in 1980's the Coast Guard allowed changes to the rules and larger vessel were built. These larger vessels had open upper decks and more extra's due to there extra size. The conversion was done to open new markets for the Trinidad and allowed us to remodel the vessel bring her up to today's standards.
The Buccaneer has once again become a favorite of Chicago's with her new look. Check out the Buccaneer Web Page for the new look.
Today as we look at the needs of the market in Chicago, we see the need for a larger charter boat. Check out the New Boats Web Page.
The Buccaneer was originally built for the US Coast Guard as a Revenue Patrol Boat in 1925. She was commissioned the USS Dexter in 1926. The Dexter was to patrol the Great Lakes and during the winter she would break ice. The Dexter was based on the design of the Buck and a Quarter Class (125 foot patrol boat of which over 250 were built) however she was only 100 feet long. Only 4 100 footers were built, they were made of thicker riveted steel, could go faster and farther. The steel in the bow was over 3 inches thick at the overlaps, 1 inch thick at the waterline and 5/8 of an inch everywhere else. The framing in the bow is every 11 inches apart. In the midships every 5th frame is a 12 inch by 12 inch H beam for ice breaking strength. The Dexter also had a 3 inch gun mounted on the bow.
The Dexter was originally built for the Great Lakes however she was transferred to New York for training. This mission didn't last long, soon she was in the Gulf of Mexico fighting rum runners. In 1929 the USS Dexter made it into the history books.
The Dexter became famous for sinking a Canadian registered vessel in International waters, which is an act of war. The story goes like this...
The vessel "IAm Alone" was off loading a cargo of illegal booze a few miles off the Louisiana coast in US waters. The US Coast Guard vessel Wolcott saw the illegal transfer and the IAm Alone and started chase. The Wolcott was one the the slower 125 footers and was unable to catch up with the IAm Alone. The Dexter was called out from shore and sent to catch the IAm Alone. The chase went on for almost 2 days until the Dexter caught up with the IAm Alone. As fate would have it the two Captains were friends. The Captain of the Dexter tried to get the IAm Alone to stop but the Captain would not listen. So the Captain of the Dexter told the crew to open fire with small arms to get them to stop. This didn't work so the Captain told the crew to aim at a 55 gallon drum of gasoline on the bow of the IAm Alone. When this still didn't stop the IAm Alone the Captain then order the 3 inch gun to fire and sink the IAm Alone. It took less than 10 shots to sink her. One crew member of the IAm Alone died when the vessel sunk. The surviving crew was taken prisoner aboard the Dexter and brought back to the United States for trial. News of the sinking soon became a world wide event, even the London Times headlines read "United States goes to war with Canada" since the sinking is an international act of war the US government had to act quickly. Quick is not something a government does. It took over 3 years to settle with the government of Canada for $800,000.00 on a vessel worth only $60,000.00.
This was only the first event to make the Dexter famous. In 1936 the Navy took the Dexter from the Coast Guard, not paying any money for her. The Navy is only able to do this during a time of war, and in 1936 it was not yet war. The Navy renamed the Dexter the YP 67, YP stands for harbor patrol, and once again brought her back to New York for naval training. Just before the outbreak of World War II the YP 67 had more armament added to her. Some of which included 2 water cooled double barreled machine guns, a roll off depth charge system and a degaussing system to make the steel hull non-magnetic. Most of this equipment is never installed on a 100 foot harbor patrol boat, so the navy had other plans for the YP 67.
After the start of World War II the navy installed a state of the art under water detection system. In 1943 the YP 67 helped depth charge and sink a German U-boat off Nova Scotia and once again took the Germans survivors prisoner onboard. Then in 1944 the YP 67 was to help protect a convoy going from New York to San Juan. The convoy departed New York with the YP 67, however she was not to be seen or heard from for the next 3 months. She was next located on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in Europe being reprovised with fuel,food and spare parts. For another 3 months the YP 67 was unlocatable until she was found being towed into Charleston, South Carolina with nothing operating including engines and radios. After she was repaired she continued south however she ended up in Trinidad, British West Indies. The YP 67 finished the rest of World War II in Trinidad. Only three days after World War II end the YP 67 found herself in drydock having the highly sensitive equipment removed. A few months later the navy was sending the YP 67 back to Charleston, South Carolina to be decommissioned and sold.
The YP 67 was sold as surplus equipment to Boston Fuel Company which turned her into a fishing vessel and renamed her Kingfisher. She carried 150 passengers on the east coast until 1960 when she was purchase by Wagner Charter Co.
She was once again was renamed, this time Jamaica II. She was brought to a shipyard in Freeport, Florida and remodeled to operate as a ferry/charter boat from Miami to Bimini. However before her remodeling was completed the deal fell through. The remodeling changed gears this time for her to operate in Chicago with the companies other vessel the Jamaica and Antigua. To stop confusion she was once again renamed Trinidad. On her way to Chicago the Trinidad came up the east coast through the Erie Canal. The pilot made one small mistake in Lake Erie, they made a wrong turn for the canal to Lake Huron. They ended up going towards the Niagara Falls! Luckily they ran aground before going over the falls. It took the crew about 8 hours to get the Trinidad unstuck and heading the right way. The Trinidad finally arrived in Chicago July, 1961 to start her new life in Chicago.
During the winter season in 1965 the Trinidad went to work back in the Gulf of Mexico. This time it was a lot different then chasing rum runners or trying to sink submarines. She was carrying powered Nitro Glycerin. The Nitro was safe as far as impact, you could hit it with a hammer, however if you put hi heat near it, it would blow up. It was set off like TNT with a radio controlled detonator which the Trinidad also carried onboard. The reason the Trinidad was used is because there was a shortage of supply vessels in the Gulf since the oil exploration was new to the area. The purpose of the Nitro was to explode underwater and other ships would record the effects of the bottom surface. With this information oil deposits were found and oil platforms installed to drill for the oil.
Her life in Chicago has been ever changing. The Trinidad has been remodeled six times since 1961. Her main engines were replaced, making them the 3rd set since 1925. The generators were also replaced converting the Trinidad from 110 volt DC to 110 volt AC (household current), making them the 4th set. In 1985 her hull was brought back to it's original ice breaking thickness. This project took 3 1/2 months in drydock. The longest time out of the water since the Trinidad was built in 1925.
The Trinidad was converted to the Buccaneer in 1993. We are currently looking at new futures for the Buccaneer as we start building our new 500 passenger vessel.
The Jamaica was originally built as the Genina, an offshore supply vessel, in 1967. The Genina was built by Universal Iron Works in Homua LA. At time of her construction she was the state of the art in offshore supply vessels. However as new rules and new construction procedures come about the Genina was to small. The Genina's role changed to a rescue boat, which would stay on a buoy for many months in a row. Her new purpose was that in case of an accident, fire or hurricane she could rescue the crew from 2 to 3 oil platforms and bring them to safety. In case of a fire on the oil platform she could help fight the fire with her pumps. Twice a week she had to get under way and run a fire drill around the oil platforms she was protecting.
Wagner Charter Co., Inc. looked at the Genina to convert into a dinner vessel during the summer of 1989, which was in operation, along with many other vessels. In December of 1989 we decided to purchase the Genina to convert. On February 3rd we closed on the vessel and the 5th we had transported the vessel over 100 miles to Kody Marine in Harvey, Louisiana. Kody Marine started removing the old superstructure the next day. Within 6 days all the unneeded steel, wood and interior had been removed. Over the next 5 months the ex-Genina, now named Antigua later renamed Jamaica, would have her hull lengthed, the main deck replaced, all electrical wiring and fixtures replaced, a new superstructure built, new water and fuel tanks and many other improvements. So much work was done that the Coast Guard in New Orleans considered it a new construction.
The work Kody Marine contracted for was completed on July 23rd, 1990. That night the Jamaica left Kody Marine for the 1400 mile trip home to Chicago. The Jamaica arrived the evening of July 29th, 1990 after only 6 1/2 days underway through the Mississippi River, Illinois River and Chicago River. We had burned more than 8,000 gallons of fuel for the trip to Chicago. The Jamaica than had 5 more days of finishing work before her first trip on August 3rd, 1990.
Since August 3rd 1990, the Jamaica has been Chicago's favorite Dinner Charter Boat. We have carried more than 25,000 happy passengers, many more than once. We are continuously remodeling the interior of the Jamaica. The exterior gets painted and varnished 2 to 3 times a year to maintainour high standards.
Ever thought about cruising down the Mississippi River on a river push boat? Well we have and we think you would enjoy it. Just imagine your self enjoying the sites of the inland waterways, having the finest meals and stopping at a different city every other night.
Sorry we are still completing this page!
LOCATION
Our docks are conveniently located on Lower Wacker Drive west of Wells Street on the Chicago River. Right across the river from the Merchandise Mart.
Dock is Red star
We cruise both the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.
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