St. Johns River History
FLORIDA’S MAGNIFICENT ST. JOHNS RIVER

The twisting amber-colored St. Johns River holds historic distinction as having the longest written record of any geographic feature in North America. Added to this, the St. Johns is one of only two larger rivers of the world which runs “backward”, flowing from south to north. The full 300-miles are within Florida. The other river flowing this same direction is the Nile.

The St. Johns was discovered by Europeans in1562, 43 years before the English landed at what would become Jamestown, Virginia. A company of French Huguenots under Admiral Jean Ribaut came ashore at the river mouth on May Day. From this, the waterway gained its first European name, the River of May. A reminder of this lives on today in the name of Mayport, a fishing village near Admiral Ribaut’s historic landing site.

It is believed that the river gained its present name from San Juan del Puerto, “ St. John of the harbor”, an early Spanish mission near the river mouth.

The river’s headwaters lie scattered throughout the vast marshland west of the Fort Pierce area. Only as it flows from Lake Monroe in at Sanford on its journey north does the St. Johns take on the appearance of a well-defined river. From Sanford to Palatka 88 miles down stream, the St. Johns averages 100 to 300 yards wide, with a channel depth of approximately 15 feet.

Along its 300-mile course, the St. Johns passes through nine major lakes & many smaller bodies of water. One of these is a pond near the river’s marshland source. As the story is told, an early Floridian was once asked where the St. Johns begins. “Oh, down that way, somewhere beyond Hell and blazes” was the reply. To this day, Lake Helen Blazes can be found on Florida maps.

The richness and diversity of wildlife on the St. Johns is part of its special appeal. Visitors are treated to the sight of cormorants, egrets, ospreys, heron and many other bird species, including the great American bald eagle. Alligators and turtles occasionally can be seen sunning themselves on a lot or grassy area. Florida’s famous manatees, the so-called “sea cows”, frequent the river, especially during the winter. Surprisingly to tourists are the number of cattle that can be seen wading into the river’s edge.

The shoreline is heavily wooded in most areas, consisting largely of pine and cypress. The tannic acid which seeps slowly from the cypress trees gives the St. Johns and other southern rivers their distinctive, dark coffee color. The water is fresh despite its color.

The river widens from its midpoint northward. It flows through the heart of Jacksonville before abruptly turning eastward to the sea. Twenty-three miles distant, the St. Johns enters the Atlantic ocean at Mayport, adjacent to the current Mayport Naval Station.

25th Anniversary
RIVERSHIP ROMANCE CELEBRATES 25 YEARS IN 2009

The Rivership Romance, the premier dining cruise ship on the St. Johns River in Sanford, FL which has been a mainstay in the Central Florida community, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The Rivership, which has been family owned since its inception in 1984, caters to approximately 50,000 passengers a year. Many of the current employees have worked on the ship or in the office for 20 years!

Since starting in 1984 by the Sternberg family, the company has utilized five different vessels beginning with the Star of Sanford. For the past 10 years the company, Romance Cruise Lines, LLC, has cruised the M/V Rivership Romance and has been owned and operated by the Hopkins family. Bob & Evie Hopkins and their son Robert Hopkins are all Sanford natives.

After many years of growing up on and exploring the St. Johns River, the Hopkins began operating nature based cruises on the river in 1989, and then opened the Gator Landing Riverside Grille in 1995. When the previous owner of the Rivership decided to retire, the deal was made in 2000 to keep the Rivership a family operation, and has been operated by the Hopkins ever since.

The Rivership Romance operates out of the Monroe Harbour Marina in downtown Sanford Fl, which is directly in between Daytona Beach and Orlando just 5 miles from Interstate 4 in central Florida.

Passengers have been on board from every continent, every state in the United States and now with the advent of the internet even more out of state passengers find the ship every week! Florida residents repeat their visits often to show off the beautiful St. Johns river and Florida’s natural beauty to their out of town guests. Where else can you see the “real” Florida in air-conditioned comfort, be entertained, relax & serve your guests a great meal without having to do the cooking or clean-up? And few ever have the opportunity to cruise a river which flows “backwards” from south to north as the St. Johns does.

Celebrations of all kinds have taken place on the ship; birthday parties for all ages, anniversary celebrations for couples married 1 year to 75 years and over 4,000 weddings have taken place on board. Ironically, even a few people have had divorce parties on the Romance! There have been countless marriage proposals on board. When potential bridegrooms ask about proposing during the cruise, they are advised to be pretty sure of a yes answer because it’s a long ride back with nowhere to go if she says no! It’s happened once that we know of…awkward!

Regularly scheduled cruises are 7 days a week for lunch and Saturday nights for dinner. Not including specialty cruises and private charters, it is etimated that the ship has sailed at least 10,000 times. With the average of 26 miles round trip sailed in each cruise, it would be a minimum of 260,000 miles. The earth is 21,600 nautical miles in circumference, so the Rivership Romance could have sailed around the world 12.04 times!!

It would be impossible to count the number of birds, turtles, marsh bunnies, snakes, alligators, deer, cattle and even manatees the passengers have seen.

On the Grand Romance, the ship the company ran starting in 1990, there were tall, metal, non-working smoke stacks on the top of the ship which were hydraulically lowered each trip just prior to sailing under the I-4 bridge. For years there was an osprey who used to sit on top of the stacks from early morning until the ship left at 11am and hitch a ride all the way across Lake Monroe to the I-4 bridge. When the stacks went down, the bird would fly off and only reclaim his perch on the stacks after they were raised again on the return trip across Lake Monroe where he would stay until everyone – passengers & crew - left the ship.

The bird was affectionately known as Fred by the staff. He was quite friendly, and as the years went by he got to be quite the showoff! He would swoop around the outer deck, land on the lounge chairs on the way to the bridge and occasionally leave “droppings” as a gift for everyone on the outside deck. He usually just missed, but sadly, a few times hit his target of affection – an unsuspecting passenger quietly enjoying the scenery! Once, he dropped a fish he had caught on a lovely bride in her full wedding regalia! She did not quite see the generosity of his little gift, but had a good story to tell.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary, there will be monthly specially priced cruises throughout the year which will be posted on the website. The owners and staff of the Rivership Romance consider it a privilege to welcome aboard each and every passenger and are very grateful for the loyal customers who continue to sail with them. “Frequent Floaters” have been the mainstay of the company and to this day, word of mouth is still the best advertising!

The staff would love to hear from their passengers about their own experiences on any of the ships that have sailed under the Romance flag. Please email your memories to rivershipromance@bellsouth.net. Just put “cruise memories” in the subject line and it may be posted to the website to be shared with others!

Everyone on the staff looks forward with great anticipation to the next 25 years!

History of The Rivership Romance

The keel of the ship now known as the Romance was laid on January 10, 1942 .   Built of 3/8 inch ryerson steel plate, the ship spent its first 50 years in the cold, fresh water of the Great Lakes .   She was found in Chicago in 1995 where she had been sadly neglected. By reading the log books of this vessel, soon we discovered her proud and fascinating history. 

Her first tour of active duty was the Kewaunee Peninsula .  Soon after she was pressed into service in the Locks at Sault Ste. Marie working the vital shipping lanes to haul coal and iron ore to the mills on the shores of the Great Lakes .  Later, during WWII, she would carry American and Canadian troops and armaments patrolling the strategic and vulnerable area of the locks.  Replaced by a faster and more heavily armed naval patrol boat, she lay idle until another company brought her to St. Ignace in Michigan.

She then hauled workers and supplies during the 1952 building of the Mackinaw Bridge .  Bouncing around the Great Lakes , barely making a living for years, she finally found a noble purpose by assisting in search and rescue missions for ships in peril.  Her most noteworthy calls were in the 1960's when the Carl T. Bradley sank and then in the 1970's during the aftermath of the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald - yes, the one in the Gordon Lightfoot song.

The ship has had many names, the last of which was the M/V Chicago. She was found in sad condition, but amazingly with absolutely no rust inside or out.  We're sure that was because she had spent her whole life in fresh water and was built from the pure, quality steel used in the 40's.  We left Chicago on September 1, 1995 proceeding south on the Calumet River to the Illinois , Mississippi , Ohio , and Tennessee Rivers until we made it to the Tombigbee Waterway to Mobile Alabama .  We went east to Pensacola , south across the Gulf to Fort Myers , east across the Lake Okeechobee waterway to the St. Lucie Canal to Stuart, North to Mayport and finally to the St. Johns River .  We wound up at Green Cove Springs after 2,700 miles and 30 days.

The 6-month renovation was done at Keith Marine Shipyard and included completely replacing or re-furbishing generators, fuel tanks, fresh water tanks, waste water tanks, electrical and wiring, props, fire safety equipment, bathrooms, galley, interior lighting, windows, 40 ton air-conditioning, carpeting and decorating. After sandblasting layer after layer of paint from the outside shell of the ship, It was discovered that she had quite a few dents and dimples.  Most of them were repaired, but to honor the history of the ship, a few were left towards the bow. She's earned those dings and dangs and even though she's freshly painted in the finest marine finish, she still proudly wears the badge of all her hard work.

The most interesting fact discovered in researching her history, was the ship we now call the Romance has never sustained a serious accident or loss of life. Ships increase in value as they age due in great measure to their magnificent histories. Our staff & crew hope to welcome you aboard soon to help us sail the Rivership Romance into her next adventure.