Cruising into L-C Valley history
Apr. 12—Lewiston Port General Manager Scott Corbitt shouted "Welcome to Idaho" Friday after a crew member of American Jazz waved to him standing on shore.
A group of port commissioners, port employees and other onlookers clapped and shouted to greet the vessel in the historic moment.
It was the first time a vessel moored in Idaho with infrastructure constructed specifically for cruise boats since slackwater arrived in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley 50 years ago.
Lewiston port officials hope what happened Friday is the start of something new — that American Jazz becomes one of many vessels that make regular calls in Idaho.
The American Cruise Lines boat left the Port of Lewiston after a little less than two hours Friday in what was described as a dress rehearsal for the crew to learn how to navigate the recently completed berth.
American Jazz is one of five vessels American Cruise Lines is running on a route along the Snake and Columbia Rivers this year, part of an industry that brought about 20,000 tourists to the area last year.
On this visit, American Jazz is based at the Port of Clarkston, which has been hosting cruise boats at least since the late 1980s.
Most passengers who had boarded the boat in the Portland, Ore., area were on the vessel when it arrived at the Port of Lewiston and remained inside. A handful stood on outside balconies.
No passengers left the vessel, but four passengers who had taken scenic helicopter rides boarded American Jazz in Lewiston. Port staff offered them stickers, hats with a "Cruise Idaho" logo and boat-shaped stress reliever squeezies.
All of them will disembark in Clarkston and a new group of passengers will board today for a downstream version of the multinight excursion.
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During the time at the Port of Lewiston, the crew learned how to tie on the vessel, connected the boat's gangway to a ramp leading to shore, sized up the infrastructure and inquired about how close the nearest Walmart was.
The mooring spot consists of three circular rock structures driven multiple feet in the river bottom called caissons that were already on the site. The structures were modified with additions such as tie-ons to make it possible for them to accommodate cruise boats.
"Two of the caissons work really well and the third one, it's not quite positioned right for this particular vessel," Corbitt said.
That issue could be fixed by installing a metal structure anchored into the ground along the shore that would be designed so a boat could be roped to it.
Crew members noted separate lines to take on fresh water and pump sewage from the boat as well as a place where boats can connect to fueling lines.
The new berth is part of a project that includes a driveway and turnaround area large enough for buses, two parking lots, lighting, landscaping, a metal ramp and a pedestal for the ramp.
The project is a joint effort of the Port of Lewiston and American Cruise Lines, the largest cruise boat company that stops in the area. American Cruise Lines is covering the cost of the ramp and will pay the port $50,000 per year along with $400 per docking. Other cruise lines can make arrangements to use the spot through American Cruise Lines.
The Port of Lewiston is spending about $2 million on the improvements using money from the state of Idaho, allocated by Gov. Brad Little.
The visit of American Jazz Friday was a success, Corbitt said, allowing crew members the chance to work out the nuances of a new location.
"The next time the (American) Jazz comes here, they're going to have that knowledge and they'll be completely ready to go," he said. "And we got to show off the new place to a bunch of people."
Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
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