Tahoe Queen gets stuck: 258 passengers transported to safety

What started off as a leisurely 90 minute cruise on the Tahoe Queen turned into quite the adventure for passengers on board Monday afternoon.

The boat was about 30 minutes into its Emerald Bay cruise when it became stuck on a sandbar. At about 3:30 p.m., South Lake Tahoe Fire Department received a call that the Tahoe Queen was stuck off the Regan Beach shore. It is not known at this time why emergency personnel weren't called to the scene until 90 minutes after the Tahoe Queen got stuck.

Once the call was received, rescue boats from the Coast Guard, Vessel Assist, Tahoe Douglas Fire, South Lake Tahoe Police and South Lake Tahoe Fire Departments quickly responded.

They joined Aramark's other boat, the Tahoe Paradise, in getting passengers off the Tahoe Queen and transported to shore.

The first report to SLTFD said there were 96 passengers on board. The number varied during the rescue to 298, and with 258 the official number, for now. Calls to the Tahoe Queen's sales manager for clarification were not returned.

It is still too early to determine how the boat became stuck and why it veered off it's normal path by a few feet. With shallow waters a few feet makes a difference. Wind may have been a factor as well.

According to SLTFD Press Information Office Sallie Ross-Filgo, rescue boats were bringing passengers to the Ski Run Marina every 5 minutes. There were no reported injuries but she reported that one older passenger panicked when having to disembark the rescue boat.

The Tahoe Queen will remain on the sandbar overnight. SLTFD Chief Jeff Meston told South Tahoe Now they have to keep it there until it can be fully inspected.

"We will remember this," said passenger Lenora Kizer who was on board with her nephew Shylo Kizer. The two were enjoying a trip to Tahoe from their Carson Valley home. Lenora, who walks with a cane, said it wasn't scary but a little nerve racking when she had to get on the smaller boat to be transported.

Ever the joker, McAvoy Lane, who plays Mark Twain on the Tahoe Queen cruises, was posing for pictures with tourists from France who just happened to be at the marina and were excited to see Twain. He pointed to a passing dog and said, "we had a service dog on board who played Chopin for us."