From the archives: When a sightseeing ship with a familiar name arrived in Wilmington

Owen Hassell, Wilmington StarNews
·1 min read

The third named iteration for a sightseeing boat narrowly avoided problems before arriving in Wilmington.

Reaching its new home just before Hurricane Floyd in the fall of 1999, the Henrietta III was ready for her new role by early 2000.

In the March 3, 2000, StarNews, it reported the Henrietta III's first river cruise would happen in April. It took months to convert it from a Mississippi gambling boat to the sightseeing touring vessel that went up and down the Cape Fear River for more than 15 years.

More: With Diligence and Henrietta III gone, what's left on Wilmington's riverfront?

The Henrietta III riverboat docked along the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington.
The Henrietta III riverboat docked along the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington.

However, its arrival meant the departure of the Henrietta II. It was sold to a Maryland company and set for use around Baltimore's Inner Harbor. While the Henrietta II could carry around 150 passengers, the new Henrietta could accommodate 500-600 people.

The first Henrietta was a paddle steamer that sailed between Wilmington and Fayetteville during the first half of the 19th century.

As for the Henrietta III, it was sold to a Florida company in 2016. Three years later, now named the Captain J.P. III, it broke from its winter moorings on the Hudson River in New York and hit a train bridge in Albany.

Cape Fear Riverboats, which owned the Henrietta III, now has a new Henrietta with space for up to 100 people.

An article in the March 3, 2000, StarNews on the progress of the Henrietta III beginning sightseeing tours on the Cape Fear River. It arrived in Wilmington in the fall of 1999 but needed repairs from its last work as a gambling boat.
An article in the March 3, 2000, StarNews on the progress of the Henrietta III beginning sightseeing tours on the Cape Fear River. It arrived in Wilmington in the fall of 1999 but needed repairs from its last work as a gambling boat.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: When Henrietta III arrived in Wilmington, NC in 1999