River
Dwellers Relish Their Seats
Boats
afford top view of show
Alex
Davis - The Courier-Journal
There will be no waiting in traffic at Thunder Over
Louisville for Sharon Mayfield this year. No standing in line at the portable
potty, either.
Need
a cold drink? Just reach for the full-sized refrigerator floating a few feet
over the Ohio River.
For
Mayfield, today's air show and fireworks display will unfold right behind her
back deck. The deck of her 43-foot Delta Clipper, that is.
Mayfield,
58, purchased the vessel last week with her husband, Bill. The couple also
have a home in Henryville, but they're in the process of moving to the Ohio
River shoreline.
Their
dock is just upriver from the Kennedy Bridge and is one of 55 slips leased to
boat owners by the city of Jeffersonville.
Life
on a houseboat isn't always glamorous for these river dwellers, but their
addresses today will be the equivalent of a luxury box at the Super Bowl.
"You
acquire a whole lot of friends when you're down here," said Mayfield, a
floral designer. "I'm sure we'll have 'em lined up on the floor."
While
the Mayfields are newcomers to Jeffersonville's houseboat scene, there are
plenty of veterans.
A
few docks away, Ray Bilbrey has lived on his 48-foot Chris Craft for much of
the past two decades. Bilbrey, 56, a retired owner of a construction company,
also has a home in Georgetown.
But
he planned to be on the riverfront today, at the spot that he describes as the
best dock between Pittsburgh and Mobile, Ala., in terms of view and price.
"I've
seen 'em all," he said of past Thunder shows.
Jeffersonville
charges boat owners $675 for a seasonal dock, from April 1 to Nov. 1, or $925
annually. Russ Segraves, the city's building commissioner, said docks also are
available for $100 for Thunder weekend.
Despite
the soothing nautical atmosphere and sweeping views of downtown Louisville,
boaters on the city's shoreline say their lifestyle involves trade-offs.
Bilbrey
said high water in the past two years forced him to carry guests from the bank
to the boat in a dinghy. He also recalls boat crashes and at least one
boat-related drowning on the river on previous Thunder weekends.
Then
there is Joe Rafferty, 67, a U.S. Army veteran who said he has seen pretty
much everything in his nearly 40 years on the river.
Rafferty
lives a few blocks away in Jeffersonville's historic downtown district, but
spends as much time as possible on the Golden Goose, a 32-foot wooden vessel
that he describes as "probably the last of the shanty boats."
During
the 1997 Ohio River flood, Rafferty said, he tied his boat to a sycamore tree
on the shoreline to keep it from being swept downriver.
Rafferty
isn't a big fireworks fan, preferring the air show instead.
"I'm
totally amazed," he said of the engineering that goes into the high-speed
aircraft. "It rattles my cage."
Back
on the deck of the Mayfields' houseboat, called the Shack II, everything was
laid out yesterday for a party. There was the gas grill near the bow, the
folding chairs up top and a pantry full of potato chips, soda, baked beans and
potato salad below.
Sharon
Mayfield said she has been to Thunder just once, six years ago, and since then
hasn't been able to convince her husband to fight the traffic. This weekend,
however, she said she's looking forward to a "ringside seat" for the
action.
"We've
invited our best friends," she said. "We're all anxious to see the
fireworks."
