COVINGTON — When the school day ended for Ben Bernstein, he didn't go home to ride his bike. He went down to the Ohio River to ride his dad's riverboats.

        “As long as I can remember, I got picked up after school to come down here, and rode as many cruises as I wanted,” said Mr. Bernstein, 19, grandson of the late Ben Bernstein, founder of BB Riverboats.

Ben Bernstein of BB Riverboats has obtained his 100-ton captain's license at age 19, making him one of the youngest captains on the Ohio River. (Tony Jones photos) | ZOOM |

        Young Ben did a little bit of everything on board the boats. He sold snacks, worked as a deck hand and worked in the kitchen. He didn't know at the time, but those countless excursions up and down the Ohio River turned out to be some of his earliest lessons in riverboating.

        A newly-licensed riverboat captain, Mr. Bernstein's years of play and practice on the BB fleet will reach a high point this month when he joins the pilot ranks of BB's Mark Twain and River Queen.

        Mr. Bernstein recently earned his 100-ton master license from the River School in Memphis, Tenn. To be accepted into the school, students must meet certain requirements, including having logged 365 eight-hour days of cruising time on a riverboat.

        Meeting that requirement was no problem for Mr. Bernstein.

The Mark Twain is one of the boats in the BB Riverboats fleet cruising the Ohio River. | ZOOM |

        “One year, all summer, he rode just about every cruise with me,” said Kerry Snowden, a BB Riverboats captain for 19 years. “I let Ben steer and handle the boat then - he did a great job. He's still doing a great job.”

        The Bernstein family has been a fixture on the Northern Kentucky riverfront since 1977, when they began operating the Mike Fink riverboat restaurant. In 1980, the Bernsteins opened BB Riverboats. Last month, the family opened a new riverfront banquet facility, One Riverboat Row, in what used to be Sloppy Joe's. The Bernsteins also run Benson's Catering.

        Mr. Bernstein is the son of Mary and Alan Bernstein, current owners and operators of BB Riverboats. He is a 2000 graduate of Dixie Heights High School and is completing his freshman year at the University of Kentucky, where he is studying business management.

        His college studies and riverboat training are preparing him for a position his parents hope he'll one day assume along with his sister, Terri Menefee, 24: owner and operator of the family business. Ms. Menefee has a degree in hotel and restaurant management and is boat manager for BB's Belle of Cincinnati, the largest paddle wheeler on the Ohio River.

VARIETY OF TRIPS

BB Riverboats offers sightseeing, brunch, lunch and dinner cruises and full-day excursions to historic Rabbit Hash and Madison, Ind. It also runs late-night music cruises, pre-Reds and pre-Bengals game cruises and holiday cruises. For more information, or to make a reservation, call BB Riverboats at (859) 261-8500 or (800) 261-8586. To book a reservation online, visit the BB Riverboats Web site.

        Standing behind the controls of the Belle, Mr. Bernstein said with assuredness that he's ready for the challenge. “This is what I've always wanted to do. Nothing else.”

        After years of carefully tutoring his son in all aspects of the business, his father said he knows his son can meet the challenge.

        “Ben has done everything on these boats. It's extremely important that he has that perspective before he can go out and lead and get people to respect what he says,” said Alan Bernstein, whose father employed the same philosophy when teaching his children about the family business.

        “I think he is mature for his age, and I think this will mature him even more. I am very proud of him,” he said. “But actually, I don't think I am nearly as proud of him as his grandfather would have been. He would be proud as a peach.”
       

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