Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Kevin East steers Gateway Arch riverboat cruises, such as the one coming up on New Year’s Eve. “If you ever wonder where I am," he says, "I’ll be at the very top.”
• I’ve been a riverboat captain for over 23 years, taking over 200 trips annually up and down the Mississippi. I pilot the Becky Thatcher and Tom Sawyer on everything from lock and dam tours to sightseeing cruises and private charters.
• I grew up in North St. Louis, and starting when I was 8 years old my mother would take me down to the river to look at the boats and go on the Admiral. I got intrigued with the whole thing and started working down there in the summers when I was 18. I was a deck hand—tying the boat up, cleaning it, riding around on it, and watching the passengers.
• There are schools you can go to in order to become a captain, but I worked my way to the pilot’s house from the ground floor up. I spent five years on the boat that I was going to be captain on. I turned in my application to the Coast Guard, then took the tests. Once I passed, they issued a five-year license for the western rivers and a 100-ton vessel. Every five years, when I renew my license, I try to upgrade and do something different. I got licensed for the Great Lakes, then to pilot 1,500 tons. Now I’m working on my towing certification.
• It’s my full-time job, but it’s pretty much been a hobby. Don’t they say you’ll never have to work a day in your life if something is your hobby?
• I’m interested in all kind of boats, but sailboats are a mystery. And I don’t like submarines, because I don’t understand how a boat can go underwater. For me, it’s a problem if my boat goes underwater.
• I’ve read a little Mark Twain, but what interests me most about boats is the history—how they were built, how they came to be.
• I have to make sure I don’t hit logs, because that gets people nervous. During high-water times, there’s a lot of debris floating down the river. I’ve seen deer and a lot of wild turkeys around the bridge. I didn’t even know we had wild turkeys.
• Once my twins get older, I’d love to spend the two weeks it takes to cross the Great Lakes and back. I’ve been on a few cruises in the Caribbean, but I’d love to pilot a trip there. Or maybe Alaska—go up to the gorges with the icebergs.
• Boat tours are important to highlight the history of St. Louis. This city was created because of the river. The Mississippi has made St. Louis what it is today.
• “What I like about the Mississippi is that it changes. It’s never the same river.”
