The SGV Company has this season appointed Captain Rebecca Benz to be the first lady in the company’s history to command a paddle steamer on Lake Lucerne. She joined the fleet in 2002 as a sailor aboard the motorship Righi and over the years has gradually worked her way up and become qualified to gain the prestigious white topped hat worn only by the senior paddle steamer captains on the lake.
It was aboard Righi that Rebecca met her husband Roger Benz, who is now also one of the senior captains on the lake. The couple subsequently married making a unique partnership of two paddle steamer captains in the one family.
Roger and Rebecca have had a long standing interest in paddle steamers. In this picture you can see Roger as a young man on the left in Kingswear Castle’s wheelhouse shortly after he joined the SGV with Lake Lucerne’s Capt Kuno Stein (right) many years ago on the Medway.
All of us at KC are delighted to hear this happy news and send our very best wishes to Roger and Rebecca.
Kingswear Castle returned to service in 2023 after the first part of a major rebuild which is designed to set her up for the next 25 years running on the River Dart. The Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle Trust is now fund raising for the second phase of the rebuild. You can read more about the rebuilds and how you can help if you can here.
John Megoran
