BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — More than 600 passengers and crew were expected to be stuck on a showboat overnight after high winds caused the vessel to run aground Saturday on a Missouri lake, officials said. The Branson Belle ran aground at Poverty Point on Table Rock Lake.

The cruise began having problems with propulsion around 6 p.m., said Lisa Rau, a publicist for Herschend Family Entertainment which owns the boat. A tug boat was called to help, but wind picked up and the boat ran aground, Rau said.

At 11 p.m., officials decided it was best to let winds calm before trying to move the boat to where the passengers could disembark. About 567 passengers and 76 crewmembers were on board.

"The safest thing to do is leave it where it is at," said Sgt. Dan Bracker, spokesman for the Highway Patrol.

Bracker speculated it could be 6 a.m. Sunday before the vessel can be moved....

http://www.usatoday....oat-stuck_N.htm

(owned by Herschend...a nice trip it usually is)

Unloading to begin in minutes ( 8 a.m. Central):

...A 50-foot road has been cleared through the woods to the boat with a bulldozer from Silver Dollar City, Lisa Rau, spokesperson for Herschend Properties, said.

They are getting ready to put the 30-foot ramp from the marina out to the boat. The ramp will allow people on the boat to walk from the lower deck to the road that has been cleared.

There are nearly 600 people on the boat and the Coast Guard came in and took 6 people off the boat last night due to pre-existing medical conditions....

http://www.news-lead...begin-at-8-a-m-

Given the age and condition of many of the showboat's patrons, this is going very well indeed...

And now it has begun:

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20101212/BREAKING01/101212001/Branson-Belle-unloading-has-now-begun

All passengers off but vessel still grounded:

http://www.news-lead...rounded-by-wind

Cruise boat nightmare: dinner and comedy turn into overnight sleepover after boat is stranded:

...All passengers will have the cost of their ticket refunded and will receive season passes to Silver Dollar City, a theme park in Branson, Missouri, KY3 reported.

The strong wind was part of a winter weather storm system that's moved across the Midwest this weekend, where a combination of heavy snow and strong winds have swept across the region, crippling travel and even causing the Metrodome roof to collapse in Minneapolis.

http://www.nydailyne...r=news/national

Boat shows while docked while propulsion system studied, Homeland Security/Coast Guard driven changes....

http://www.ksmu.org/content/view/7838/66/