2025-02-27 - Questions For The Ferry Captain

He can't speak for all the captains that pilot of ferry for Spellbound, but Kellin doesn't mind the mainland to Spellbound route. It's hard to say whether he prefers the coming or the going. Both has its pros and cons. At the moment it is a mainland to Spellbound trip and as families, couples, friend groups, and singletons, come aboard the Siren's Song they are greeted by the friendly second mate, leaving the captain to wander around and make sure that everything is ready to go when it is time to leave.

At the moment he is wandering the main deck, dressed in his uniform, sunglasses on and presenting an aura of professionalism that is expected of a man that is in charge of getting an approximately eight ton ship from point A to point B, safely with no loss of passengers.

Jessamine Halloran boards the ferry from the mainland. It's going to be a long ride back to the park from whatever had taken her out there. But she seems to be in good spirits. The sheer size of the iced coffee she has in one hand speaks clearly to her caffeination level. She offers a smile to the second mate and greets them by name, giving a little finger-wiggle in greeting.

She's dressed in a pair of white jeans with a printed t-shirt with a chaotic pattern of colors spattered across it, and a red satin baseball style jacket. Her shoes are a simple pair of boat shoes, white. So white one might wonder if they'd ever been worn before.

When she sees Kellin, she approaches him and says, "Hello, Captain. Nice to see you again."

After a handful of years on the deck of this ferry and several others, Kellin has adapted his gait to the swaying of the ship. He is as steady as a handicapped man with a cane can possibly be as he wanders the decks, waiting for the ferry to be full enough, or the time for departure, whichever comes first.

As the familiar young woman approaches he stops since she seems intent on greeting him “Welcome aboard.” He greets in return with polite warmth, giving her the second of many welcome aboards she will hear over her current stay at the park. The first given by the second mate of course. Despite having exchanged greetings with Halloran at least a few times in the past, Kellin maintains his professional courtesy. “How long will you be staying at Spellbound this time?” There are a lot of guests, even ones that return regularly, he can’t nor does he try to keep up with the comings and goings of them. He just knows that Halloran is a frequent visitor, not how long the woman stays at a time.

"As long as it takes," Jessamine says with a flash of a smile. "Cal and I have a very big project that we're working on." The other blonde that often accompanies her on these journeys but isn't with her at the moment. "I'm doing some interviews of people who work at the park and I'd love to talk to you, as a ferry captain, about what you do here sometime.. if you have some time. Obviously, I don't want to bother you while you're working." She pauses and laughs, "Other than.. the way I am right now. Sorry!"

"Interviews for..." Kellin questions though gives a few options for the woman to choose from if she doesn't want to provide one "magazine? Paper? Some tour guide website?" it's usually the corporate suits or the performers that are being asked for interviews, not the ship captain's and crew, so Kellin is unsure of the protocol here.

There is a glance to his watch "We aren't set to disembark for another 45 minutes. We can go to the forward deck and you can ask me whatever questions you want. I may not be able to answer all of them, I only know so much about what goes on around here."

"Oh, our YouTube channel! We're doing a whole series about the park from the rides and attractions to all the amenities and the folks who work and visit here and their experiences," she explains broadly, gesturing toward her phone and then the park as a whole with sort of a wide spread of her arms. "Cal and I run it together. We've done a bunch of other theme parks around the world."

When he seems willing to grant her this little interview since they have some time, she bounces a little on her toes and says, "Okay! Oh, and I have my media pass if you need to check it." She digs around and produces her credentials that say she's allowed to film in the park and has filled out all the appropriate paperwork. She's legit, at least, as far as the park is concerned.

Well a YouTube channel isn’t too far off of tour guide website so Kellin is just nodding at this information as he listens to the woman explain what her and this Cal woman does. “That must be both fun and exhausting.” For him it would be mostly exhausting and would kill his social battery on the daily.

At least one of them knows what the protocol is and Kellin will look at the pass since Halloran was nice enough to provide it for him. “Seems you have thought of everything.” He gestures in the direction of the forward deck where there are there is more comfortable seating, as opposed to the bench style seating in the sheltered middle deck area.

When they get to the seating area Kellin lowers himself onto one of the cushioned chairs that are bolted into the flooring of the forward deck. Here passengers can watch their destination growing ever closer as the ferry moves through the water. Now though the Spellbound island is a large strip of land on the horizon. “Will you be videoing this interview, since it is for your YouTube channel?”

"I love it," she says enthusiastically. "But then, I really like talking to people and learning their stories and hearing about all the interesting things they've seen and done. Sometimes it gets tiring like when we have to do a lot of traveling back and forth. But most of the time it's fun."

She smiles as he checks out her pass that confirms she has permission from the park to record and to speak to employees. "It's my job," she says as they settle at the forward deck. "Yes, please, if you don't mind? If you do, we can also do audio and I can always do voiceover for it. Whatever you're most comfortable with."

Kellin is too young to comment on the energy of the young, he isn’t even 30 yet, but feels he has the experience and years of someone twice his age. Having to walk around with the assistance of a cane doesn’t help this perspective. Speaking of the cane, it is leaned against the side of the seat he has parked himself in.

Brushing stray tendrils of hair that have escaped the short ponytail Kellin shakes his head. “I don’t mind. It’s what you have permission to do from the park.” If there is any nervousness about the interview or it being recorded it barely shows, in rubbing his hands against his slacks. That could easily just be perfectly normal nervous energy. “It’s not like an interview with a ferry captain is going to go viral.”

"You might be surprised at what goes viral," Jessamine says with a smile. "Sometimes things just resonate with people and then suddenly it blows up. But sometimes it doesn't. And that's fine, too. I mean, obviously we want the views, but we're interested in telling stories, too, for people who want to hear them."

She turns on the camera and sets up a clamp that holds the camera in place to part of the ship, pointed toward them so that they seem steady, since it moves with the ship, even if the background behind them bobs and waves a little bit as they cross over the water. "So.. Captain, can you tell me your full name and what you do here at the park?" She starts off real easy to get them started.

"I didn't need to know that." Kellin remarks with wry humor. The last thing he wants is fifteen minutes of fame from some part of this interview going crazy on the internet. Such things are out of his hands though so he just sits patiently, watching as the camera is clipped to the railing and Halloran settles herself to begin the interview.

He isn't sure where to look. The camera? At her? He settles on her since she is the one talking and not the camera. "Kellin MacDonnell." can he say his last name without putting the Scottish twang on it, barely, everything else is in the typical mid-western accent of someone born and raised in the mitten state. "I am captain of the ferry, Siren's Song."

Jessamine laughs lightly and says, "Sorry," as apologetically as she can manage. "I just want to set appropriate expectations! Just in case. You never know what the people might want. You might end up with a fan club."

Once the interview starts though, she settles in a little more businesslike. She's looking at him, not at the camera. The camera has them both framed enough so that they can talk comfortably. "And how long have you been a ferry captain here? Do you always run the same route or do you run different ones between the islands?"

The thought of having a fan club is enough to have a sour expression flash across Kellin's face. Some things can get past the man's calm outward composure, and that is one of them. That kind of thing sounds great, for other people.

"Here?" he echoes the one part of the question back to her before answering. "It will be six years next month. I started in 2019 working part time. I went full time when I graduated college." He offers no date for that, figuring it that is something she or the audience wants to know, it will be asked. It's hard to not look at the camera, so there is a glance of two with his eyes toward it, before settling on Halloran again to answer the next question "Different routes. though I like the one from Spellbound to the Mainland the best, it's a longer trip."

Jessamine smiles again a little apologetically as she seems to be getting the gist that fame is definitely not on Kellin's list of desires. She nods though in answer to his question. Here.

"Why do you prefer the longer routes? I guess that means you do the run to Traverse more than Petosky?" Jessamine asks, getting back on track. "I guess it gives you a perspective on who is coming in and out of the park a lot. Do you notice a lot of regulars? Do they get to know you at all?"

"Being at the wheel of a ship or boat, is what you can call by happy place. There is something peaceful about the endless stretch of water in front of you, and the feel of the breeze against your face and in your hair. It's relaxing. I guess I just have a lot of great memories of being out on the water." and some not so great ones, but those he doesn't dwell on.

"To say I do that run more wouldn't be accurate. I do like it more. I have family in Traverse City, so its nice to be able to grab lunch with them if time permits while I am on the mainland." he hmmms at the next question, and finds the question amusing coming from one of those regulars. "I guess it does, I certainly see all types of park goers." he rubs at his neatly trimmed beard thoughtfully. "After a few trips in a short time frame I will start to recognize regulars. It took a few months before realizing you are your friend was a regular at the park." and then he gives a slight shake of his head "Not really. I am usually in the wheelhouse steering the ship. I don't get to mingle with the passengers like some of the other crew do."

"I suppose it must be nice to be able to work on the Great Lakes, then, since they're big enough to almost feel like the ocean," Jessamine muses as she listens to Kellin explain his love for the expanse of water. "What's one of your favorite memories of being out on the water?" she asks, not asking about bad memories right now, just focusing on the good.

"Oh! That must be really nice, then, kind of like going home whenever you go back there and get some time to drop by," Jessamine says when he mentions that he has family in Traverse City that he stops by to see. She smiles brightly though when he mentions her and her friend. "Cal and I are definitely long-term regulars for now. I don't know how long the whole project is going to take, but we're having a blast working on it."

"Do you prefer it that way?" she asks when he mentions that he's usually in the wheelhouse. "I mean, you seem very nice to talk to, but I get the impression that you like your solitude."

"Almost, yeah." Kellin agrees even if he thinks there is a larger difference between the ocean and the lakes. He isn't here to debate or speak on that. "Favorite?" He hmms but doesn't dwell on coming up with an answer for long. "My parents are from Scotland, moved here after my oldest sister was born. So all my extended family is over there. We would go there to visit every few years. A few times we went up to Loch Ness and took a boat out to if we could spot Nessie. It was always a competition between my cousins, siblings and I. Most of us ended up going overboard, sometimes on purpose even." Recalling the memory brings a soft smile to his face as he speaks.

"Kind of. It's just my brother and sometimes my sister and her kids, but it's nice yeah." Kellin gives a bit of an unconscious nod. "My parents and other siblings live in the Detroit area."

"I never imagined a theme park would have regulars like a bar or a restaurant would. It wasn't until this place opened that I realized places like this do." He makes a gesture toward her. "And how long do these projects usually last?" He seems to finally be getting comfortable in this situation to start tossing questions back.

"Yes. And so does everyone else as far as I know. I have been told I lack the tactfulness needed when dealing with our customers." He gives a shrug, it obviously doesn't bother him. "Thanks. I like to think I am not a terrible boor." A bit of a smirk comes to his face. "I guess we will find out by how many views this interview gets."

Jessamine laughs a little when Kellin talks about going overboard with he and his cousins on their quest for Nessie sightings. "Oh, see that sounds like a lot of fun," she laughs as she gets a mental image in her head of them toppling over. "If only Nessie showed up to pluck you out of the water and drop you back on the boat like 'hey, you dropped something.'"

"Oh, it depends," Jessamine says, a far as how long projects last. "So, we start with doing weekly features on the various rides and restaurants and the resort and its amenities and things like that, so there's the researching, the recording, the consulting guests and staff to find out more information, fun facts, things that aren't obvious to anyone just walking into the park. Then we have to do all the recording, the editing, and then publishing. For a park this size with all the various features, and then covering shows, and then doing in depth interviews to give more insight into the place.. it can take a long time. Months of work."

Jessamine laughs a little and says, "You seem perfectly nice to me. And we shall see, indeed." She glances at the camera then and says, "You can be the judge. Is our fair captain fit for the general public? Or should he continue to hide in the wheelhouse?" her tone light and playful.

"That would have been both terrifying and awesome at the same time." Kellin does have to admit that much. "Though when we were kids we were teasing each other about how Nessie was going to have us for dinner, and sneaking up on each other pretending to be said lake monster to pull them under." Typical antics amoung kids of a certain age with other kids they know well.

Kellin is attentive as Halloran explains how her and her co-creator work and all the steps that are involved. "So now you are at the interviewing staff stage, or is this more just taking the opportunity while you have it?" He would bet it is more the second one, even if the first one is also true.

"Yes, but you aren't a disruptive passenger." He tells the woman with an amused huff. "I usually let me first mate deal with those, but will step in with I have too." he glances to the camera when she does, a bit of his RBF sliding back into place. He isn't going to pander.

Jessamine grins and says, "Sounds like the sort of thing we'd do as kids, too."

"It's kind of an ongoing thing," Jessamine says. "So while we're working on editing some of the stuff we did when we first got here about some of the rides, we're doing some interviewing now to mix that in. Then we'll begin the cycle again, going through some of the restaurants, working on that, interviewing more staff. It's a lot of keeping a bunch of different balls in the air." She doesn't see to mind that, though.

"I try not to be!" she laughs. But then she nods when he mentions the first mate getting to deal with the disruptive elements. Not really expecting him to pander, she just smiles when his RBF slides right back into place and continues onward, moving on to a new topic.

"So what is it like living on Crescent Island? I've heard it's like a whole little town designed just for the employees. Which I guess makes sense considering how far it is to shore. The commute would be rough," Jessamine says.

"Do you even have time to do park like things with all the other things you are doing? The shows? The rides? Any of it?" Kellin asks her after she lists off all the things they do in the park for the Youtube channel. "It can't be all work, all the time while you are here."

"Crescent Island does have a bit of that small town vibe to it." Kellin says after taking a moment to compose his thoughts on the question. "I am not sure exactly how many residents are on the island, but enough to need a school and library so at least five to ten thousand. To many to know everyone and their business. Not all of them are employees of the park, there are spouses and children of employees as well." None of those quite answer her question though. "It's kind of like I would imagine living on Mackinac Island is. No cars, so you don't have a gas station on every corner, or all the pollution from engines and horns." he is counting noise pollution in there. "Everything is either walking distance, or if necessary you can get a golf cart and get around that way. Crime is minimal if there is any at all. Being a police man on Crescent Island is probably the most boring job there is."

"Do you?" Jessamine asks when Kellin asks if she gets time to do things in the park, smiling curiously. Then she nods and says, "Most of the time I'm working. But sometimes I can just wander around on my own." Then she admits, "I don't really know what to do with myself when I'm not working."

She looks thoughtful as he describes life on Crescent Island. "I've been to Mackinack Island. It was cool watching the horse drawn trolleys go by, and all the bicycles. There was a lot of people there so you almost didn't notice the lack of cars with all the people walking around. It was neat, though." She laughs at the description of being a cop on Crescent Island being a boring job. "I guess that's a good thing, even if it's not an exciting thing. And I suppose being on an island makes it a little safer. Harder for someone to just turn up in the neighborhood unless they bring their own boat."

There is an amused huff as the question is turned back at him. "Time? Plenty of it. I don't spend much of it at the park though." Kellin's brow wrinkles slightly in thought. "I have worked here since early 2019. Seen it and done all of it, several times over in some cases. I am looking forward to the new stuff that is being worked on at the Boo'ed Walk, and the new Lost City area."

"Sounds like you need a hobby that doesn't involve all this and that." Kellin waves a hand at the camera and then towards the park islands. "Ever thought of taking up extreme ironing, or maybe yarn bombing?" His tone is droll enough to suggest he is joking.

"It certainly helps when almost all of the people on said island are employees that have been vetted and background checked by upper management." He knows that there are ex-cons and such working at the park, but as far as he is concerned they paid their time and deserve a second chance in life.

Jessamine nods and says, "I suppose when you live there all the time, things sort of lose their novelty." She can understand the idea of it even if her life is more about constant travel and things changing all the time. "Yes! I've heard that there are a few new areas cropping up. An escape thing, the Lost City, and some sort of Shipwreck? I heard the announcement and I've seen the walled off construction areas. That's pretty exciting."

When Kellin suggests that she could use a different hobby, she laughs and then asks "What is .. yarn bombing? Is that like TPing someone's house?" Her brow furrows just a little bit. "I did try to make grilled cheese with an iron once for a joke." She winces. "It did not go well."

"I suppose that might make things a little more secure. I know they definitely won't let me hop a ferry over there, but someone with their own boat could pull up to the island and walk onto it. So it's not like a walled city either."

"Everyone is looking forward to seeing it finished." From what he has heard at least. "Especially the guests. Not sure what phase of construction they are in with it, but I think it is still early to middle days for it."

"Exactly like TPing someone's house, but with yarn, and not necessarily houses." he pauses for a moment a slight unsure expression flashing across his face as he glances at the camera, before looking straight at it. "Kids, don't go yarn bombing people's houses, or anywhere else." There now he can't have angry parents yelling at him for telling their children to go do sketchy stuff. Kellin then goes back to focusing on Halloran. "You're supposed to wrap the sandwich in aluminum foil before you iron it." he doesn't know how to cook, but he at least knows that much. You learn some weird things in the military.

"There is that sure, but someone would have to be pretty motivated to go through the trouble. It would be easier just causing trouble on the mainland." he gestures in the proper direction "And they aren't as likely to get caught."

"That's what I heard. From what little I've been able to sneak a peek at, it's definitely really really under construction. I'm guessing it won't be done before we get everything done. But then, that means we'll just have to come back!" Jessamine tries to be positive about that, though it's clear she's super curious about the Lost City and a little disappointed she probably won't get to see it before she leaves.

When Kellin turns to tell the audience not to yarn bomb people's houses, she laughs, shoulders shaking. "Please do not knit home cozies for your neighbors without their consent," she adds, as seriously as she can manage before she laughs again. Then she looks up in surprise as Kellin mentions the aluminum foil. "Oh.. well.. that is where I clearly went very, very wrong." She turns to the camera and says "The more you know."

But then she's focusing back on him. "That is also true. So I guess that does make it a pretty safe place to live. Have you ever had people try? I mean, to cause problems? On the ferries? Do people ever get rowdy?"

"Well you do have to complete the collection." Kellin states in a way that makes it sound like it is obvious. "You have a collection of videos from all parts of the park, can't be missing any of it."

When Kellin is funny it isn't usually intentional, which is the case here, so when he gets a laugh an eyebrow. He is almost, always the straight man in comedic situations. "Apparently you can do that in a toaster too, but I have never tried it, so don't take my word for it." Said with a lifting of shoulders.

"Yes. There has been a number of incidents on many of the ferries. But that is going to happen when you have a lot of people packed into a small area." Kellin is thoughtful as he speaks on this subject. "People are exhausted, or have been drinking, or sick from to much food and rides. Tempers are going to be frazzled." There is a pause here as he gives a shake of head. "I don't think most of it is intended or premeditated. Just last straw kind of situations."

Jessamine laughs and says, "So I guess that means we just can't leave until it's built? I'll have to let my sponsors know that. I'll let them know that a Captain totally backs me on that."

"I'd be worried that the cheese would all drip into the toaster.. unless it's one of those toaster ovens," she muses.

"Do people ever have events on the ferries? Like a party barge?" Jessamine asks, curious. "Like some kind of sunset ferry ride with music and stuff?" Kind of a segue from the question about trouble, but perhaps semi-related.

"You even have it recorded." makes a minute pointing gesture to the camera, and while that may not be what he meant, he isn't going to object to what her interpretation is. "I'm sure your sponsors will be able to handle more Spellbound stuff, and it's not like you can't throw other things in there as well."

"The foil..." Kellin reminds her, before shifting to the ferry topic. "The passenger ferries are for passengers to get around the islands, though we do have fireworks tours on the fourth of July and New Years Eve. We have other ferries for special events. We have to many guests to take a whole passenger ferry out of routes because someone wants to have a wedding, or some kind of party on the water."

The foil. She may or may not remember it. But then again, she may or may not ever try to grill a grilled cheese with an iron again either.

"Oh," Jessamine says when Kellin mentions that the ferries can't be taken off routes for special events. "That's too bad. These boats would make great party boats." She looks thoughtful for a moment or two. "Maybe I'll drop that in as a suggestion to the park."

She asks a few more questions, mainly general things about the ferry's capacity, whether the routes change, what happens when there's bad weather on the lake. They're all pretty routine questions sprinkled in with a couple more about how people use the ferries.

But eventually she winds it down and turns off the camera and stops the recording. When it's done, she turns to Kellin and says, "Thank you so much for doing this with me. I know it's probably not your usual thing. But.. I really enjoyed talking to you."

"As long as I don't have to pilot a party or special event ferry, they can do whatever." Kellin really doesn't seem like the party boat type, even if he is working it. "The firework cruises are nice though." Mostly because its older people that don't want to get into the NYE party crowd on the islands. He can't blame them for that.

Those questions Kellin doesn't have any problems answering, though with some he may to be vague, but routine stuff is okay. "While you are dropping things in the suggestion box, how about dropping one in about letting the captains pick the music, within reason of course. Some of the playlists are getting a bit stale."

"Of course. I can't say exactly what I expected, but it certainly wasn't this." it definitely isn't his usual thing, but once he realized it was just a conversation, he got into it. He grabs his cane and uses it to get to his feet. "I hope your viewers enjoy it as much, but not to the viral level." he would never hear the end of that from his siblings. "If you need a quite spot to go through your footage, I can have one of the crewmen let you into the staff lounge area. Otherwise," he gestures over his shoulder. "I have a ferry to pilot."