Nine Bear Paws

The S. L. Livingstone was built in 1912 in Lytham, Lancashire. That same year the narrow vessel was shipped to the British East Africa Railways Company. For nearly forty years the Livingstone carried missionaries, mercenaries, hunting parties and their cargo up and down the Victoria Nile. In 1951 John Huston gave her the starring role in his film adaptation of C. S. Forester’s novel The African Queen. In 1968 the boat was bought by a restaurateur from San Francisco and then by a fellow from Oregon. Fourteen years later a movie buff found the launch in a cow pasture in Ocala, Florida. He bought the African Queen and took her to New York, London and Sydney. In 2012 the century-old Queen underwent major restoration so she’d continue to be seaworthy while still looking like she did in the movie. You can visit her (and maybe even take a dinner cruise) in Key Largo, Florida.