It is not widely known, but the man who saved the Hamilton Harbour Queen from the scrapyard died late last summer. However, his goal to help this city love its long-maligned waterfront survives another season.

The boat returns Friday, with its first public cruise of the year. Albert Samee's daughter Amber, 24, is running the show now. And not in a shy way. For 2018, there are more cruises, more music, better food.

These things cost money. And as Amber makes these investments, "my father's voice is in my head," she says. He started this; she must make it work.

Albert left Egypt for the States some 40 years ago. He sold high-end cars in Brooklyn for a time, then got into the family business of buying and selling steel.

That brought him to Hamilton in the '90s, and he attracted some attention when he bought the long-empty Westinghouse plant on Aberdeen near Longwood. The city had been trying to unload it for taxes owing.

I talked to Albert then, in the summer of 1997. He was 43. "But physically I'm 75," he said. "I work day and night. I'm a workaholic." He spoke five languages.

He carried on, largely out of the spotlight, until that rescue of the Harbour Queen.

The 300-ton workhorse was built in Owen Sound in the mid-'50s, and did duty all over Canada. Later, it was a tour boat in Port Dalhousie and Port Dover. And in 2004, the Hamilton Waterfront Trust bought it and started cruises on the harbour.

But a decade later, the Trust surrendered. Passenger numbers had declined and costs had risen. For starters, the old ship needed a $250,000 Transport Canada inspection. It looked as though the boat would be sold for scrap, worth about $22,000.

That's when Albert Samee saved the day. He bought the boat, had that inspection done and put it back on the bay. "It's part of Hamilton," he explained.

Meanwhile, daughter Amber was working in New York City in finance and not really inspired by the job. Her father would say, "Amber, come here and buy the boat from me for $1."

Albert was at home on Queen Street South last Aug. 16 when he died. It was sudden, an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Family members hurried back to Hamilton.

In the Muslim faith, it is desirable to have the burial within 24 hours. So there was no death notice. Many did not know Albert was gone.

Then there were decisions to make. Amber's brothers run the family steel business. And they hoped she would take on the Harbour Queen. She did finish out the 2017 season and it was hard. "Honestly, I couldn't wait for it to be over." Then she grieved.

Emerging from that, she told the family she would take on the big ship, but it would be her way. Investments would need to be made.

So the 200-passenger Harbour Queen got a complete engine overhaul. It has a fine new sound system, because every dinner cruise will feature live music this year. There is now air conditioning in the dining room, and new carpeting and seating.

Her father concentrated on private charters, and some are still booked for this year - weddings, McMaster and sports-club events, staff parties.

"But I've refused some private charters to give the public a chance to be on the boat," Amber says. The schedule at HamiltonHarbourQueen.ca shows plenty of sightseeing cruises.

Lots of lunch and dinner cruises, too. Amber believed the food service needed to be upped, and has brought in Nellie James caterers of Dundas. "You only have one chance to make a good impression," she says.

After Albert died there were opportunities to sell the boat - a Toronto cruise operator wanted to move it there. But Amber vows to do her best to bring Hamilton on board. She does not want her father's dream to die.

Paul Wilson's column appears Tuesdays

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