Showboat that ran aground back on Table Rock Lake is back

BRANSON, Mo. (AP) - The Branson Belle is back on the water.

The showboat cruised on Table Rock Lake Thursday, for the first time since it ran aground and stranded passengers overnight last December.

Capt. Don McMahon says the cruise went well, noting that renovations made since the accident have made the boat much more powerful.

High winds and a malfunctioning propulsion system sent the boat aground on the night of Dec. 11. Most of the 600 passengers and crew spent the night on the boat before being rescued the next day.

A spokeswoman for the boat's owner, Herschend Family Entertainment, says cruises will now be cancelled if winds are a steady 20 mph, or gusting to 25 mph.