MONTICELLO, Ind. (WLFI) -- The Madam Carroll in Monticello set sail to celebrate the Indianapolis 500 this weekend. This year marks the boat's second annual Race Day Cruise.
"If you can't be there in person, might as well be out on the lake on a big boat cruising and enjoying it," said Madam Carroll owner Chris Peters.
Peters is staying positive this sailing season. While the boat is celebrating its second annual Indy 500 Race Day Cruise, it's also working through a tough season caused by Covid-19.
"We probably lost half our operating season before we could even start cruising again," said Peters.
And water levels are the lowest its been in nearly 100-years. According to Peters, it's due to litigation issues happening with the Oakdale Dam, which is the source of water on Lake Freeman.
"We spent last night installing new steps and hardware to keep the boat safe as the lake goes down," said Peters.
Working to adjust to these obstacles while keeping operations as safe as possible has been at the forefront for Peters. He said he's happy people are still coming out to enjoy the Madam Carroll, especially for an event like Indy 500 race day.
"The Indy 500, it's such a -- you can't just not have it, it's unfortunate you can't have it with patrons inside the stadium but it's pretty cool to be able to enjoy it in other creative ways," said Peters.
The Madam Carroll is open all year round. Peters plans to continue hosting more events like the Indy 500 Race Day Cruise for the rest of the summer.
