LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — Nine Lake Geneva Cruise Line employees took a leap Wednesday in the 105th annual tryout to determine this season’s mail boat jumping team.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Mailboat Walworth will deliver mail by boat for the 105th consecutive year
  • High school and college-aged Lake Geneva Cruise Line employees vie for four to five seasonal positions, plus two alternates
  • The Lake Geneva residents on the route are the only people in Wisconsin who receive mail by boat
  • Daily mail boat tours allow sightseers to watch mail boat jumpers in action, starting June 15

The U.S. Mailboat Walworth has delivered to lakeside mailboxes since 1916. The Walworth moves at about a five mile per hour clip and rarely stops along its 50 to 60-house route, so jumpers must hop from the boat to the dock and deliver or pick up mail before the ship is out of range.

Cruise line employees must have a year under their belts before taking part in mail jumping tryouts. Since mail jumpers spend roughly half the route as tour guides for sightseers on board, the company includes microphone performance as part of its tryout.

A.J. Theisz has spent the past four summers giving tourists a better understanding of the defining people and places around the lake. However, the 20-year-old wanted to try something new for the 2021 season. He joined several rookies and a handful of returning mail jumpers Wednesday, avoiding catastrophe in his tryout.

“This is the kind of thing there’s not a lot of things you can practice for it,” Theisz said. “It was a great little time, and I’m happy for the opportunity.”

Geneva Lake is the only place in Wisconsin — and one of the last in the country — where some residents receive their mail by boat. The Walworth will depart from the Riviera Docks each morning at 10 a.m. from June 15 to Sept. 15.