Blount Small Ship Adventures, the original small ship adventure cruise-line, is celebrating 50 years in business in 2016 and was voted 10 Best in River Cruising by USA Today. Headquartered in Warren, RI, BSSA has long prided itself on offering a casual cruising environment for travelers who want to go where the big ships cannot. Built on a tradition of adventure, the company’s founder Luther Blount, a prolific inventor and shipbuilder, began building boats in 1947 and then personally delivered them around the globe discovering adventure along the way. In 1966, Luther decided that he wanted to show his friends and family all of the incredible destinations he’d been exploring, so he began building passenger boats. With the mind of an engineer and the heart of an explorer, Luther built unique boats with patented features such as retractable pilothouses and bow ramps that allowed passengers to go from ship to shore. He later coined the term “small ship cruising”. His ships were built for the purpose of taking travelers through the nooks and crannies of a place, going where the other couldn’t. He created itineraries for explorers, for those who wanted to tread lightly, going beyond the usual tourist meccas finding experiences you can only have when you get to know a place through its people.