To continue our convention weekend coverage, the spacefaring crew of Voyager did a little seafaring Sunday morning in their second annual Champagne Brunch Benefit Cruise. Although the sky was unfortunately overcast that morning, seven of the Voyager cast members boarded a yacht in Marina del Rey to drink mimosas and have brunch with more than 150 of their fans from around the world. They also took the opportunity as a group to tell stories and field questions from the gathering about their seven years together, expressing the degree of camaraderie, laughter and downright silliness they had while working on the set.

That silliness was on ample display on the boat. Garrett Wang and Robert Beltran demonstrated how Captain Janeway and B'Elanna Torres solved problems together—they looked at each other and yelled "Warp particles!!" Kate Mulgrew and Roxann Dawson responded with an impression of Wang and Beltran during a late-night shoot—they tilted their heads back and snored.

The cruise — sponsored by RanDoM Flight, the official fan club for Robert Duncan McNeill, and co-sponsored by CARPE, the "Central Alliance of Robert Picardo Enthusiasts" — was a benefit for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and The Wildwood School. More than $23,000 was raised for these charities through a silent auction of 28 Star Trek-related items, as well as a live auction conducted by the guests of honor. Among the winning bids were $2,000 for a signed Captain Proton poster, $600 for a shirt worn by Beltran, $1,200 for a PADD and a hypospray used as props on the show, and a special "Bon Voyager" fan cartoon with autographs from the entire cast including Jennifer Lien ("Kes", who left the show in the fourth season), which drew $1,500. The big prize was a tour of the Voyager set during the show's last week of filming (this week), which went for $8,000.

Joining Mulgrew, McNeill, Picardo, Beltran, Dawson, Wang and Tim Russ as special guests on the cruise were behind-the-scenes luminaries Eric Stillwell and Lolita Fatjo. As noted in our previous story, Stillwell and Fatjo have worked in pre-production on the last three Star Trek series and have been popular guests at conventions around the world.

Story & photos by Sandy Stone