Just finished Chapter 2. Click on the boat man to take me to MEMPHIS,chapter 3. Maya gets on the boat but she returns back to end of chapter 2, the boatman.

I'm assuming you have the disc version.
Make sure you didn't install the game into C:\Program Files. The game is from 2004 and may have trouble saving if you install in C:\Program Files on modern versions of Windows. Install into your My Documents folder.

You can also try playing in Compatibility mode for Windows 2000 or XP. Right-click the game shortcut, choose Properties, then the Compatibility tab. Choose XP or 2000 from the dropdown box and disable visual themes and advanced text services if you see the option. OK out of it and see if the game works any better.

If you have the US version, there is a patch here
http://www.gamefront.com/files/3822096
It's supposed to help if you have an Nvidia video card. It won't help with Windows restrictions.