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29/04/2009 11:23 am
Inasmuch as today is the Kentucky Derby Festival's river event involving the BELLE OF LOUISVLLE and BELLE OF CINCINNATI, I thought I'd share a batch of photos from the GREAT STEAMBOAT RACE celebration of 1969, when the BELLE and DQ actually bumped, bringing much excitement to that dismally cold afternoon when the temperature was so frigid calliope tunes were barely recognizable! Hard to believe it's been FORTY years ago!
Topic starter
29/04/2009 11:25 am
More images from the Great Steamboat Race - FOUR decades ago!
(1) Victorious BELLE crosses the finish line with her whistle roaring.
(2 & 3) Views during the "bump"!
Topic starter
29/04/2009 11:41 am
1969 Great Steamboat Race Celebration...
(1) W. Clyde Glass, longtime BELLE operating board chairman, and Capt. Charles H. Brasher, carry the antlers aboard the boat after the ceremony on the wharf.
(2) A group of famous rivermen with the golden antlers. Left to right, Capt. Clarke "Doc" Hawley, Capt. Charley Brasher, Capt. Ernie Wagner and Capt. Fred Way. Doc is the sole survivor of this quartet of steamboatmen extraordinaire.
29/04/2009 12:09 pm
A Right of Spring
Thanks Keith for those great old photos. This Right of Spring just will not be the same without two steam powered vessels competing for the golden antlers. The Kentucky Derby Festival has grown into a two week long event with major attractions. But the Great Steamboat Race was the one that “curled my liver” to quote Mark Twain. My hat goes off to Capt. Bernstein and the beautiful Belle of Cincinnati for participating and perpetuating the tradition. If only she were steam. Let’s hope that the tradition will be revived when the Delta Queen comes back out of retirement.
29/04/2009 12:52 pm
Here! Here! I'll second the DELTA QUEEN coming out of retirement. I didn't even ask off work for this afternoon. Why bother?
Topic starter
29/04/2009 7:09 pm
In an effort to "revive interest" in the annual Derby Festival event, this year's riverboat celebration involves some different shenanigans. The calliope "duel" (?!) of steam vs. air begins at 4:00 PM and will be judged by our own Travis Vasconcelos (aka "Wizard of the Whistles"), the winner of which gets 10 points. Another new twist is that both boats much make a landing during the race, the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE at Cox Park, turning at Six Mile Island -- and the BELLE OF CINCINNATI at Captain's Quarters, which is 8.2 miles further upriver at Harrod's Creek. Both BELLE's must get out a line, take aboard a "surprise passenger" and a barrel of Four Roses Bourbon. The actual "race" gets underway at 6:00 PM, an hour later than in previous years and the thinking here is that people who don't get off work until 5:00 will attend. Crossing the finish line first does not constitute victory -- it depends upon the number of points accrued from the other contests. The winner will be awarded SILVER antlers. I can just picture impish Capt. Harry Louden pacing back and forth in the DQ pilothouse, chomping on his pipe and and letting loose a tirade of cussing, calling this "a bunch of GD foolishness"! Thanks and best wishes to ALL involved, but I'll watch it on the television news -- tomorrow morning when I'm packin' to head down to Natchez and St. Francisville!
Herewith: A view I took from the comfort of a rocking chair on the cabin deck of the DQ during the 2001 Steamboat Race Celebration. The DQ soon overtook the BELLE (in the distance) and claimed the golden antlers! Also a shot of the DQ at the Louisville wharf that balmy spring evening with a saxophonist in the foreground, serenading the waterfront. IF ONLY......
30/04/2009 6:13 pm
It wasn't the Great Steamboat Race, but it was a pleasant evening on the river nevertheless, with one genuine steamboat and a riverboat representing the Bernstein operation, which is a class act. The BoL ran the course in 1 hr 37 minutes, longer than usual owing to the additional tasks en route. Her margin over the BoC at the Clark Bridge was one minute. Mike Fitzgerald piloted the "Belle", with Pete O'Connell as roof mate. I suppose Mark Doty was master but I never did see him. Ronnie Lawrence was mate and the engineering crew was on watch in force (McCoy, Mattingly, Lewis, Coursen, and McDole).
There was a much larger crowd than I've seen in recent years, but I think they were there primarily for the party in the riverfront park rather than the boat race. The "Belle" looked to be carrying a capacity crowd at $125 a head, so that's encouraging.
If anyone is interested, I'll post my Great Steamboat Race matrix so we can reminisce and maybe add some facts to it.