Weekend Steam: Derby Disappointment

This was Derby Week in Louisville, and a tradition since 1963 has been the Great Steamboat Race, held three days before the horse race.  High water on the Ohio River has caused the event to be postponed until June 29. 


(Video by hrvideo.)

Reading up on this annual event will give you a couple more disappointments.  The Delta Queen has been retired as a dry-docked hotel at Chattanooga, and the last time that grand old boat raced at Louisville was 2009.  The current opponent for the Belle of Louisville is the Belle of Cincinnati, a DIESEL powered boat.  Oh Well, or words to that effect.


(Video by WGrenning)

These two videos from YouTube provide us with some good looks at the Belle of Louisville. Read up on the Belle at the link above. She is the oldest operating steamboat in America; built in 1914.

I remember reading "Life On The Mississippi" by Mark Twain, way back when I was in high school.  This quote gives me the urge to check out that book and read it again. We will never see real steamboat races such as Mark Twain saw, and I highly recommend "Life On The Mississippi" if you want a nostalgic look at the good old days.