Every year the steamboat gang gets together for an online race. To see past year's races, click here: Online Steamboat Race History


Meet the Captains

Jerry Canavit, a leading steamboat historian and owner of the domain Steamboats.Net, also has an exhibit at Steamboats.com: click here. Besides steamboating, Jerry is advertising agency creative director in San Antonio, Texas (Home of the 2003 NBA World Champion Spurs!). Jerry has won all two previous races (probably by cheating somehow). Jerry previously said he will try to make it a three-peat.

Franz Neumeier, Carmen Winkler, and three-year-old daughter Leonie of Munich, Germany, host Steamboats.Org, which features fifty different steamboat whistles, sounds of the Delta Queen calliope, video footage of the Delta Queen, plus photos, an active bulletin board, information, and links.

Nori Muster is writer and designer of Steamboats.Com. The website is dedicated to education, history, and promoting steamboat appreciation.


Meet the Judges

James Wong of Hong Kong is the creator of the model boats that will race again this year. To obtain your own Delta Queen and Belle of Louisville models, contact Heritage Workshop.

Dave Thomson is an artist, collector, and curator of the Dave Thomson Collection at Steamboats.com. He was also the historical consultant for the new Mark Twain monument unveiled in Hannibal, Missouri in time for the 4th of July this year. See: The Dave Thomson Collection. Dave is new to to online steamboat racing, but he's taking to it like a steamboat to water.

All participants and visitors will be treated to an exclusive showing of Steamboat 'Round the Bend, brought to you by Cabbage Boy Movies.




The boats are out in the patio playing the Game of Life, by Milton-Bradley (c. 1960). "You start out on Life's highway, just out of high school, with a car and $2,000." The official rules printed inside the box top say: "Never give up in the game of life." You spin the wheel and move around the board collecting money on payday, drawing cards, making decisions, and taking life's hard knocks.







According to the rules, when you reach the end of the route there's a Day of Reckoning when you pay off all your debts and retire in Millionaire Acres. The player with the most money at the end wins.




The Delta Queen and Belle of Louisville have already made it to Millionaire Acres. Despite the size of the boat compared to the game board, the pilot of the Delta King appears to be lost in the reeds.







Bringing up the rear, Jerry is attempting to hoist his boat over a small plastic bridge protruding from the board. Jerry, boats are supposed to go under bridges! Nevermind, it appears that Jerry has made it to Millionaire Acres along with the other two vessels, and so the game of Life goes!

Here's the final score on how the steamboat enthusiasts did this year:
Nori J. Muster for the Belle of Louisville - First Place
Franz, Carmen, and Lonie for the Delta Queen - Second Place
Jerry Canavit for the Delta King - Third Place

Please proceed to the awards ceremony.





The coveted antler award goes to Steamboats.com for one year. Now everyone who took part in this year's race will have a chance to say a few words.

Nori Muster, pilot of the Belle of Louisville:
"This race was great fun, especially since I won. It vindicates me from the first year, when victory was snatched from my jaws (or is that 'defeat snatched from the jaws of victory'?). No matter, it just shows that persistence pays off. I will proudly display the antler trophy on Steamboats.com until such a time as one of these other Steamboats wins." On to the future!

Franz, Carmen, and Leonie, piloting the Delta Queen, the runners up:
"Congratulations to the 'Belle'. A legendary boat has won, another legendary boat will make it next year. I'm sorry for the Delta King, but it actually is really hard to win a race while being without an engine, tied up as a restaurant. This probably are not very fair conditions ;-)"

Dave Thomson, the curator of the Steamboat 'Round the Bend stills collection:
"Congratulations to Nori and the Dear Old Belle. Long may they wave. If he hasn't been quoted recently on the subject it's nice to recall Sam Clemens' nostalgic evocation of : ' . . . red hot steamboats raging along, neck-and-neck, straining every . . . rivet in the boilers - quaking and shaking and groaning from stem to stern, spouting white steam from the pipes, pouring black smoke from the chimneys, raining down sparks, parting the river into long breaks of hissing foam--this is sport that makes a body's very liver curl with enjoyment.' "

After the race, join us for a showing of Steamboat 'Round the Bend. Click here for Steamboat 'Round the Bend





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