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.
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