The 2004 Online Steamboat Race is about to begin. This is the fourth consecutive online race. This year the captains can place bets on who will win. To help the captains place their bets, here's a recap of previous races.
2001
The contenders in this race were:
The Orline St. Franz, with Capt. Franz Neumeier of Munich, Germany (Steamboats.org)
The Nettie Jer, with Capt. Jerry Canavit of Austin, Texas (Steamboats.net)
The Commerce Muster, with Capt. Nori Muster of Mesa, Arizona (Steamboats.com)
As you remember, the race was a disaster due to storms and turbulent waters. At first it looked as though the Commerce Muster won, but the judge ruled that the winning boat must cross the finish line under its own power, but the Commerce Muster was towed. The Commerce Muster conceded the race and judges declared the Nettie Jer as the winner. The Orline St. Franz came in second.
2002
The ships in this year's race were:
The Belle of Louisville, piloted by Nori Muster, webdesigner for Steamboats.com
The Delta King, piloted by Captain Jerry Canavit, webmaster of Steamboats.net
The Delta Queen, piloted by Franz Neumeier, Carmen Winkler, and their daughter, Leonie, of Steamboats.org.
The boats were actually models crafted by James Wong of Heritage Workshop in Hong Kong. James was the judge.
The race took place on the banks of the Los Angeles river. The Delta King model came in first, the Delta Queen model was a close second. The Belle of Louisville model was washed down the river to the Long Beach Harbor.
2003
In 2003, the same pilots raced the Heritage Works boats again, this time in Silver Lake (Los Angeles) on the board of Life. The judges were James Wong, Paul Motter, and Dave Thomson.
Nori J. Muster for the Belle of Louisville came in first place, Franz, Carmen, and Lonie for the Delta Queen came in second place, and Jerry Canavit for the Delta King was in third place.
Even with three judges, everyone thought the race was fixed, since the Belle of Louisville made such an unbelievable come back.
Here the Delta King is seen lost in the reeds, even though the race track is a mere game board on the patio. (Click here to see coverage of the 2003 race.)
2004
This year the same captains will race, but they will pilot model boats from eBay. The contenders are:
Captain Jerry Canavit, of Steamboats.net
Nori Muster, of Steamboats.com
Franz Neumeier, Carmen Winkler and their daughter Leonie, of Steamboats.org
The captains have placed their bets (these are just gentlemens' bets in the spirit of fair play). Jerry and Nori bet that the folks in Germany will win; Franz bet that Nori will win.
Click here to see this year's boats.