As the Belle of Cincinnati cruised under the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, aka the 2nd Street Bridge, she sounded her horn, indicating that she was first to cross the designated Start/Finish Line. The crowd on board went up in cheers. They won, the Belle of Louisville Lost… About 30 minutes later, social media was announcing that the Belle of Louisville had won!

But let’s take a step back in time, nearly two hours earlier. Fans of both boats boarded for what was to be a normal race. The Belle of Louisville pushes her stern back from the dock at 6:00 pm. The Belle of Cincinnati would also push away from the wharf near Joe’s Crab Shack. The Belle of Louisville would steam towards the 2nd street bridge, as the Belle of Cincinnati would take a small turn downstream to line up with the Belle of Louisville, and as they approached the Start/Finish line, the Belle of Louisville would fire a cannon, and the race would be on.

But the Belle of Cincinnati was still docked at the wharf. Passengers on board were confused about what was happening. About 10 minutes later, the Captain of the Belle of Cincinnati announced that she would be underway. She was stuck in the mud. Two days before, heavy rains passed through Kentuckiana. Apparently, a large amount of silt had moved downstream and collected under the Belle of Cincinnati. She had to be dug free to get her off of the wharf. Meanwhile, the Belle of Louisville and her observation boat, the Mary M. Miller, were disappearing upriver as they headed towards Six Mile Island, the traditional turnaround point.

As she paddlewheeled her way to try and catch up, the Captain once again announced to the passengers that in the finest of Great Steamboat Races, they would cheat to win. When he saw the Belle of Louisville turn, they would turn too and easily get back to the finish line. There was a cheer with the plan. BTW: It’s not a good race unless someone is cheating.

The Belle of Cincinnati looks like a traditional steamboat and uses a paddlewheel for propulsion, but a diesel engine spins her wheel, giving her a speed edge over the Belle of Louisville’s authentic steam-powered plant, allowing her to slowly catch up. Along the way, the Captains agreed to a different format. They would start just downriver of Six Mile Island and race back to the finish line. The race was on. It was only fair, given the “mud incident”.

The Belle of Louisville jumped out to a lead, through picking the right currents and a rolling start. But the Belle of Cincinnati caught up at the Big Four Bridge and then took the lead. She pulled ahead and blasted her horn as she passed the 2nd Street Bridge, a full boat length ahead of the Belle of Louisville.

The Belle of Louisville lost. It was a fair-and-square race.

But wait! The Judges declared the Belle of Louisville the winner. The official ruling was that because the Belle of Louisville travelled further, to the Six Mile Island turnaround, she went further and was awarded the win. There are always shenanigans and hijinks going on in this race. Just because you cross the line first, it doesn’t mean you’re going to win.

The fans aboard the Belle of Louisville were disappointed (as disappointed as you can be with the bourbon flowing and a beautiful day for a cruise), to suddenly be ecstatic that they actually won. Who knows what next year will hold?

The Great Steamboat Race has been running since 1963, only missing 1967 due to flooding, and again in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.