The Great Steamboat Race of 1981 by Frank 0. Braynard, Curator, American Merchant Marine Museum
Mention riverboat racing on the Mississippi and invariably the great contest between the Robert E. Lee and the Natchez comes to mind. But there is a series of present-day races which, though it does not attract the national and even international interest of that 1870 duel, nonetheless generates great excitement up and down the river. Here, Frank Braynard, celebrated as a marine artist and historian and as the organizer of Operation Sail 1976, offers his observations as a judge of the great race between the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen back in '81. I have sailed on the Volga, the Thames, the Saguenay and many other rivers, but none are more varied or more beautiful to me than the "Father of Waters, " the Mississippi. In 198 1 I had the wonderful opportunity to sail between New Orleans and St. Louis aboard the Delta Queen. Even more thrilling, I was one of the five judges of the great contest between her and her newer and larger sister, the Mississippi Queen, together with chief judge Barney Oldfield and the actress Helen Hayes who sailed in the Mississippi Queen, and Walt Maher, a television commentator from Cincinnati and Weeta Colebank of Natchez who sailed with me in the Delta Queen . Unlike races in the last century, there were a variety of competitions between the crews and passengers from the two boats and three short races culminating in the grand finish at St. Louis. The winner of the 1039-mile race would be awarded the Golden Antlers, the traditional prize since the days of the Natchez and Robert E. Lee. The original antlers won by the latter hang in the museum at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Although we were all supposed to embark on our respective boats in downtown New Orleans, it was decided that some ninety late arrivals be picked up from the levee in Audubon Park some miles upstream. As we approached the landing site , our searchlight fingered the bushes and trees on shore. A charming young lady directed the life-jacketed deck hands maneuvering the landing stage into position. She was Kari Preston , and this was her first trip as mate . Over the loudspeaker came the Will Rogers-style voice of our doughty Captain Arthur McArthur, giving instructions to Preston . A veteran captain and river pilot descended from a long line of rivermen, if there was anyone who could keep the old Delta Queen in the race with her younger sister, it was he. Shortly he appeared below walking out to the end of the landing stage to test the mud on the shore end. It was evident that the late arrivals would have a muddy walk. We took sixteen aboard and watched as seventy-five or so climbed aboard the Mississippi Queen . One later said it was a thrill , that traditional, nighttime river landing in the mud . In the dining saloon I met two gentlemen who had sailed in the Delta Queen when she was an overnight boat on the Sacramento River. Today revered as the epitome of the Mississippi River steamboat , in truth the Delta Queen was built in Scotland in 1926 for service in California between San Francisco and Sacramento, in which service she was paired with her consort the Delta King . After war use as a dormitory ship she was bought by the Greene Line of Cincinnati, today known as the Delta Queen Steamboat Company. As the result of what amounted to a nationwide crusade, she is exempt from certain Coast Guard fire regulations which allows her to retain her original configuration . Her superb interior fittings give her a wonderful atmosphere. The next morning I made sketches of the Mississippi Queen steaming majestically ahead of us. Our first stop was at Houmas House, one of the oldest of the great Louisiana plantations. Our purser announced that she was ahead because we would 14
be tying up to the Mississippi Queen after she had landed and use her bow as our gangway. " That 's all she's good for, " he added. The race was on. Sitting on the lawn in front of Houmas House we waited for the start of "The Battle of the Bands, " the first of the several interboat competitions. Suddenly we were startled with the blast of a fire engine siren and some wild jazz. Somehow the Mississippi Queen band had gotten a local fire engine and were making music " to beat the band." What an entrance! And what music! "Catfish" Mallory was their master of ceremonies and a grand job he did encouraged by shouts, weaving dance steps and the furious clapping of a dozen pretty stewardesses. Led by talented Vic Tooker , a third-generation riverboat entertainer, the Delta Queen's band arrived . With them was Willie Humphries, clari netist from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans. Vic scored with his wonderful spiel and his fine arrangements . His seventy-six-year-old mother was a member of hi s band and played the bass fiddle . What a performance it was, reminiscent of the days when the bands from different steamers came ashore to perform before the citizenry on the very same spot. The Delta Queen won this competition 33 to 17 . Going back to the steamer, Capt. McArthur told us something of the background of Mate Kari Preston . She had come up the hard way , serving as a deck hand and then as head deck hand before sitting for her mate 's license. After a brief schooling period at Memphis she had been picked as Mate for this trip by Capt. McArthur. The Captain pointed out the display of framed licenses hanging in the upper deck lounge.
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SEA HISTORY , SPRING 1987