Chautauqua Belle

[cyberbadger]

Chautauqua is a ~18 mile long lake in North West New York State.

The Chautauqua Belle was built in 1976 to celebrate the Bicentennial. One of the last active large paddlewheel steamers still running passenger service in the US.

https://269belle.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chautauqua_Belle

I went today to pay homage to the Belle today and talked to two Engineers onboard. Beautiful, Calm, and Clear and Warm today.

So the only active steamers on Chautauqua in 2017 that they seem to know of are
Chautauqua Belle - Mayville
African Queen II? - Dewittville (they launch her from Mayville and dont leave her on the water)
Nyitra - Point Chautuauqua




I know I have a reversing lever on a steamboat in Chautauqua - but this one isn't mine. A bit too large.


-CB

[DetroiTug]

Beautiful, but she looks really top heavy with that height to length ratio, but looks can be deceiving. I've gotten the same comment on Chief. The upper housework is very light and shes very stable. However I don't have people milling about up above.

I remember a story about two passenger excursion steamers (Columbia and St Claire) that used to run on the Detroit river between Detroit and BoisBlanc island - or BobLo island as it was referred to and there was an amusement park there. Very old historic park. As Detroit deteriorated so did everything it was associated with and that included BobLo amusement park. One night as the steamer was making her way back up the river to Detroit from the island, one of the fine folks decided to rob someone at knifepoint on the upper deck. The crowd startled all ran from one side to the other. The sudden change in balance nearly capsized her. They said she heeled over and water ran up on the lower deck.

That park is gone now and the steamers are like a grandparent nobody wants to be bothered with, shifting from one dock to the other as their condition deteriorates. I did hear the better of the two St Claire went to New York or someplace? Columbia will probably be chopped if she hasn't already. Testament to the worthiness of a steel hull in freshwater, they are both well over a hundred years old and still on the right side of it.

-Ron

[cyberbadger]

Beautiful, but she looks really top heavy with that height to length ratio, but looks can be deceiving. I've gotten the same comment on Chief. The upper housework is very light and shes very stable. However I don't have people milling about up above.

For some reason passengers seem to like the upper deck. I have never really felt much on board - but 20mph winds are their cutoff. They will cancel scheduled sailings above that.

Any good captain should know the limitations of the vessel, themselves, crew, passengers, weather, and the intent of the sailing and know when to seek safe harbor. It's when, not if.

I think too many people that you have the right hull and enough power you can get through anything - this is misguided at best. Poseidon will always win if he wants to.

Part of the way the Chautauqua Belle is sitting nowadays has to do with the placement of the stern thruster.

-CB

[cyberbadger]

Today, by random chance, was what I am calling the impromptu Lake Chautauqua 2017 steamboat Rally!

I swear last time that I checked the belles schedule they werent going to be sailing till this Saturday!!

Somehow the Belle had a special excursion or private charter and had Departed Mayville at 2pm. I was just going to take my Steam Mentor Tom Diehl, his wife Ana and two other guests on Nyitra for an Excursion.

Send a Steamboat to catch a Steamboat!

(this is a vague reference to Assimov scifi short story Runaround)

When we set out from our Dock in Point Chautauqua The Chautauqua Belle was bearing down on us! Captain Mike? I believe, who I had briefly talked to a week earlier, then gave us a very nice mini steamboat Rally while they did their own excursion. We Sailed side by Side Three Times, whistled back and forth etc! Im sure they were slowing down a bit to let us Keep Up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWQJwnBodPU


It's better to plan and do things so that your dreams may be a possibility.

-CB