Paddle Steamer Racing

[ancoaster78]

Hi Everybody 

Has anyone out there read Chirs Collards excellent books 'P&A Campbell Steamers - The Victorian Years' and 'P&A Campbell Steamers - The Edwardian Years'?

In both books there are many, many imagination grabbing stories of Campbells ships racing, and being raced by their various rivals over the years, and of the intense publicity created by this competition in the days when these ships were a far more significant part of life than these days.

Two things, does anyone share the excitment/nostaliga for those days I wish I could have seen for real not just in my mind, many thansk to Chris Collard thought for painting such a vivid picture. And, had it ever crossed anyone elses mind to in some way, recreate these glory days in model form?

Just random but grabbing thoughts going through my mind as I dip into those books for some research, didn't know where else to share them

Cheers all,

Andy

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD's....Andy...I have not seen the text you mention, but did secure a copy of 'Clyde River Steamersof the Last Fifty Years' as printed in 1923 & whilst there are few photographs of paddle racing....certainly many references to the same between rival vessels "first to the pier would secure the custom passangers".....Derek

[Roderick Smith]

Fitchett 'Down the Bay' devotes a page to two famous races between rivals PS Ozone and SS Courier, in Victoria's Port Phillip Bay trade.  I'll condense his text, and see if I can find contemporary articles on line.  National Library Australia has now put up scans and ocr text of the full run of Melbourne Argus newspaper.

The pioneering Murray River commercial paddlesteamer voyage, in 1853, culminated in a race which last for a few days: PS Mary Ann and PS Lady Augusta.

There was rivalry on the Murray, but I have read of very few instances of outright racing in the commercial era.  River conditions would not have helped, and possibly traffic was too sparse.  One hint was given in the 1864-72 era: rival boats would wait at Echuca to collect passengers from the train from Melbourne, heading to Albury.  This was an important traffic, as it provided the fastes and most comfortable route for Melbourne - Sydney traffic, already the nation's largest two cities.  There was a cachet in being known as the fastest vessel, and PS Cumberoona (1) had the reputation.  The trade ended with the opening of the Melbourne - Wodonga railway.

In the preservation era, there was a regular series of races initiated at Signal Point (Goolwa).  The first winner was PV Rothbury; all subsequent races were held at its home port (Mildura), as it kept on winning.  The series lapsed when river conditions became too unreliable for the boats to assemble.

Sydney Harbour has an annual race, but I don't think that there is any paddleboat contestant.

For years up to the late 1930s there was an annual ferry race on Derwent River (Hobart).  I am not sure how many contestants were paddleboats, but the majority were screw.  The event ended after a collision between two competitors one year.

There was a 'race' as one of the public events at Mannum during PS Oscar W's centenary voyage, in 2008.  The committee of management of PS Marion does not allow it to race (do preserve both the hull and the machinery).  Even if it could, I feel that Oscar could outrun it.  On this occasion, running upriver, Marion had a headstart, but was overtaken dramatically by Oscar in front of the assembled crowd.  The other paddleboats didn't stand a chance.  The public was thrilled; boats were quite sure that the whole event had been rigged.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[AlistairD]

Racing was common on the Clyde in the mid and late Victorian era with steamers of rival fleets racing for the only berth at a small pier. It got to bad that somebody invented the pier indicator, a wooden building on the pier with three circular apertures with a black or white board behind them. A white left hand board meant left hand steamer berth first, and similarly with the right hand board, and if there were three steamers and the central one was to berth first, the central board was white.
The only one of these to survive is at Kilcreggan, and such is the paucity of calls there nowadays, it is long out of use.
There is a pictue of one on http://www.river-clyde.org.uk/piers.html. the image of PS Mercury leaving Dunoon Pier


There was what was called "The Great Steamboat Race held at Louisville, Kentucky, between Belle of Louisville and Delta Queen. I think now Delta Queen no longer runs, theyhave brought a diesel sternwheeler down from Cincinnati for it. It was featured in the Delta Quene borchures

[Roderick Smith]

Pay dirt with Melbourne Argus on line: stacks of articles, as the issue simmered for a year.

The ocr is punk, and I haven't the time to fix it all.
The original incident was that newly-arrived SS Courier was faster than PS Ozone, which had 'fastest boat on the bay' as its marketing ploy.  The owners slipped the boat, polished the hull, took down all canvas awnings, took only enough coal for the return journey, and carried a only handful of guests, then lay in wait on Sat.18.2.1888 for Courier, fully loaded and with marine growth on its hull.  Courier was caught unawares, Ozone overhauled, then the Courier master went into defence, and fairly well held is own.

Big boys with big toys: it still makes exciting reading today.

Here is just the tail end, of a followup race, on fairer terms.
It is from Mon.20.2.1888 Melbourne Argus, with text corrections by me.
The full article is at http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/6104236

THE TRIPS YESTERDAY [ie Sun.19.2]
The vessels went on their respective trips yesterday, but it was only on the return voyage that persons on one could see the other The Courier was just leaving the Portarlington pier when the Ozone was seen about two miles and a half nearer Williamstown, 
but well away to the east. The black   smoke issuing from the funnels of both boats indicated that they were going at their best or thereabouts, but after steaming for one hour and eight minutes there was no perceptible difference between them. Both   were crowded with passengers.

Alistair mentioned the need for pier indicators to prevent collisions between racing rivals entering simultanously.  In the 1880s or 1890s, the railway hobby had a similar scene, with the east- and west-coast railway companies trying to beat each other on the London to Edinburgh route.  The final approach was over common track, and there came the day when the two were belled through simultaneously.  In a sporting gesture, the signalman at Kinnaber Jn gave precedence to the rival company.

I expoited the same story as an April Fool joke in RNV, in an era when Melbourne's tram system had been privatised into two.  They had complementary coverage, not competing coverage.  However, St Kilda was served by both, and I wrote of an after-midnight race, with the same scenario: both routes converged at the former St Kilda station.  One company had Inspector Kinnaber on patrol; he faced the problem of simultaneous arrivals, and parked his car to block his own company and give priority to the other.  Only one reader detected the ancestry of the story, and the relevance of the name.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

I have scanned the relevant three pages from Fitchett 'Down the bay', first published in 1973.  I have edited it only lightly to condense a little.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

The period from 1886 to 1888 ushered in one of the most colourful chapters in the history of the bay steamers. During those years, two splendid excursion steamers arrived in Port Phillip. PS Ozone, owned by Bay Steamers Ltd, arrived from Glasgow on 27.11.1886; SS Courier, owned by Huddart Parker and Co., arrived from Newcastle-on-Tyne on 3.1.1888.
Before the arrival of Courier, Ozone had earned the title of the 'Greyhound of Port Phillip'. No other excursion vessel could match her speed. But with the advent of the new vessel for the Geelong and Portarlington service, the unofficial title of the Ozone faced a serious challenge. A keen rivalry sprang up between ships; in no time it rose to fever heat. Huddart Parker started it all. Shortly after Courier made her first trip, on 16.1.1888, they advertised her as 'Absolutely the fastest excursion steamer in Australian waters,' or words to that effect. Bay Steamers publicly ignored this provocation, but it was common knowledge that they did not intend to let the boast go unchallenged. Courier's claim was based on the fact that, on two recent occasions, Ozone (homeward-bound from Queenscliff) and Courier (from Portarlington) had drawn near each other as they approached the Gellibrand lightship. Smoke then began to pour from the funnels of both vessels, and as they came abreast a miniature race took place over a mile or two. In both cases the Courier appeared to have the better of it. It was even rumoured that Courier's master, Captain Stewart Patrick, and his friends were prepared to put up £1000 that their ship was the faster. The directors of Huddart Parker did not approve of any betting on the issue, but reiterated that at any time Courier could outrun Ozone.
Matters rested until the morning of Sat.18.2.1888. Ozone was scheduled to leave at 14.00 on her usual Saturday trip to Sorrento. Courier always left her berth for Geelong via Portarlington at 10.00. Mindful of these circumstances, Bay Steamers got busy. Ozone was put into dry dock and cleaned and polished like a racing yacht. Her engines were carefully checked in every detail. On Sat.18.2 morning as she lay at her berth, all the canvas awnings, even the windbreak in front of the bridge, were taken down and stowed. She took on board no more coal than would safely take her to Portarlington and back. Only 25 passengers (all guests of the company, including a journalist from Melbourne Argus) were allowed on board. In short, everything that would increase her speed received attention. Then Ozone lay in wait for her rival. At the first sign of a trail of smoke up the river, Captain F W Strickland ordered Ozone away. She made across towards St Kilda and slowly paced around in wide circles waiting. 'Here she comes!' was the excited cry aboard Ozone as Courier appeared at the river mouth. Of course, Captain Patrick knew what was afoot; the whole Melbourne waterfront knew that Bay Steamers had been planning a coup. As Courier steamed towards the Gellibrand lightship, the paddlestearner straightened out her course and sprinted across the intervening water. Smoke belched from her yellow funnels as she swooped in behind Courier and tore along in the smooth water of her wake. At the lightship, the Geelong boat had a quarter of a mile lead. She too poured out a pall of smoke as her stokers feverishly shovelled on the coal. Although Captain Patrick was caught on the hop, he evidently planned to make a go of it. Ozone had already reached top speed. A blast of escaping steam streaming back from her front funnel announced that her boilers had reached peak pressure. She gained rapidly on Courier but, as she drew alongside, the Geelong boat, now in full flight, contested the issue. It was a ding-dong race. Almost imperceptibly the paddlesteamer drew away. After 10 miles she led by a length. As Portarlington drew near, Ozone had widened the gap to 200 yards and in a triumphant flourish crossed the Courier's bows and turned for home. As she did so, a flag of victory fluttered to her mast-head with a crowing cock emblazoned thereon. Captain Patrick denied later that he made a race of it, although he admitted that the Courier made better time than usual. 'I knew the Ozone was lying in wait for me,' he grumbled. 'But why should I race?'  He then pointed out that the Courier had been unduly handicapped. With 450 passengers, a hold full of cargo, and a bottom thick with marine growth, how could the Courier have beaten an opponent with a clean hull, cleared for action, and carrying only 30 people? Of course, he was right. It was no contest, but Bay Steamers had made their point. They had scored a tactical victory over their rival. Great space was given in the newspapers to Ozone's victory, and that pleased Bay Steamers mightily.
During the remainder of the season Ozone flew her 'Cock of the Walk' flag, much to the chagrin of the Courier's crew, her master, and the whole staff of Huddart Parker. It was beyond doubt that Captain Patrick and his directors did not intend to let the perfidious Bay Steamers Ltd get away with it.
Almost a year to the day, on Sat.16.2.1889, Huddart Parker hit back. The events that followed made a red-letter day in the annals of the bay steamers. It was all carefully planned. Huddart Parker challenged Bay Steamers to race Ozone against Courier on Sat.16.2. It was declined. According to the newspaper reports, Bay Steamers had expressly instructed Captain Strickland that under no circumstances was he to be inveigled into a race. Ozone was scheduled to leave Port Melbourne on her usual Saturday afternoon trip to Queenscliff and Sorrento at 14.00.  Although she usually carried 550 passengers on Saturdays at that time of the year, she left the pier with 872 people on board, proof that the public had got wind of excitement in the offing. At 13.00, Courier (dry-docked a few days earlier) was looking spick and span. Carrying a mere 70 guests of the company, she crept out of the river mouth and made for the Gellibrand lightship. There she slowly circled about, waiting. In due course Ozone apprehensively paddled away from her berth and set course for the lightship. As she drew near, Courier turned and made for her wake at top speed. Within a mile or two, Courier had overhauled her rival amid cheers and cat-calls from those on both vessels as for a short time they steamed abreast. Slowly the Geelong boat crept past, but at the very moment when she seemed about to take the lead, the Ozone's paddle stopped turning and trailed motionless in the water. There were howls of derision and disappointment on all sides at this untimely end to the exciting race. Captain Strickland had obeyed his orders. Without pause Courier tore on her way with great clouds of black smoke almost obscuring her from sight. It was obvious that she was out to make record time between the lightship and West Channel Light, whatever Ozone chose to do. But now Ozone too began to vomit forth a pall of smoke as she set forth in hot pursuit of her fleeing rival. For the remainder of the distance to the West Channel Light there were some who said that the Ozone, a half mile astern, held her own; others maintained that she slowly lost ground; none, however Ozone minded, were prepared to state that she gained on Courier. A second denouement occurred when the paddlesteamer, before reaching the West Channel Light, veered off to the west into Coles Channel, closer to Bellarine Peninsula. A tactical error it would seem, because the Courier supporters were later able to claim that the Ozone retreated to the shallow water where the deeper-draughted Courier was unable to follow. For her part the speeding Courier steamed past the West Channel Light and turned away towards Schnapper Point, well content with the manner in which she had turned the tables on Ozone.
A contest of speed between a screw steamer and a paddlesteamer is almost an impossibility, under fair conditions to both. To reach maximum speed a paddle-steamer requires still water and a light load of passengers. Against a head wind, the broad paddle-boxes create great resistance; a heavy load of passengers immerses the paddles too deeply in the water for efficiency. The rolling of the vessel in a beam sea impedes progress seriously by burying the port paddles and then lifting the starboard paddles in the water. In the event of the contestants drawing abreast, if the paddlesteamer is carrying a large number of passengers, the people will naturally crowd to one side, cause a dangerous list, and at the same time reduce the vessel's speed. However, on a screw steamer the propeller operates totally submerged and is thus not affected by the rolling of the vessel or the movement of the passengers, and the narrow hull offers less resistance to the wind. In the two exciting races, each vessel did the better under the most suitable conditions. Which was the faster, Ozone or Courier? A fair answer could be that they could hardly have been more evenly matched, although the scanty and inconclusive evidence available slightly favours the Ozone. Below is a list of the few recorded times:
* 18.2.1888. Ozone from Gellibrand Lightship to Portarlington (19.75 nm) 1 hour 4 minutes = 18.5 kt.
* 16.2.1889. Ozone from Gellibrand Lightship to West Channel Light (20.25 nm) 1 hour 25 minutes = 14.25 kt. This time was achieved against strong head-wind. Very inconclusive, as the Ozone veered away before actually reaching the West Channel Light, and the time was guesswork.
* 18.12.1886. Ozone's first Bay trip. Gellibrand Lightship to West Channel Light (20.25 nm): Outward: 1 hour 14 minutes = 16.5 kt (engine momentarily slowed owing to overheating-strong head-wind). Homeward: 1 hour 15 minutes = 16.2 kt.
* Ozone's official speed trials, 1886 (no date given). 4 runs each 15.5 nm at an average of 18.75 kt.
Below are the only recorded times of Courier
* 16.2.1889. Gellibrand Lightship to West Channel Lightship (20.25 nm) 1 hour 13 minutes  16.75 kt (against strong head wind).
* 16.1.1888. First Bay trip: no time quoted, but speed given as 17 kt.
* 1887. Official speed trials: no times published, but average speed given as 17.5 kt.