1909 Louisville Regatta

First Regatta of the Falls Cities Motorboat Association

LOUISVILLE, KY.—The first regatta of the Falls Cities Motor Boat Association, which was recently organized by motorboat owners of Louisville, Jeffersonville and New Albany, was held on October 2 and was a decided success. The races were witnessed by about two thousand persons and proved very interesting.

The first event was for boats with a speed of eight miles or under, over a five-mile course. Helen, owned by John Kemp, of Jeffersonville, won in 41 minutes, with Fred Luke’s Red Feather second; Genevieve, owned by W. and M. Fleitz, third, and Dine, owner Carl Gray, fourth.

The second race, also five miles, for boats capable of fifteen miles or under, was won by Francis, owner C. J. Kerbel, time 35 minutes 16 seconds; 2. Mary Ann, owner A. H. Barrett; 3. Cruso, owner Harry Means. The feature of this event was that the winning boat was steered by the owner’s daughter, Miss Madeline Kerbel.

The third race, over a ten-mile course, was won by Jimmy, owner H. J. Wanner, time 1 hour 1 minute.; 2. Lillian R, owner Greiner & Meehan; 3. Itsa, owner C. L. Miman.

The fifteen-mile race, the last event of the day, was won by Vivace, owner E. M. Hughes; 2. Alvin Nicholson’s Nick; 3. Harry, owner August Ropke. A feature of the regatta was the presence of Hoosier Boy, owned by E. H. Whitlock of Rising Sun, Ind., which gave exhibitions of speed during the races.

(Transcribed from MotorBoat, Oct. 25, 1909, p. 40.)

[Thanks to Greg Calkins for help in preparing this page — LF]