The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-06-06
m,,or M. Meiss Won the First Meet
Of the keokuk Motor Boat Club
In the Launch
Sally.
MEET rs A BIG SUCCESS
Many People Witnessed the Races
Meet will be. Repeated at an
Early Date with Truer
Handicaps.


Motor Boat club was held Sunday af-
ternoon in front of the city. The
coprse was one laid out from the
bridge at Keokuk to buoy opposite
,bo mouth of the Des Moines river
The distance between the buoys was
inst two and one-half miles and two
t-ips around were required to make
the race. John Leisy kindly anchored
mis- fine boat at the foot of Main street
to serve as a judges boat, and it
proved m Jst acceptable for the pur-
nose VIII It's commodinus roof. from
whic... the judges were able to get the
time with accuracy. From the boat
almost the whole of the course was
VISIBLE.
Never since the visit OF President
Roosevelt has the river front been so
minated Gasoline boats of all de-
scriptions were darting here and
there, tuning up. Others had family
PARTIES aboard and the bright colors
Of the ladies' dresses added a touch
Of color to the scene. There was the
Comet, we'll named. scudding like a
red lizard for quickness. There was
the Edith with canopy top aud built
more for a family boat than for speed.
The government skiff, one OF the many
built at the dry dock in the last few
years. which, with an S-h. p. Cray en-
CINE slid over the water with the mini
mum of fuss. At anchor lay the hand
some boat of Capt. Leisy, and every
where the boats propelled by gaso-
line, of every shape and description.
The Arrow a fast Warsaw boat. also
was there and had she entered no
duobt would have made some of the
keokuk boats look to their laurels.
The handicap committee, Mr.. Wikin-
son chairman, assisted by the judges,
stayed on the Judges boat and timed
the boats as they flew by. The foot
OF Main and the foot of Johnson street
we're thronged with interested sight
seers and on tie bridge another crowd
took notes of the contest.
The race was started by sending off
the Perhaps of Mr.. Publisky, his boat
having handicap of SO minutes. This
boat lost the race by only minutes
The Nellie r and Edith started to.
gether with the same handicap of 26
minutes and 30 seconds and finished
only lair apart, the Edith winning
by seconds. No. was Mr.. Elem
lng's launch with a handicap of 81
minutes and 80 seconds, but this boat
Withdrew before the course was com
peted. probably from engine trouble,
Next came Mr.. Seibert's boat with q
handicap of IL minutes and with her
was the Madge with the same handi-
cap. This boat left the Madge far be-
lind and evidently was wrongly handi
capped. BY elapsed time less handi'
cap this boat won the race with time
10 spare but was disqualified for ex'
ceeding her handicap more than per
cent under the rules. She opened UP
long gap between herself and the
Madge and finished while the Madge
was hull down on the horizon, so to
speak. Last to start we're the Sally
and the Comet, the two fastest beats,
and with the same handicap, namely,
scratch. They darted away together
IN fine style but the boats gradually
drew apart, the Comet in the lead. The
latter, however, developed engine
trouble so that the two boats passed
around the buoy at the lower end ex-
actly together. And here happened a
ming that always happens where rae
efs fail to acquaint themselves with
'he rules of such conflicts. Instead OF
both boats turning the buoy the same
way one turned to the right and the
o.her to the left and 1t looked for a
minute as If they were going to have
COLLISION. Both men were cool
Vhough, and they merely grazed each
olher without actually touching. On
tne way back the Comet began again
10 craw away from the Sally, but
again developed engine trouble and
hoated quite a distance down stream
before she was gotten under control