‘Clermont’ Has a Go With ‘Odell’

Editor’s Note: The following text is a verbatim transcription of an article featuring stories by Captain William O. Benson (1911-1986). Beginning in 1971, Benson, a retired tugboat captain, reminisced about his 40 years on the Hudson River in a regular column for the Kingston (NY) Freeman’s Sunday Tempo magazine. Captain Benson's articles were compiled and transcribed by HRMM Contributing Scholar Carl Mayer. This article was originally published November 28, 1971.

Steamboat "Clermont" underway on Hudson River, 1940. Donald C. Ringwald collection, Hudson River Maritime Museum.

The Hudson River steamboats of the past were expected to refrain from racing each other.
But when a boat was shiny and new, its officers could be expected to wonder how fast their modern beauty would go — especially if it was pitted against other steamers on the river.  And what better way to settle the matter than a friendly little “go.”
 
When the “Clermont’’ of the Catskill Evening Line arrived on the scene in 1911, Francis “Dick” Chapman of New Baltimore was pilot of the new steamer.  And one group of officers on the ‘‘Clermont’’ were convinced she could trim anything on the river.  One Saturday morning, as the “Clermont’’ was dead-heading to New York to come out on the evening run to Catskill, the “Benjamin B. Odell” of the Central Hudson Line (also new that same year), was lying at Poughkeepsie in anticipation of leaving.  Aboard the ‘‘Clermont,” officers looked upon this fact as a good chance to test out their steamer as “No. 1.”  So, on the “Clermont,” they took it a little easy to give the “Odell” a chance to get out in the river and let go.
 
As the “Odell” slowly left the dock, the crew on the “Clermont” could see by the way the black soft coal smoke was coming out of the “Odell’s” smokestack, that the crew on the “Odell” also had ideas of making ready to “have it out.”  And it took very little time for the “Odell” to show which steamboat was master of the river as far as any race between these two was concerned.
As the “Odell” landed at Newburgh, the “Clermont” was just passing Roseton.  And so ended any idea that the “Clermont” could trim the “Benjamin B. Odell.”
 
Another Challenge
 About two weeks later, as the “Clermont” was passing Newburgh, the tugboat ‘‘George W. Washburn” of the Cornell Steamboat Company was leaving to run light to Tompkins Cove to start a stone tow to New York. They could see on the “Clermont” that the “Washburn” was going to see what she could do against the new steamboat, and the “Washburn” was one of the fastest tugboats on the river.
 
Down through the Highlands, the “Washburn” was astern of the “Clermont.”  Below West Point, the chief engineer of the “Clermont” thought he would tease the “Washburn” a little and around Conns Hook he let the “Washburn” get alongside.
 
As the chief engineer of the ‘‘Clermont’’ opened her up, he found he could not shake the ‘‘Washburn.”  By this time, the “Washburn” appeared to be pushing the whole river ahead of her.  On reaching Anthony’s Nose, the “Washburn” had the inside of the turn and eased ahead of the “Clermont,’’ the great new “‘Clermont’’ doing the best he could against the lowly tugboat.
 
Going down to supper that night, pilot Dick Chapman said to the chief engineer, “Well chief, I guess she is not as fast as some will have us believe.  First the “Odell” beat us and now the tow boats are even walking by us.  What’s next?” The chief engineer replied, “You mind your business and I’ll mind mine,” and after the incident never again spoke to the pilot for years.
 
With Her at End
 Two years later, Dick Chapman left the “Clermont” and went to the Hudson River Night Line where he later became a captain.  Nearly thirty years later, in 1943, Dick Chapman went back on the “Clermont” as captain and stayed on her until she was layed up for good in 1948.
 
By this time, the “Clermont” was an excursion boat running from New York to Bear Mountain.  All during this time, from the day she entered service until she ended her career — some 37 years — the “Clermont’’ had but one chief engineer.  I never got a chance to ask Dick Chapman how he and the chief got along after he returned and if the chief had ever gotten over his losing bouts with the ‘‘Benjamin B. Odell” and “George W. Washburn.”

Steamboat "Benjamin B. Odell", Central Hudson Line, Hudson River, N.Y.

Author

Captain William Odell Benson was a life-long resident of Sleightsburgh, N.Y., where he was born on March 17, 1911, the son of the late Albert and Ida Olson Benson. He served as captain of Callanan Company tugs including Peter Callanan, and Callanan No. 1 and was an early member of the Hudson River Maritime Museum. He retained, and shared, lifelong memories of incidents and anecdotes along the Hudson River. ​

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