Sunday, July 04, 1999

Belle and bell readied for 3-week journey

---

Riverboat to escort symbol to Newport

BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Members of the public get a close look at the World Peace Bell Saturday in New Orleans. (Craig Ruttle photo) ZOOM

        NEW ORLEANS — Visions of Mark Twain traveling by stern-wheeler on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers pop into Alan Bernstein's head as he prepares for a 1,400-mile journey from this historic city to Newport.

        Mr. Bernstein, who owns B B Riverboats, will have a special cargo riding on the barge tied alongside the newest member of his fleet of excursion boats, the Belle of Cincinnati — the 33-ton World Peace Bell.

        Departing Monday, the Belle and the bell will move upriver for more than three weeks, stopping at 11 ports of call before arriving in the Cincinnati area, where the bell will be offloaded and prepared for its new home in Newport.

        “I've done this trip several times, and it's a remarkable trip,” Mr. Bernstein said as he and the crew of the Belle of Cincinnati worked on some finishing touches Saturday where the boat is moored along the Mississippi River bank here.

        “As you travel the rivers and see the towns and all that there is to see, you can visualize what Mark Twain saw and what moved him to write his stories,” he said.

        Mr. Bernstein and his company recently purchased the 225-foot-long boat, first commissioned in 1992 as a floating casino in Iowa, and converted it into the largest boat of the B B Riverboat fleet. The Belle is destined to ply the waters of the Ohio at Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, carrying up to 300 people for parties.

        But first, the Belle will deliver the World Peace Bell, the shiny 11-foot-high bronze creation cast in France as the culmination of a dream by businessman Wayne Carlisle to make a bold statement about the need for peace in the world.

        “We hope to leave New Orleans by 9 a.m. Monday,” Mr. Bernstein said. “The barge will be tied on the port side of the boat most of the time, but there will be times when we'll have to move the barge to the starboard side to dock in some cities. That's when it gets a little nerve-wracking because we have to free the barge, move the boat around it in the water and then tie it up on the other side. It's tricky.”

        Although the Belle is required by U.S. Coast Guard regulations to have a crew of nine, including a master, a chief engineer, a mate and six crew members, Mr. Bernstein said there will be about 20 people on the boat for this trip, including a crew to videotape the trip for a documentary.

        The working crew will have shifts of six hours on and six hours off, and there will be three meals a day, but done in two shifts to accommodate the crew members.

        The food should be good. Mr. Bernstein brought Covington restaurateur Mick Noll along to run the galley and cook the meals.

        A few stats:

        • The Belle of Cincinnati's five 12-cylinder diesel engines will use about 28,000 gallons of fuel on the trip. That's 20 gallons to the mile. The boat can carry 19,000 gallons, so there will be a stop for fuel along the way.

        • The Belle's main stacks are 70 feet above the water line. Mr. Bernstein said there will be several occasions when the stacks will be lowered to get the boat under bridges.

        • The Belle is about 50 feet wide, and the barge carrying the World Peace Bell is about 27 feet wide. The combined 77-foot width will easily fit into the many navigation locks the boat will encounter on the trip.

        There will be plenty of work for the master, Capt. Troy Manthey of New Orleans, and the crews, including the owner. But Mr. Bernstein is eager to get under way.

        “The Mississippi River is impressive, and you hear and read so much about it,” he said. “But I think people forget the real beauty of the Ohio River. I think it's one of the most beautiful rivers there is, and seeing it from the decks of the Belle of Cincinnati will be wonderful.”

       

---

River rescuer saves boy
Pool drownings preventable, experts stress
Weekend packs triple threat
Hemings descendant wants to be welcomed by Jeffersons
Immigrants an antidote for indifferent citizens
Local voices on citizenship
WKRP's back on the air
Hollywood not kind to Sandy
Where the WKRP actors are now
Where would the WKRP characters be now?
Did founders imagine money would matter?
Belle and bell readied for 3-week journey
Police hope checkpoints keep drinkers off the road
Events focus on women with disabilities
Nothing new in Springer bio
Success hasn't changed the Brotherhood Singers
Movies can be a tool in talking with kids
Teaching kids movie etiquette
After 35 years, Balladeers have much to sing about
Bar owner faces new charges
Chief wants traffic squad brought back
City 'inherits' $1.8 million
City kids find nature next door
Dad sentenced for nonsupport
GET TO IT
Industry lobbyist influenced original tobacco bill
Man charged in child porn case
TRISTATE DIGEST
Two jailed in robbery, attack on elderly man
Village survives loss of factories
Waynesville made for walking