Championship Bathtub Races will take place in Nanaimo Harbour the weekend of July 24-26. Bathtub Weekend includes Friday and Saturday concerts in the park, a kid’s zone, food trucks, beverage garden, and of course the big race on Sunday starting at 11 am.
Come watch these motorized bathtubs head out to sea. The races start at 11 am on Sunday, departing Nanaimo Harbour, proceeding to Entrance Island, then northwest to Winchelsea, and back to Nanaimo Harbour at approximately 3 pm to a cheering crowd. The finish line is below the Frank Ney statue at Maffeo Sutton Park. Visiting vessels transiting Nanaimo Harbour must remain outside the race chute marked by white and yellow buoys and maintain a slow speed when crossing the bathtub route.
For a preview of the Bathtub boats, don’t miss “The Sailpast on Wheels Parade” held on Saturday from 10:30 am to Noon, showcasing over a hundred various racing Tubs, their sponsors, and a variety of community entries. The parade rolls down Commercial Street, Church Street, and Front/Comox Street.
The Sunday 58km (36-mile) races happen in the Strait of Georgia, with checkpoints that bring boats near enough to shore for a good look:
- Gallows Point, Protection Island
- Orlebar Point, Gabiola Island
- Neck Point Park, Nanaimo
- Pipers Lagoon Park, Nanaimo
While this event is not a professional form of racing per say, contestants are proud of their seaworthy tub creations and enthusiastically compete for the honors of first place in their class. Each tub watercraft is accompanied by an escort vessel in case the tub sinks or breaks down; it’s all part of the fun. Craft entrant designs conform to the old-style roll-edge bathtub, but can be made of any material. With engines roaring, these boats scream through the buoy-marked race course, it’s an exciting spectacle. Race Rules govern the size, type, and mounts for engines, with races divided by engine class.
This annual event is put on by dozens of volunteers and community supporters contributing a thousand hours of volunteer work. For more information, go to www.bathtubbing.com or call (250) 753-7223.
Photo(s) Credit: Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society
