By

10, ENTERTAINMENT, THE HERALD, Wed. July 7, 1¥/6

_ International
Race”’ takes off from the

by Ginnie

With faney bathrooms
elevated to the position of
status symbols, it is only
fair that the bathtub should
come out in the open and
take part in the: world of

Sport. On the third Sunday in

each July, the tub does just
that, in impressive num-
bers, as Nanaimo’s “Great
Bathtub

Hub City’s harbour and
tubbers wallow their way
across the Strait of Georgia

. towards Vancouver’s Kit-
silano.

Beach.
“There'll be many a spill
enroute (in last year’s race,

TRAVEL

BRIVIS"
COLUM BIA |

Beardsley

nearly half of the 200-odd
“tubbers’’ took ‘an unin-
tentional bath in the briny
and had to be hauled aboard
their escort vessels to watch
the race from the sidelines).

But it all adds to the laughs,
and laughs are the object of

’ the exercise.

The zany idea of having a
bunch of nuts try to navigate
the 34 miles (50 kilometres )
in “something like a

- bathtub” was the brainchild

of a real estate salesman
named Glen Galloway

during the Canadian Con- °

federation Centennial year

of 1967-when every city,

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town, village and hamlet
was scratching its collective
head to try to come up with
something different to call
attention. © to itself.

Galloway’s boss, Frank
Ney, a man with a real flair
for publicity who has since
been seven times mayor of
Nanaimo and served on
term in the provincial
Legislature, latched onto
the bathtub race with gusto.

By the time he and his.

- (soon named
“The Loyal Nanaimo
Bathtub Society’)
added embellishments and
_ spread the word, over 200
bathtubs had been entered
for the event, and it at-
tracted television, magazine
and newspaper coverage--
not only across Canada, but
in the U.S. and Britain as
well,

Before even the first race

had been run, it was obvious

that the idea had caught on
too well to be limited to a
one-time shot. The big spoof
became an annual évent,

and Nanaimo was. able, with

‘some justification, to call
-itself not only the. Hub City

had -

“an escort vessel

of Vancouver Island, but the
Bathtub Capital ‘of the
World.

‘All craft must be built
around either genuine metal
or porcelain bathtubs or _
reasonable facsimiles
(fibreglass or plastic tubs
moulded ‘from real
‘‘working bathtubs’’).
Maximum horsepower of six
is allowed for the outboard
powering of each tub, with
motors up to seven and a

sano aha teas aa

to be within the limit.
Every bathtub must have

minimum length of 14 feet

(four and a half metres)--a

rule’.which is the chief
limiting factor in the
number. of entrants. There is
Always a shortage of power

tage of bathtub hopefuls.
The escort vessel. must keep
“its tub in sight at all
times, but must not push or
pull it—although it is per-
fectly legal (and good
bathtub strategy) for the
“tubber”’ to ride in the wake
of the escort. Extra fuel (for

both the bathtub and its
pilot) may be carried
aboard the. escort boat.
However, some of the most
successful bathtubbers
prefer to run the race on
empty stomachs and eschew
seasick pills are likely to
lead to drowsiness.
Despite — world-wide

_ publicity and entries from.

half allowable if “‘modified”’ °

as far. away as Sweden,
Australia and New Zealand,
the Great Bathtub Race

itself remains a strictly

amateur sports event, with -

of a

-boat operators willing to get .
into the act, never a shor-

prizes limited to tub plugs,
toilet. plugers and other
bathroom-related pieces of
spoofery.

Although waters of
Georgia Strait are likely to
be at their calmest during
July when the race is run,
and .tides are of course

predictable; \windsandwaves

am eps ee gee
as »

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~

can play funny tricks at
times. Thus times for.
crossing have — varied
greatly from along three
hours and 26 minutes for the .
first race in 1967-to the one. —
hour and 49 minute record —

Dave Lyle established in.

=reey 1972...

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(This Travel B.C: story. is.
one of a series provided by
the. British Columbia:

Department of Recreation’ —_

anc Travel Industry.)