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

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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...

|

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

Department of Recreation’ —_

anc Travel Industry.)