Bathtub racing started in Nanaimo, British Columbia and involves the use of a bathtub boat. The idea was conceived to showcase Nanaimo to the world, with the first races beginning with the "Nanaimo to Vancouver Great International World Championship Bathtub Race" in 1967.[1]
Frank Ney, Nanaimo's mayor at the time, was one of the largest supporters and promoters of the annual race from its establishment until his death in 1992, and was an avid participant. He would regularly dress as a pirate and tour the town and surrounding communities.
Until the 1990s, the race was held as a part of Vancouver's annual Sea Festival,(aka Sea Fest), when tubbers raced from Nanaimo to Vancouver's Kitsilano Beach. With the demise of the Vancouver Marine Festival in the mid-1990s, the race now involves a course beginning in Nanaimo Harbour and ending at Departure Bay. The race is held the last weekend of July every year. Because of the race, Nanaimo is sometimes known as the Hub, Pub, and Tub city.[2]
Other cities, like Auckland's North Shore with its Englefield Bathtub Derby, and Bremerton, Washington (USA) with the US-Canadian Friendship race now hold bathtub races, but the Nanaimo event continues to be the most widely known.
References
- ^ "History - Bathtub Racing and the Sea Festival, (aka Sea fest),". Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society. 2003. http://www.bathtub.island.net/history.php. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ Izon, Lucy. "Nanaimo British Columbia is the official Bathtub Racing Capital of the World". What Makes Canada Cool?. http://www.canadacool.com/COOLFACTS/BRITISH%20COLUMBIA/NanaimoBathTubRace.html. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
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