Dozens of tubbers will take off from Maffeo Sutton Park on Sunday for the most grueling race of their lives. (Spencer Sterritt/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Spencer Sterritt

Tubber weekend

Bathtub Weekend a heartwarming tribute to tireless volunteer and tubber mom

Jul 16, 2019 | 9:12 AM

NANAIMO — Tubbers racing along choppy Nanaimo waters have pushed themselves to the limit under the watchful eye of a tireless volunteer who’s considered a mother by all.

This year, much of the attention during Bathtub Weekend will be on former vice-commodore Margaret Johnson, who’s worked for the Bathtub Society since 1967.

“Her family was at the first race,” current commodore Greg Peacock told NanaimoNewsNOW. “They volunteer all year to ensure this can carry on for years to come. It’s a lot of work.”

Johnson is affectionately called “mum” by all the bathtub racers who work up the courage to take to the water.

Peacock said keeping Bathtub Weekend and the Nanaimo Marine Festival so vibrant for more than 50-years is an incredible feat and he’s honoured to know and work with her.

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Johnson will be the 2019 parade marshall, leading a winding procession from Victoria Cres. through downtown to Maffeo Sutton Park on Saturday, July 20.

Everyone downtown for the parade is encouraged to pick a flower from their garden and show it proudly to Johnson when she passes. Peacock said she and her husband George are avid gardeners and it would mean everything to them to see such community support.

Johnson also graces the 2019 souvenir coin for the Bathtub Weekend.

As always, she will watch from near the Frank Ney statue in Maffeo Sutton Park as dozens of bathtub racers put everything on the line and race along the coast.

Participants have been marred by rough waters in recent years, with only five returning in 2017.

Peacock said they hope for smoother sailing but there’s no way to avoid being beaten up.

“It’s a grueling trial, about 60 kilometres these guys travel. Just to get from Nanaimo Harbour out to Entrance Island, up towards Nanoose, back around Snake Island and back into Maffeo Sutton Park is a feat unto itself.”

The 53rd annual Great International World Championship Bathtub Race officially starts at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 21.

It caps a weekend of concerts and events to wrap up the Nanaimo Marine Festival, which included the Nanaimo Dragonboat Festival and the Silly Boat Regatta.

A full schedule of events can be found online.

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