Tubbers getting ready for a Bathtub tune-up race on Departure Bay Beach on Sunday, July 1 2019 (Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society)

By Ian Holmes

Bathtub tune-up

Departure Bay Beach hosts Canada Day Bathtub tuneup race

Jun 29, 2023 | 7:14 AM

NANAIMO — There will be no shortage of Canada Day festivities in Nanaimo.

In addition to all the action at Maffeo Sutton Park, the Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society is hosting a warm-up Bathtub race on Saturday, July 1 at Departure Bay Beach starting at 2 p.m.

Society commodore Greg Peacock expects in the range of 20 tubs to race several times in a horseshoe-like formation in front of the beach.

“We’re really just trying to give the guys a chance to get together, have some fun, get the public excited about bathtub weekend coming up, enjoy the sunshine and celebrate Canada Day,” Peacock told NanaimoNewsNOW.

He said with the fast-approaching World Championship Bathtub Race on Sunday, July 23, the Departure Bay event has proven in the past to be a valued tuneup event since most of their competitors practice on lakes.

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Unlike the World Championship Bathtub Race, Peacock said spectators at the Departure Bay Beach event will have unobstructed sightlines of the racers.

“You’ll get a good visual of it and you’ll see all of the tubs on the water at the same time.”

“The public is encouraged to come down and check out the tubs, you can talk to a tubber, you can talk to one of the crew people and see why it is they do what they do.”

He said the warm-up course will take about an hour to complete with the winning tubber ringing the legendary victory bell on the beach.

Peacock said it’s fitting to have a bathtub event on July 1, noting the event was originally a Canada Day race when it first launched as a centennial event in 1967.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes