A humpback whale breached right in front of a bathtub racer off north Nanaimo's coast on Sunday, July 23. (Joel Pelletier)

By Ian Holmes

jaw-dropping

VIDEO: ‘I just screamed:’ humpback whale nearly topples Nanaimo bathtubber during race

Jul 23, 2023 | 4:36 PM

NANAIMO — A rookie tubber has a whale of a bathtub tale.

Tara McDonald’s debut in the World Championship Bathtub Race was exhilarating and frightening as the Harris Auto Group racer came within feet of a large surfacing humpback whale.

Cruising toward the Winchelsea Islands in her super modified tub, McDonald realized she had company near Neck Point, and it wasn’t another tubber.

She was startled by a large humpback whale surfacing beside her, which then went beneath the surface.

McDonald, 40, nervously waited for what would happen next.

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“I knew he was going to come up right in front of me and he came up like maybe 50 feet from me and then I just screamed and just kept driving and prayed he didn’t put his tale in the air,” McDonald said at the finish line.

McDonald said it was a terrifying sequence, not knowing if she’d be accidentally knocked over by the enormous mammal.

She added with the whale directly in front of her she could see its numerous barnacles latched onto it.

“I think I peed my pants a little bit, just kept going and wanted to finish the race.”

McDonald in fact did finish the race, an impressive accomplishment as a first-time tubber following the harrowing experience.

Family members were among those on the trailing escort boat.

Her son Riley said while it was a bit scary, it was “very cool” to see a whale up-close.

“I just came out of the bathroom and I heard everyone screaming and I popped my head out and I was like ‘holy molly, there’s a whale.’ I thought she ran it over,” the nine-year-old Riley McDonald told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Tara and Riley McDonald were all-smiles following an eventful bathtub race. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Husband Alan McDonald said it was an intense and remarkable experience.

“I was pretty nervous,” he said. “We saw it come up so we veered far away and then all of a sudden when she was going up to it it was perfect timing, it was nuts, we all screamed on the boat.”

The Sunday, July 23 World Championship Bathtub Race was won by long-time participant and first-time winner Brandon Skipper.

The Nanaimo resident clocked a record time, finishing the 58 kilometre race in just one hour and 45 seconds.

With the bathtub race complete, the Nanaimo Marine Festival came to a close Sunday afternoon, capping three consecutive weekends of marine based activities on the Harbour City’s waterfront.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes