This year, at the Great International World Championship Bathtub Race, Powell River and Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation was represented by fifth-generation racer Jenna Mitchell.
The race took place off the coast of Nanaimo. Jenna’s racing tub was given to her by stock class champion and friend Dave McHardy of Surrey.
New rules in the sport require racers wear helmets and the tubs carry Department of Transportation stickers. An escort boat is also required for each racer, without which the racer cannot participate. Jenna didn’t have one. Calls were made to friends but the situation was looking pretty dire.
Jenna and her father Melvin put new numbers and final coats of paint on the tub including the traditional “IHOS” design, ready for inspection and registration for the race.
There is a Sliammon saying among the elders of the community, said Melvin. “When you do good things for your community, good things come to you.” This came true at 12:30 am before the race.
A stranger from Edmonton, named Ray Witty, approached Jenna and Melvin to talk about the boat and when the Mitchells explained their need for an escort, he replied, “I have a 38-foot Bayliner and I would be honoured to be your safety boat.”
“I am sure, at that moment, Jenna’s heart and spirit was flying,” said Melvin.
As the race began at 11 am, Jenna had a good start out of the harbour, hugging Protection Island then shooting for Entrance Island and up the Salish Sea to Winchelsea Island. “This part of the race is rough, gruelling and fatiguing for a seasoned racer let alone somebody in a racing tub for only the second time,” said Melvin.
With four-foot swells and clashing wakes, Jenna held on and stuck to the plan she and her dad had set out. She reached Winchelsea and the turnaround point at Schooner Cove before 2 pm. She then headed back toward the finish line at Departure Bay.
“Going in this direction in a Northwest wind means going in the same direction as the waves,” said Melvin, explaining how dangerous it is when the tub is going up a four-foot wave with half the tub in the air. A split second later the tub is surfing down the other side. Going down it is easy to catch an edge and flip at full speed, approximately 30 kilometres per hour.
Around Pipers Lagoon, only half an hour from the finish line, and restarting from a pit stop, disaster struck. In three-foot swells the tub was hit from the port side, veered sharply to starboard, caught an edge and rolled over.
Witty and Melvin rescued Jenna and towed the race tub to shore. It was the end of the race for Jenna for this year. Next year, Witty will be on hand again to provide an escort to the Mitchells.
Jenna “started racing because I’ve grown up with it in my life. I’ve watched my dad from the shorelines and then I wanted to watch from the escort boat. After that I knew I wanted to feel all that comes with being a racer, the good as well as the bad.”
Reviewing the race, she said she felt like a gladiator entering the Coliseum as she headed into Nanaimo harbour with all the other racers. For a moment she wondered what she had got herself into. “After taking the pain and the beating from the waves, no words can truly explain how much self achievement I felt,” she said. “When I flipped over I wasn’t mad or scared, my first thought was how refreshing the water was and how nice it was to finally stretch my legs...I’m proud of every single one of my bruises and won’t back down from it again next year.”
The Mitchells say they are extremely grateful to all the support they received, from sponsorship to friendship, and could not have participated in the race without everybody’s help.
