In preparation for the Great International Bathtub Race in Nanaimo on July 28, qathet region racer Melvin Mitchell and family members have already been out on the water.
Having participated in two races this season, Melvin and his daughter Jenna competed well in the races they entered.
“We have been racing this year,” said Melvin. “I raced the Father’s Day race at Brannen Lake [near Nanaimo] and we were the third of 10 tubs. My daughter came to race on Canada Day at Departure Bay [Nanaimo], and she was fifth out of 16 racers. She said it was more fun than riding a bike.”
Melvin said Jenna is a journeyman electrician and works in camps up north, but was out of camp on race day in Nanaimo. She stepped onto the ferry in Vancouver and Melvin picked her up in Nanaimo.
“She’s my secret weapon,” said Melvin.
In preparation for the Great International Bathtub Race, Melvin said he has been out on the water trying out systems.
“We are flying good right now,” said Melvin. “We have no problems with our fuel line.”
Bathtub racers will be returning to the qathet region this summer. Annually, Melvin puts out an invitation to the racing contingent to come here for a demonstration race at Gibsons Beach. This year, they will be racing on Blackberry Festival weekend on August 17, starting around noon, so the racers from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island are able to catch a ferry after the race is over.
“I try to get them here on Friday so they can come and take part in the Blackberry Festival and watch the fireworks,” said Melvin.
One time when the racers came, every campsite in town was booked, so he came up with a novel solution, using Tla’amin Nation’s Salish Centre as a space for people to bring their campers or trailers. Some families set up tents inside the Salish Centre, which keeps them safe from roaming bears.
“I’ve done my best to be an ambassador of some sort,” said Melvin. “Whenever I’m racing, I try to represent our area. It’s the whole area that makes us who we are.”
In last year’s Great International Bathtub Race, Melvin was one of the first boats out of the harbour but air was getting in his fuel line and his motor acted up, so he had to abandon the race.
His bathtub has been repainted, from dark colours to green, so it doesn’t look all black. He said he wants the bathtub society people to be happy that his tub isn’t black, so if there is an emergency, the tub is easier to spot.
“If the tub is stopped, it’s hard to see,” said Melvin.
He said when the bathtub was repainted, the family crest was added, providing more of a First Nations component to the vessel.
“When I went to see my friend who does the painting for us, we saw how 20 years of racing really takes its toll, and he said it’s got to be fixed up,” said Melvin. “I kind of liked it because it shows we’ve been there, but he said we had to have it looking better than that. He took it back to his paint shop and I told him just to go at it and use his imagination. I turned him loose and it’s so beautiful.”
Melvin said the coming event in Nanaimo is a world championship race and a world-class event that his family has been attending going on 37 years.
People ask him how long he is going to race. He said it is a lot of work and expense, but fortunately, he has a great contingent of sponsors that help him pay the bills. Just getting his truck and boat trailer on the ferry to Vancouver Island is a significant expense, close to $200 each way, he added.
“Then, we have to find a hotel that is accommodating enough where you can have your boat,” said Melvin. “The people in Nanaimo know us and I’ve been so fortunate in all the times we’ve been racing that people step up for me.”
Melvin said his family has always been involved in his bathtub racing passion.
“They’ve always been with me, so I am not alone out there racing,” said Melvin.
“The racers themselves and the families who go with the racers, they become my summer family,” said Melvin.
The next big step for Melvin is finding an escort boat for the big Nanaimo race.
Bathtub racing is attracting new people and he said it is anticipated that there will be eight new entries this year. He does his part to promote bathtub racing, talking to people when he makes his journey to races.
“It really brings a smile to people’s faces,” said Melvin.
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