Service cuts All routes eyed as B.C. Ferries looks to save $30 million. PAGE 5 Progress flat Nanaimo FSA results show little change in past few years. PAGE B1 Different approach Raiders switch things up in pre-season sessions. PAGE 3
Perfect practice PAGE 16
INSIDE NANAIMO
REAL ESTATE
REVIEW
Your Bi-Weekly Guide to Real Estate in Nanaimo, Nanoose, Ladysmith and the Surrounding Areas
ONLINE: WWW.NANAIMOBULLETIN.COM ADVERTISING INFORMATION: CALL LESLEY LIVINGSTONE-GRAY AT 250-734-4614 THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012
FEATURE PROPERTY
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THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012
VOL. 24, NO. 35
InSight Holdings Ltd. continues its legacy with Thornbridge-- the newest development in Nanaimo’s Longwood community. Surrounded by awardwinning landscaping, Thornbridge features the latest designer interiors and upgraded features including vaulted ceilings, granite counters and double vanity sinks. With multiple floor plans to choose from, you’ll find just the right combination of living space to suit your lifestyle. You’ll be welcomed into Longwood’s vibrant community where you can meet friends at the multi-use clubhouse, meander around the ponds or run errands at the nearby shops and amenities. Visit us today…we have homes to fit all budgets. 5670 Edgewater Lane (off Uplands Drive). Contact Bill Soreg or Jennifer Kemp at Century 21 Harbour Realty at 250-760-1066. See page 12 Presentation Centre and furnished show suites OPEN 12:30 to 4:30 every Tues., Tues Wed., Wed Thurs., Thurs Sat. Sat and Sun. Sun
TTubbers eye ways to spark interest Key events THURSDAY, JULY 19 ◆ 10:30 a.m. – Official cake-cutting, Quality Foods, Northridge Village
FRIDAY, JULY 20 ◆ 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – Bathtub day street fair, downtown
SATURDAY, JULY 21 ◆ 10:30 a.m. – Sailpast on Wheels Fun Parade, downtown
Terr y Learmonth in the 2011 ‘great race’ pushes through the surf toward the finish line on Departure Bay beach. The race continues to draw strong interest from local racers, but some are looking at ways to rejuvenate the event. GREG SAKAKI THE NEWS BULLETIN
◆ noon – CH-149 Cormorant
BY CHRIS BUSH
demonstration, Nanaimo harbour
◆ 10 p.m. – Quality Foods fireworks, Nanaimo harbour
SUNDAY, JULY 22 ◆ 11 a.m. – 46th annual race start, Maffeo Sutton Park
◆ 2 p.m. – trophy presentations at finish line, Departure Bay
THE NEWS BULLETIN
T
he Great International World Championship Bathtub Race and the Nanaimo Marine Festival have firmly woven themselves in to Nanaimo’s cultural fabric since 1967. Former Nanaimo mayor Frank Ney used the race as a Centennial event for Nanaimo and it grabbed international attention. Through the 1970s and ’80s, tubbers came from as far as Australia and New Zealand to take part.
Nanaimo Mayor John Ruttan, a former Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society commodore, recalls the international attention the race once drew. “We had a huge international flavour,” Ruttan said. “I can remember one year, it was probably 1986 or ’87, when I was at the finish line in Vancouver and there were three Japanese television networks that came over to cover it.” The Australians bowed out after a conflict over tub weight and horsepower specifications. The race course, changed in 1997 after
the demise of Vancouver’s Sea Festival, now starts and finishes in Nanaimo. The race is still the culminating event of the Nanaimo Marine Festival and the premier event of international bathtub competitions, even if today’s competitors are primarily local. With an average of about 45 tubs entering each year, interest in the sport remains stable, but could the sport be rejuvenated and once again attract competitors and attention from around the world? ◆ See ‘SUPPORTERS’ /7