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THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015
VOL. 26, NO. 96
Annual Bathtub race changes course
I
“
ROUTE WILL start and end in Nanaimo Harbour. BY CHRIS BUSH
The race is actually going to be a more challenging one for our tubbers.
THE NEWS BULLETIN
T
he Great International World Championship Bathtub Race is ending up right back where it started 48 years ago – at the downtown Nanaimo waterfront. Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society announced Wednesday the 2015 race will start and finish in front of Maffeo Sutton Park for the first time since the race started in 1967. It means spectators won’t have to make their way to Departure Bay Beach to see the race finish, said Bill McGuire, Bathtub society commodore. “Tubbers will, in fact, ring the bell right underneath the Frank Ney Statue, an iconic symbol of Nanaimo’s former mayor who was largely responsible for inventing this crazy sport,” he said. A successful marine festival, including music, street entertainment, the Sail Past on Wheels Parade, annual fireworks display and keeping hundreds of spectators downtown to witness the start and finish of the race, is seen as key to making the event a success in coming years. John Ruttan, former Nanaimo mayor and race commodore, said it makes sense on multiple levels to
CHRIS BUSH/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Bill McGuire, Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society commodore, left, and Bruce Samson, vice commodore, ring in news the 2015 Great International World Championship Bathtub Race will start and finish in front of Maffeo Sutton Park.
concentrate all activities in one area and to build and strengthen community partnerships between the Bathtub society and the Downtown Nanaimo Business Improvement Association, Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, Old City Quarter, the city, Nanaimo Port Authority and others. McGuire said people have asked about starting and finishing the race in the same place
for years, but there has always been the need to strike a balance between safety, course length and maintaining the level of challenge tub racers have come to expect. The new course covers just over 32 nautical miles or 59.5 kilometres, nearly the same distance as the previous course. “The race is actually going to be a more challenging one for our tubbers,” McGuire said. “The
roughest part of the entire course has always been Entrance Island and this new route has tighter turns and more activity in that area.” Tubs jockeying for position, their escort boats, plus pleasure craft that bring more spectators close to the race course contribute to safety concerns when so many boats are jammed in the harbour. Bob Smits, safety and communications director, said the biggest challenges to changing the race course were maintaining its length and coordinating the race time with the schedules of other users, such as air carriers and ferries and avoiding popular diving spots. “Making sure that the course length is still the same, because we want to be able to compare race times year over year,” Smits said. “Second, making sure it fits with all the other users on the water.” This year’s Marine Festival runs July 23-26. photos@nanaimobulletin.com
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Intersection upgrade at north-end mall hinges on developer BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
Improvements for traffic troubles at a north Nanaimo intersection are in the hands of private landowners, according to Dean Mousseau, the city’s manager of engineering and subdivision. The City of Nanaimo has near-complete designs and $100,000 set aside this year for a new roundabout at the four-way mall intersection on Mary Ellen Drive that’s become known for backups and egress challenges. But Mousseau says it’s not a city project and how quickly it gets underway is entirely at the discretion of private landowners. “Essentially we are just waiting for the undeveloped property [north of Woodgrove Crossing] to pull the trigger,” he said. The four-way, wedged between two major highways and shopping centres, has been an issue for mall customers, who complain to the city annually about access. There have been some improvements, including a flagger hired at Christmastime, but Joanne Mengual, owner of Woodgrove Crossing’s M&M Meat Shops said the intersection remains a deterrent for going into the mall. The problem is turning left and getting out of the complex. There’s traffic coming from both ends, there’s too many distractions and too many lanes to watch, said Mengual, who calls it an accident zone and believes a roundabout or light would slow traffic down and give people a chance to turn left. Vojto Sinn, owner of ABC Restaurant, also sees the intersection as a problem and said during busy times like Christmas it takes 25 minutes to get out because people don’t know who to yield to. Both store owners were under the impression something would be done this spring but when it starts is all up to landowners, according to Mousseau. While the city is interested in providing capital and ensuring the project doesn’t negatively affect traffic, the issue is access to private property, he said See ‘CITY’ /4
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