Normally, water goes in the bathtub. Yesterday it was the other way around.
It was the 2019 edition of the Great Ogopogo Bathtub Race, and it was, as usual, a wild and crazy affair where guys and gals jump into modified bathtubs (essentially a bathtub mold plopped on a hull and equipped with a small outboard motor) and race around a course just offshore from Trout Creek's Powell Beach.
It's put on by the Summerland Yacht Club, and ultimately it benefits Penticton Regional Hospital.
Jim Cavin of Penticton is the founder and organizer. "This is our fifth year," he said today between races. "We had a five-year-target of $60,000, but after today we'll be at about $122,000 for the five years."
Cavin explained that the money comes through entry fees, sponsorships, raffles, silent auctions, and other supplementary sources. The five-year plan has done far better than originally envisioned, though now that it's complete, the future of the event is uncertain.
"We have to have enough boats to race. Ideally we'd hoped for more boats from locals than we ended up getting. It may happen again next year in a different format. We're not quite sure yet."
But yesterday was a good day for bathtub racing. The water was mostly calm, and the wildfire smoke that hindered last year's event was a distant memory.
The morning began, said Cavin, with "a full fleet of boats. After the first round, there were five left, and after the second round, there were three for the final."
Ultimately emerging victorious was the Great Escapes Okanagan tub captained by Westbank's Robbie Kelm. It was his first year at the helm, having crewed for the boat the past four.
He credited the team behind the scenes. "We have a good bunch in our maintenance crew. We found the hull and the tub, and from there it's just finding that right motor (each tub is limited to a 9.9 horsepower outboard) and doing some fine tuning."
"It feels good today because we won last year, so I had to hold it up this year or they would have been all over me," he laughed.
Dr. Lloyd Westby in the "PRH" tub was a close second in the main event, though the day's hard luck award clearly went to driver Keenan O'Blenis in the Summerland Dental Clinic entry.
"I was doing good," he said later. "I was going super fast. But then the motor cut out and I sunk."
O'Blenis' tribulations were due to a design in the tub where holes are cut into the back wall to drain water entering it as it scoots through the course. One problem. If the boat stops moving, gravity takes hold and water pours in through those very same holes.
"My first time in the boat was three weeks ago, last Friday," said O'Blenis. "I sunk it then too. And I sunk it today. Obviously, my specialty is going fast and sinking."
The event also featured a sandcastle competition, face painting, and some really great smokies courtesy of Nesters Market.
It would be a shame if the Great Ogopogo Bathtub Race were to evaporate. It's a whole lot of fun, it's certainly unique to the region, and it's tailor made for fundraising. We hope we're reporting on the 2020 iteration a year from now.
