Silly Boat Regatta makes a splash for its 40th anniversary race
The Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Boat Society with their boat the ‘Monster from Snake Island’ (pictured) were able to ring that victory bell. (Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7FM)
All things fun and silly came together on Sunday afternoon for a regatta like no other.
Down at Maffeo Sutton Park on Sunday July 19, the Silly Boat Regatta celebrated its 40th anniversary raising money for the Nanaimo Child Development Centre.
The centre is a community-based, not-for-profit that offers a variety of services and programs for children with developmental needs. The centre services around 1,900 families in Nanaimo and offers most of their programming at no cost.
It was a hot Sunday morning when over 30 different local organizations, businesses and community groups built their ships using various recyclable materials.
Thousands of people showed up to the park to get a glimpse of the boat building process and to snag a good spot in front of the Nanaimo Lions Pavilion as children’s entertainer and musician, Fred Penner took the stage.
Before the races, CHLY spoke with Kimberlee Howland, CDC resource development team leader and organizer for the event. She has been helping to organize the Silly Boat Regatta for 12 years and felt positive about this year’s event.
“Especially to see all of these people here and knowing having Fred Penner be here and all the fans wanting to come out and see him,” Howland said. “It was amazing.”
Howland was also excited to see the boat created by 102.3 The Wave. Their radio station, previously called CHUB, was an AM radio station when they created the Silly Boat Regatta race in 1986.
“I'm interested to see this year's Island Wave Radio because they've been doing this for a lot of years and have never won a race,” she said. “So I'm hoping for them. I think the 40th would be a time to see them win a race.”
As the biggest annual fundraiser for the Nanaimo Child Development Centre, Howland said it is uplifting to see people keep coming out to the event and to make donations.
“This has been really heartwarming and encouraging because this event is not just a community event, but it's to help us raise funds for kids and families in the community,” she said. “Seeing this many people coming out to help support our 40th, it's just heartwarming.”
Soon the racers were off and crowds gathered around the beach to watch the racers dash into the rocky ocean and paddle as quickly as they could while trying to stay afloat.
Shortly after, it was time for the championship race. The first team to ring the bell at the end of the course would be crowned champions.
The Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Boat Society with their boat the ‘Monster from Snake Island’ were able to ring that victory bell with the fastest with a time of 2:15:00.
Following their big win, CHLY spoke with the winning team made up of Ben Friday, Piet Jonker, Matt Prime, and Aaron Grant.
After taking part in this race six times now Jonker said it was an amazing feeling to once again get to participate.
“We left it all in the ocean. We took it out there. We gave it 110 per cent, and it all came together for us,” Jonke said. “It was a big day, big day.”
He said the secret to their success might have been the air cannons they added to their ship this year for some silly and fun hijinks.
“We got air cannons, so I don't know if you noticed, but we were shooting water at people. We had a little mishap, and our man Aaron got shot in the face with a bunch of salt water and seaweed,” he said. “But aside from that, we were just hitting other boats. So I think that gave us an edge. I think it kept the fear in the eyes of our competition.”
Grant said the team didn’t even make it past the first heat for the last four years, so they knew they needed to try something new.
“Usually our build is too heavy, or doesn't work, or there's some complexity to the boat that makes it not go very fast. Then this was like a change. I was hoping to make a modification to the boat design,” Grant said. “This one had a nice buoyancy and speed, so it really took off. Like we had like a record time, so it was surprising and amazing to do it and be successful for once.”
Team leader Ben Friday has been competing in the Silly Boat Regatta for 20 years now.
He said he first started competing simply because of how awesome it was.
“Do you know anyone else that has more fun on the waterfront than Nanaimo in the summertime? I don't know,” Friday said. “It's pretty great.”
But the races aren’t quite over for this group. Over the weekend of July 24 to the 26th, the Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Boat Society will be hosting their annual world championship bathtub boat race.
“There's lots of fun in the park all weekend,” Friday said. “Next weekend, there's concerts, there's beer gardens, kids stuff happening, and then the race itself is on Sunday at 11 a.m. sharp.”
This year’s race was bittersweet, as longtime organizer and former resource developer for the CDC Michelle Kocourek passed away at the beginning of the month following a battle with cancer. According to the Nanaimo Child Development Centre, Michelle worked at the centre for more than 20 years.
In a social media post, the centre recognized Michelle’s generosity, compassion, and remarkable legacy that will continue to serve the centre and the lives of children.
At a Monday council meeting following the race, Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog recognized Michelle's contributions to the community.
“Her long service to the Child Development Centre was the subject of much admiration and respect. In that work, she touched the lives of 1000’s of parents and children with disabilities in our community,” Krog said. “She was a devoted mother and grandmother to her large family, and she found her greatest joy in dealing with them, loving them, and providing to them an example of what real community is about, what love and compassion and empathy are about.”
While official numbers are still being calculated, it's estimated this year’s Silly Boat Regatta raised over $90,000 for the Nanaimo Child Development Centre.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
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