There was plenty of wet, wild and high-flying action as tubbers in three classes battled it out for supremacy on the waters of Okanagan Lake Saturday.
But the big winner once again in the third annual Great Ogopogo Bathtub Race was the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation.
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Organizer Jim Cavin, of the host Summerland Yacht Club, estimated the event at Powell Beach in Trout Creek will raise about $28,000.
“Our original goal (for the foundation) was $60,000 over five years and if it is $28,000, that’s $72,000 over three (years). We’ve exceeded our goals and you have to be happy with that,” said Cavin. “And people seem to enjoy it and that’s another big thing. We’ve heard no negatives at all.”
Due to windy, wavy conditions and the placement of the finish bell much further up the beach, this year’s event created some very challenging physical conditions for racers. Despite the hazy conditions from the smoke, spectators on the beach could see the tubs becoming completely airborne as they attempted to negotiate the revised, two-mile course.
Cramped in the tubs under those conditions made exiting the watercraft and running in the sand especially difficult for the competitors and amusing for those watching.
Case in point was Penticton family physician Dr. Lloyd Westby who was piloting the 069 PRH (Penticton Regional Hospital) tub in his first-ever event. His pre-race strategy of “stay low, go fast” may not have been the best.
Falling in the water when he got out, Westby eventually struggled to get his knees, was finally able to stand making his way to the bell with outstretched arms and then winding up face down in the sand. All for a good cause.
“We wanted to get some representation from the hospital,” said Westby beforehand. “We came down to watch last year and didn’t have any so the doctors put it together but we’re representing the whole hospital.”
The doctor finished just out of the money, largely because he and some of the other racers inadvertently added a few extra laps. Race officials signaled the finish to competitors by waving.
“I’m jumping up and down, ‘get in here’ and he just waves at me and away he goes,” said a perplexed Cavin afterwards. “So that’s the only change we would make race wise is somehow signaling to people that you’re done.”
Prior to the start of the race, two-time defending A class champion realtor Mike Stohler and his RE/MAX Orchard Country partner Patrick Murphy made a surprise announcement. The pair learned less than a week before the race the boat they purchased from a Nanaimo tubber in 2015 for the inaugural race had an engine that had been secretly modified. The modification, done by the tubber who has since died according to Stohler, gave the craft much more (and not legal in that class) horsepower.
“It feels a little slower and a little quieter,” said Stohler after some test drives before the start of the race with the new engine.
Added Murphy about why they relinquished the previous two year’s victories and announced the discovery publicly: “Integrity is so important to us in our business.”
The pair had been able to scramble to find another engine just in time for Saturday. According to Cavin at the awards dinner the realtors brought their trophies and explained the matter to a standing ovation. They have since donated the original motor to the yacht club. However, Cavin said it won’t be winding up on a tub in the future.
This year’s A class winner Mike Abougoush, competing in his second event representing Summerland Dental Clinic, had his own unique strategy before the race.
“The first one is not to sink,” said the skipper standing on the shore. “This is the first race I hope to complete, all laps.”
Second spot in the division went to Jason Schafer in the Great Estates Wines tub with Kevin Bond in the Summerland Fire Department entry coming in third. In the B class Ken Hardardt of Naramata in the Summerland Waterfront Resort tub finished first, skipper Julian Giordano in the Barry Beecroft Fuels tub was second with Grayden Portman in the Buy the Sea tub third. Brian Stoochnow finished in first in the Nanaimo Guest Race category with Trevor Short and Jaime Garcia in second and third respectively.
