Annual spectacle rolls on despite setbacks, with a volunteer timer and a damp crowd
By Eric Florip, Columbian
Transportation & Environment Reporter
Published: July 25, 2015, 5:00pm
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Organizers changed the format of this year's bathtub races at Camas Days on Saturday after one of the two tubs broke during a race between team iQ Credit Union (in red) and team Pediatric Stroke Awareness. Instead of head-to-head races, teams competed in individually timed runs.Photo Gallery
CAMAS — It’s safe to say this year’s bathtub races at Camas Days didn’t go exactly as planned.
First, a steady rain soaked downtown Camas on race day for the first time anyone could remember. Then, once the event started, a busted tub changed the format from head-to-head races to a time-trial competition.
Still, the annual spectacle went on. A crowd still gathered along Northeast Fourth Avenue. Few expected anything less for one of Camas’ signature events.
“This is a whole different thing with the rain, but you still have all these people out here,” said Washougal resident Aaron Howington, one of the day’s competitors.
The race typically works like this: Teams of three push cast-iron bathtubs on wheels on a short out-and-back course. One person rides in the tub — filled with water — and steers while the other two push from behind. Two teams race each other, with the winner advancing.
On Saturday, organizers changed plans on the fly. During the first heat, one of the tubs lost a wheel and dropped to the pavement as the team from iQ Credit Union pushed it around a cone. The mishap rendered the tub unusable for the day. So with one functioning bathtub remaining, teams took turns taking individual runs as volunteer Pat Ray timed them with a cellphone.
Even the iQ Credit Union team took the setback in stride. (The group was allowed to take another timed run.)
“We broke the bathtub,” said Dawn White, a member of the iQ Credit Union team. “Now we’re legendary.”
Ray himself is a fixture at Camas Days and the bathtub races. He moved to California 18 years ago, but still comes back every year for the event.
“I just can’t stop,” said Ray, whose children still live in the area. “I just have a blast.”
Camas Days, now in its 41st year, offers a variety of activities including vendors, music and Saturday’s Grand Parade. Sunday, the annual Ducky Derby will put thousands of rubber ducks in the Washougal River as part of a fundraiser for local Rotary service projects.
By the end of the bathtub races, the team from Lutz Hardware emerged as the winner. The Camas store is also a sponsor of the event and the keeper of the tubs.
Owner Aaron Lutz said the broken bathtub will be repaired and ready for next year.
The team from Lutz Hardware had the best time in the championship round of bathtub races, giving them the first place award on Saturday.
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