Tubs Set Sail at the Bathtub Regatta

August 15 in Dinant, Belgium

 

Each year on August 15, the city of Dinant, in keeping with Belgium’s reputation for the quirky and unusual, hosts the Bathtub Regatta. The regatta highlights the city’s joie de vivre and attracts as many as 25,000 visitors who watch this procession of bizarre boats racing down the Meuse River.

In addition to bathtubs, visitors will see homemade rafts, floating waterslides and other curious boat-like creations. A theme is selected each year for the regatta and participants enthusiastically incorporate it into the creation of their boat with a heavy dose of humor. This year’s theme is "Films past and present," so prepare for a walk down cinematic memory lane.

 

Dinant’s Bathtub Regatta was born by chance. In 1982, Alberto Serpagli, a famous chef of the city with an equally famous mustache, went to Namur and heard on the radio a story about a Frenchman sailed along the Meuse in a bath! This story inspired him to lobby for the creation of a bathtub regatta. Determined to make his race happen, despite being laughed at, Serpagli found 40 bathtubs left for trash. After finding a way to plug the drain, Serpagli would sell them at the market explaining his idea and people were amused by the idea!  In June and July, the various participants hid their boats to surprise the other. Then on August 15, the boats were unveiled making the first bathtub regatta a huge success!

 

For more information, please visit http://www.lesbaignoires.be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact:

Francoise Haffreingue

212.758.8130 x14

francoise@visitbelgium.com

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