A traditional sporting event: this regatta consists, indeed, of a fleet of floating bathtubs decorated in unusual and original ways. The event takes place every year in Dinant, on August 15th.
Who needs a boat when a bathtub will do? That is the thought that one Belgian man had in 1982, when he started a bathtub race on the Meuse River in Dinant, Belgium, 100km southeast of Brussels.
Inspired by a story he heard on the radio about a Frenchman sailing down the river in tub, Dinant’s famous moustached chef, Alberto Serpagli, found about 40 abandoned tubs in nearby Charleroi, and sold them at the local market as part of his grand idea
.
The international regatta is one-kilometre long and runs along the river Meuse. It attracts more than 25,000 people every year, who watch it from the banks of the river and from the Charles de Gaulle Bridge.
The bathtubs must be propelled by human force only – think paddling, adding to the entertainment. The event is completely free, whether for spectators or for p
articipants.
The latter are rewarded for the beauty and originality of their tub, the way they put the news and the town of Dinant forward.
While a traditional bathtub must be incorporated somewhere in the flotation part of the craft, racers are at liberty to accessorise in creative ways around each year’s theme. This year, the makeshift-boats will be celebrating “Films, past and present”. All crafts must be self-propelled (no motors allowed) to qualify for the event.
