Bathtub Races
The Store
|Adirondack Daily Enterprise, |August 16, 1976]]"Bathtub Races" were held on Lake Flower from 1973 to 1980, sponsored by the Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce. The racing craft were bathtubs mounted on hydroplanes with small outboard motors. Charlie Keough was a major proponent of and competitor in the races.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, July 17, 1974
Bathtub races set to go July 27
SARANAC LAKE — Already in high gear with the July 4th activities a success, Saranac Lake sets its sights on the International Bathtub Derby to be held Saturday, July 27 on Lake Flower.
A Canadian diversion which found its way across the border, bathtub racing is adding both sport and merriment to Saranac Lake's wide appeal to vacationers and outdoors men.
The Can-Am international schedule last year included the Saranac Lake races in its quintuple Crown, point-scoring aggregate system and also kicked off a “first” for the community.
The racing vehicle is basically a conventional bathtub with outrigger or frame for stability plus an outboard motor; These component parts are all that is necessary to get a challenger in the starting lineup.
The tubs are maneuverable enough to attain satisfactory racing speeds under the six horsepower limit set for stock competition by controlling officials of the Cornwall Bathtub Racers Association.
In the modified class, the engines are souped-up considerably and the tubs perform at speeds in the 40 mile per hour range. The bathtubs are made of porcelain, metal, fiberglass or molded plastic. The pilot or sponsor equips the vessel with steering controls and other necessary mechanical aids for smooth handling.
Some sparkling, original artistry on the tub exterior usually completes the job. Some include the sponsor's trademark and business name and others run more to shark teeth, sea eagles and cartoons. It all adds a note of color to the event.
Women find the racing tubs a fine place to assert their superiority. Since they customarily spend a lot of time in the home bathtub, they are quick to gain an affinity with a racing tub.
Strong challengers emerge every year from the female ranks in both Canada and the United States, and the welcome gates are always open for local girls who wish to bask in the competitive limelight.
The Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce expects to enter its own tub this year with a woman already picked to wear the community colors behind the wheel of the Chamber's entry. The many-splendored afternoon will include a U.S. Army Paratrooper exhibition with the Green Beret Special Forces doing pinpoint drops among other demonstrations of consumate skill and daring designed to dazzle and delight the less adventuresome ground-dweller.
A water-ski show with clown and kite acts will vie for the attention of the spectator and add a new dimension to the weekend of activities. While this daredevil assortment of air-water features is underway the Adirondack Craft Coop will present a wide assortment of handcrafted objects and novelties, to be sold in the park or simply shown for merit, individuality and imagination.
The ever popular Strawberry Festival, an annual fund raiser for the Saranac Lake Women's Civic Chamber is also scheduled for the afternoon and is expected to draw heavily on visitors and tourists who should be in the area as the summer vacation period reaches one of its peak weeks.
If the weather man fails to cooperate in this fun day program, the Chamber of Commerce has set the following day, July 28th as a substitute date.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, July 11, 1979
Bathtub Festival activities listed
SARANAC LAKE - Saranac Lake will sport a carnival-type atmosphere the weekend of July 20-22. A variety of activities are being planned for spectators during the Bubble-Up Bathtub Festival.
The weekend will be highlighted by Can-Am International Bathtub Racing on Lake Flower. The unusual sport called “bathtub racing” involves a craft that features a conventional fiberglass or antique metal bathtub model mounted on a frame for stability and equipped with a six horsepower motor. During competition, these tubs will reach speeds of almost 30 miles per hour
The race is one of four sanctioned annually by the Cornwall Bathtub Racers Association of Canada. Each circuit race consists of three heats for the tubbers. Points are awarded based on the finish in each heat. The combined three-heat point total for each tubber determines the final standings.
Points from each race on the circuit are accumulated toward the International Championship Gold Cup, the top prize of the Can-Am Bathtub Racing Series. The tubber with the most accumulated points at the end of the season takes home the coveted Gold Cup.
For the first time in the history of the Cornwall Bathtub Racers Association, an American has a good chance of winning the International Championship Gold Cup. 17 year old Chris Dyer, who represents the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, captured first place at the initial race on the 1979 circuit in Quebec and is the defending champion coming into this year's race in Saranac Lake. Dyer had been piloting the Chamber's tub for four years.
Spectators attending the Bubble-Up Bathtub Festival are also in for another treat when the canoe jousters take to the water. Canoe jousting is another unusual sport that combines some skill with a keen sense of balance. The result is generally fun for both the competitor and the spectator.
Two canoes are sent out into the water with two competitors per canoe — the combatant and the rudder man. The combatant in each canoe is given a 10 foot pole with a boxing glove attached to the end and, through the deft maneuvering of the rudder man, tries to send his opponent into the “drink.”
The canoe jousting competition this year has been organized into a double elimination tournament. Prizes will be awarded to the winners of both the championship and consolation brackets. The preliminaries of the canoe jousting competition will take place on Saturday, July 21 with the final rounds on the following day.
Spectators will find that the Bathtub Festival is not all confined to water. There will be a two day craft fair with area residents taking their hobbies and handiwork to market. For the children, Kellogg Amusements will be in town with rides throughout the weekend.
Live music, refreshments and much more will also be taking place during the Bubble-Up Bathtub Festival.
The festival is being jointly sponsored by the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and the bottlers of Pepsi and Bubble-Up soft drinks. For further information on the Festival, please contact the Chamber of Commerce at 30 Main Street or call 891- 1990, 7 days a week from 9 to 5.
External link:
- Associated Press: [Race on Lake Flower], July 31, 1973