2023-08-16 06:22:00
When we meet them in Falmignoul on Monday morning, the day before the regatta, it’s time for the final preparations. Their bathtub, they’ve been pampering it for nearly two weeks. “We were a little annoyed with the rain. We had to build a structure to protect the equipment”, loose Kevyn Lebrun, thinking head of the floating “tank” named Gabriel (his son’s first name) which will sail on the Meuse the next day. .
A few hours before the launch, the pressure is rising. Because Kevyn does not participate in the regatta just for fun. What he is aiming for, with his team, made up mainly of family members, is to win. The goal: to win the beauty prize. “There are small bathtubs and large ones. We are exaggerating with a bathtub over 11 meters long.” The secret of a good bathtub? “The decoration, being realistic with the theme.” This year, the farm is in the spotlight. A huge tractor has been imagined, with straw, hens, pigs and other barnyard animals (fake animals have been made because the real ones are prohibited on boats). A chimney, fed by a smoke generator, is also placed. Nothing is left to chance.
“It costs the blind”
One of the difficulties in the construction of the structure: integrating a bathtub into each compartment. “They must touch the water, otherwise it’s disqualification, explains Alain Deleenher, the uncle of Kevyn’s companion, who came from Mons to participate in the family adventure. We still have to make a hatch to have access. Because the bathtubs must be seen by the jury. This one will have its uses. It will be used to store drinks”. To make his bathtub, Kevyn was able to count on sponsors. “Because it costs the blind. The paints, the wood, the equipment, the insulation…” The man from Falmignoul made arrangements with a container park to recover a bathtub.
Monday, at the end of the followingnoon, time for the transport of the various elements to the edge of the Meuse and the first “crash test” with the floats, made with cans filled with polyurethane. There is also a question of testing vintage pedal boats. “We want to make sure everything is on point.”
Tuesday morning, return to the scene to finalize the details. “We don’t do it the day before because we are afraid of damage during the night”, breathes Kevyn. He confides: “We were a bit short this morning, but we got there. There, a few minutes from the start of the regatta, we are under pressure. We hope everything will work out.”
starting signal
4:30 p.m. The start is given behind the Dinant casino.
The parade of bathtubs on the Meuse, along the left bank (bathtubs can no longer sail on the right side since the construction of the Croisette, in particular because of the presence of stakes in the water) is carnivalesque. The surrounding crowd is impressive, amassed from the casino to the Pont Charles De Gaulle, and even beyond. The atmosphere is one of encouragement and applause. It’s like walking along a stage of the Tour de France. Kevyn and his family’s bathtub is one of the first to reach the end of the route, at the foot of the giant letters, at the bottom of the Maison du Tourisme. “Everything went well. There was a false start which made us lose time. But it’s ok, we arrived in full, having fun.”
19 hours. The results fall. And the prize for beauty goes to… La Ferme de Gabriel. Goal achieved ! Going once more for next year? “Officially”, lets go of the happy dad. But before that, place to tow the bathtub and storage. Before a good fiesta. Well deserved.
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