Revellers, friends and family rowed down the Meuse River in homemade bathtub rafts, decorated with a musical theme, for an annual regatta in the Belgian city of Dinant on Saturday (August 15).
The annual bathtub regatta (Régate de Baignoires) turns the Meuse River into a lively sporting event. The event has a strict rule that every vessel must include an actual bathtub touching the water, and no motor propulsion is allowed. Recently, there have been various interesting modifications made to the vessels, and it has become a spectacle in its own right.
The unique race started in 1982 after a local shopkeeper heard on the radio that someone in Italy had gone down a river in a bathtub.
Michael Fiona, a 56-year-old construction worker, was taking on a lot of water when he told Reuters that he was "not sure if that's supposed to happen."
Helene Aigret, on the other hand, was still sitting safe and sound on a stronger raft but said she was planning to "splash around and have fun", as she and her family were participating for the 25th year.
The regatta takes the form of a one-kilometre (0.6-mile) race along the river, and rafts must incorporate at least one bathtub in their design.