The Nanaimo Bathtub Race began in 1967 and the race entailed crossing the Strait of Georgia from Nanaimo to Vancouver. The distance travelled was 36 miles and all conceivable types of watercraft entered the competition. The Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society began issuing tokens commemorating the annual race in 1969 and has continued to do so each year.
In 1969, The Diners’ Rendezvous restaurant in downtown Nanaimo, owned by Wong Bros Enterprises Ltd., decided to issue its own token to commemorate this event and at the same time, promote their own business which was celebrating its 13th Anniversary. The token depicts a racing bathtub with a dragon figurehead and the restaurant’s name. The reverse shows the name of the restaurant, the corporate owners, and the Anniversary Date. This token is listed in Ron Greene’s Catalogue of British Columbia Tokens as N0822a. It is struck in antique Bronze, measures 29 1/2 mm, and over 40 of these tokens are known to exist.
The Diners’s Rendezvous restaurant changed owners in 2010 and the business has since closed.
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