Welland Floatfest sets world record
Hundreds of people make a big splash in the Rose City’s recreational canal
An industrial-sized air filling station with five filling hoses was working overtime on the number of inflatables that needed to be filled at Welland Floatfest Sunday.
“It’s been non-stop since this morning. We just can’t keep up,” said Leanna Villella, a Floatfest spokesperson.
The reason for the backlog — the number of people who showed up for the second annual event held at the Welland scuba park off the Lincoln Street docks on the Welland Recreational Canal.
“It looks like we’re double the people from last year,” Villella said about an hour before an attempt at a Guinness world record for the longest line of water inflatables.
Last year the event saw 1,000 people come out to float on the waterway. At least 1,700 people preregistered for this year’s event.
“I’m very happy … You know what makes me happy? Seeing all these smiling faces, parents, grandparents, their children, babies. This is what it is all about.”
She said the Guinness attempt wouldn’t be made until every single inflatable was filled up and everyone was on the water.
“It’s 100 metres …. I think we’ll set it, there’s certainly enough inflatables on the water.” Indeed a new record was set. At 5:32 p.m. it had been confirmed by Guinness adjudicator Philip Robertson that a line of touching inflatables had extended 165 metres in the canal to make it into the record book.
The recreational waterway was jam-packed with inflatables of all kinds, including simple tubes, elaborate loungers, big yellow ducks, unicorns and pink flamingoes. There was even a mermaid in the water — Marie Beth from Niagaraon-the-Lake.
The inflatables filled the water from the dock area south to the train bridge. One could almost walk across the canal if they went from inflatable to inflatable.
Sarah Gill hoped to be one of those people in the water, but her inflatable suffered a tear just as she was about to get in.
“We heard about Floatfest last year and unfortunately we were already booked up,” said Gill, who brought her friend Sandy Huebner, from Brampton, along with her. “It sounded like super fun.”
Gill planned to get the hole in her inflatable fixed right away and get in the water.
“We’re here already, we have to do it,” she added.
Huebner said the event sounded “awesome.”
“I like to be on the water, not in the water. I don’t want to get any part of myself wet in any way,” said Huebner, who kick-paddled her way back to the dock on her inflatable to wait for her friend.
Welland’s Julie Cope said she came out with her daughters, grandchildren and friends from out of town because Floatfest was a good, family event that didn’t have any drinking.
“It’s something people should participate in for Welland. It was nice this was put on …”
Cope said it was nice to get out and see of the people and families getting together and having fun on the water.
St. Catharines’ Sarah Meshmesh found out about the event when she received an invitation from Floatfest’s Facebook page.
“It was really fun … the water was nice,” she said.
Jen Marsh of Welland came after she saw the event posted online.
“I really wanted to try it,” she said.
The two women spent a couple of hours on the water, but Weren’t able to stick around for the record attempt.
Guinness’s Robertson said the number of participants was not being recorded. The line could only be one inflatable wide, and each had to physically touching with nothing securing them together other than people holding on to each other or the inflatable beside them.
“We have a surveying crew here …. they’ll make the measurement. It all depends on how quickly the line can get together,” he said prior to the result being known.
A team of stewards assisted Robertson with the attempt by checking the inflatables on the water, making sure none were secured together and that everyone was holding on with no breaks in the line at all. Measurements were taken from the Lincoln Street bridge and from onshore.
Robertson said conditions, including the wind and current in the former canal, were favourable for the attempt.