Hurricane Earl

Bikers set to wait out hurricane
Rally major event for town
By BILL POWER Business Reporter
Sat, Sep 4 - 4:54 AM

The scene Friday at the Wharf Rat Rally in Digby. (TIM KROCHAK / Staff)

Stacey Butler receives a tattoo on her arm as her friend, Melody Didychuk, checks out her new design in a mirror. The pair, both of Moncton, treated themselves at the Skin Decision Piercing and Tattoo Studio trailer at the Wharf Rat Rally in Digby. (TIM KROCHAK / Staff)

Hurricane Earl threatened to hobble the massive Wharf Rat Rally in Digby on Friday, but participants vowed to party on as soon as the big storm passes.

The huge Labour Day weekend celebration of motorcycling in the fishing town on the Bay of Fundy has become so big that some participants described the approaching hurricane as a minor setback.

"We’ll break down our display tonight and hunker down until the storm passes," Lantz entrepreneur Scott Rumley said in an interview.

Rumley said the Wharf Rat Rally has become a significant source of revenue for

his Chubby Boyz Choppers accessories business.

He said he and the other vendors clustered at the Digby marina were holding their ground despite the hurricane threat.

"This is certainly one of the biggest industry events we have going in Atlantic Canada, so all the vendors will be hanging in here as long as possible," Rumley said.

Even as he was speaking, Earl’s approach was darkening skies throughout southwest Nova Scotia.

About 200 vendors are participating in the Wharf Rat Rally, which started on Wednesday and runs through Monday. It was originally expected to attract more than 30,000 bikers and thousand of fans but organizer Glen Dunn conceded Friday that cancellations were mounting because of the hurricane.

"We’re keeping our eyes on the sky, but we’re a pretty resilient group," Dunn said.

"We’ve had a few vendors pack it in, but others moved in quickly to take their place."

Dunn said rally organizers will likely "batten down the hatches" early today and wait out the storm.

"We have displays here featuring millions of dollars worth of equipment, so we’re obviously taking the weather warnings seriously," he said.

Dunn put in a plug for area hotels and bed and breakfasts that might have lost revenue because of cancellations due to the storm.

"We’re hearing there are vacancies due to the weather, so we’re encouraging people to head this way as soon as it starts to clear," the rally organizer said.

John Larson, owner of Privateers Harley-Davidson in the Bayers Lake Business Park in Halifax, said he was ready to get his display motorcycles into their protective trailers if weather conditions warrant it, but he didn’t think it would come to that.

"The rumours of a hurricane hitting are greatly over-exaggerated," he said.

He blamed the media for blowing things out of proportion.

Before news of the approaching hurricane spread earlier in the week, participants had been banking on record crowds. The Wharf Rat Rally started six years ago with about 500 bikers and now could be the largest motorcycle event in Canada.

"The rally is getting so big that cancellations don’t seem to be a problem," said Julie Taylor, a partner in Skin Decision, a Truro piercing and tattooing business that has set up shop for the rally in a trailer a short distance from the marina.

"This is one of our biggest events of the year and we’ve been crazy busy.

"This place is going to be rocking after the storm passes."

( bpower@herald.ca)

‘We’re keeping our eyes on the sky, but we’re a pretty resilient group.’

Rat Rally organizer

GLEN DUNN