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Organizers of the Tickfaw 200 Poker Run have cancelled the event for 2020 in the wake of the global pandemic known as COVID-19.

“Honestly, at this point, we can’t even get permits to do it,” said event spokesman Casey Harrison. “They’ve pulled all permits and are not issuing any new ones for the foreseeable future.”

He said the idea of postponing the event until later in the year was discussed, but ultimately abandoned. “We just don’t know what the future has in store,” Harrison says. “We don’t know what’s going to take place. Anything’s possible, but at this point, we’re just shooting for 2021.”

Harrison said that while it’s still possible for boaters to hit the water, “there’s nothing open. All restaurants are closed, all bars are closed. Takeout only. There is absolutely nothing out there. You’d be hard-pressed even to get gas.”

Taking place in Springfield, LA, and headquartered at Blood River Landing Marina, the Tickfaw 200 is Louisiana’s biggest poker run, so named for its scenic 200-mile length. Owned and operated for many years by Charlie William Albert, known as “Crazy Charlie,” the event kicked off in 1996, and it has attracted innumerable muscleboats, all of which come to compete in the world-famous party. (Tragedy struck in 2009, when Albert was killed in a motorcycle accident at age 54. Tickfaw 200 is now owned by Joey Fontenot.)

Harrison says the most devastating part of cancelling the event is the loss of the money raised for charity. “That’s the most upsetting part about all of this,” he says. “We’re not going to be able to give to any of the charities right now, and the community counts on that. We support a lot of the local charities—helping kids going to prom who couldn’t afford dresses or tuxes, and the local 4H clubs, church organizations, kids’ funerals—lots of little stuff that nobody really ever knew that we did. That’s going to be the biggest hit.”

And the industry braces for announcements of further closures and cancellations.

Photo by Tom Leigh

As we reported last week, MTI took its customers on a Fun Run from Miami to Key West and points in between beginning last Thursday. Now that they’re back, we decided to check in and get a full report.

The event was spearheaded by company President Randy Scism and client relations manager Taylor Scism, who left Haulover Marine Center on Thursday morning. “We had some rain come in on Thursday between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.,” Taylor says. “Luckily, it started to blow over by 10. By the time we got to Gilbert’s Resort for lunch, it was beautiful—sunny skies, 75 to 80 degrees, and we had that for the rest of the time. We actually got super lucky with the weather.”

While at Gilberts, Tyler Stone—owner of an MTI 340X catamaran—had arranged to propose to his girlfriend Vanessa, an event that was captured on video and witnessed by roughly a third of the attendees. “He did it on the deck of his boat while it was tied up to about ten other 34s,” Taylor reports. “The pictures are really cool, because it’s them and then all of the other boats behind them. So it ended up being really nice.”

On Friday, the group headed north from Key West for some more lunch stops and a sandbar raft-up at Islamorada. Friday night, it was off to Hawk’s Cay Resort on Duck Key (near Marathon Key), where a special awards banquet was held Saturday night.

“We did a few different awards,” Taylor says. “One was the furthest traveled, which turned out to be a gentleman from Europe who owns a 43 cat with Teague motors.” Another award was given to Zane Mead of Texas, owner of the most MTIs from past and present. He’s owned a total of 10 MTIs—now, that’s a loyal customer.

“Overall, the event went really well,” Taylor says. “Honestly, we were getting a little nervous right before the run because of all the coronavirus stuff going on. But everything seemed to be OK while we were down there—it was almost like we were in a bubble. Nobody down there seemed very concerned. Restaurants were operating as normal, and everything seemed totally fine. Nobody in our group seemed concerned, or seemed sick. Everybody really enjoyed themselves. It was only when we came back that there was no food at the grocery stores.”

Taylor gave props to her roughly 10 employees and team members, who worked tirelessly to help pull off a successful fun run. “Everybody, from the cleaning crew to Milton Calafell, who runs everything, did an amazing job,” she says. “They were only getting a few hours of sleep a night because they were cleaning so many boats. They were busting it to get everything done. We really appreciate them because they do work really hard.”

Another positive aspect of the run was seeing customers from all over the country forge friendships and enjoy the extreme camaraderie. “It’s so cool to see customers from different areas who are friends now,” Taylor says. “They meet each other through boating and these MTI events, and to watch them making lifelong relationships and networking connections through these events is really inspiring.”

 

 

 

 

The first race of the six-race APBA Offshore National Championship series, Thunder On Cocoa Beach, remains on schedule to take place May 14-17, it was announced.

“As of today, we are closely monitoring the situation from our side and remain optimistic that our race will continue as scheduled,” said Race Chairman Kerry Bartlett.

With over 60 race teams from around the world expected to compete in Cocoa Beach, both Powerboat P1 and the Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA) are closely monitoring the CDC guidelines surrounding the recent Coronavirus outbreak as they pertain to large gatherings and outdoor events. “Our number one concern is the safety of not only our racers but also our race fans. We take that into serious consideration as we plan for each race site throughout the entire season,” said Powerboat P1 CEO Azam Rangoonwala and OPA President Roland Smith today in a joint statement.

This year would mark the 11th anniversary for Thunder on Cocoa Beach, which last year generated an economic impact of $17.8 million and 10,500 room nights for the area. This year’s race will once again be televised on CBS Sports and “Freedom Fighter” continues to be their official charity partner. For updates surrounding this year’s race schedule, please visit Thunderoncocoabeach.com.

2020 APBA Offshore Championship Race Calendar

May 14-17: Cocoa Beach, FL
May 28-30: Lake of the Ozarks, MO
June 26-28: Sarasota, FL
July 24-26: St. Clair, MI
July 31–Aug. 2: Michigan City, IN
Oct. 8-10: Fort Myers Beach, FL

Marine Technology Inc. (MTI) is headed for Key West today.

The builder of luxury center consoles and high-speed catamarans gathered its customers for a driver’s meeting Wednesday night and will be en route to the country’s “Southernmost city” for a Fun Run beginning early Thursday.

Spearheading the event are company President Randy Scism and his daughter, Taylor Scism, who told Powerboat Nation that they’ve registered 50 boats and nearly 300 people, and are at capacity. “It’s a big turnout,” Taylor says. “We’re really excited about it.” About half the boats are center consoles, and half are cats, she said.

After the gang departs from Haulover Marine Center in Miami, they’ll be making a lunch stop at Gilbert’s Resort before proceeding all the way to Key West. “We’ll be staying on Stock Island, and because we have so many people, we’ve had to divide the accommodations between the Perry Hotel and Ocean’s Edge hotels,” Taylor says.

On Friday, the MTI fleet will head north to Islamorada for some more lunch stops and a sandbar raft-up at Islamorada. Friday night, it’s off to Hawk’s Cay Resort on Duck Key (near Marathon Key); Saturday will bring more boating and lunch stops, along with a special awards banquet that night at Hawk’s Cay. The group will return to Miami on Sunday.

One of the first-time MTI Fun Runners are the Spraggins family, who recently took delivery of their new 390X cat. Taylor added that Randy would be giving demo rides on a 390X during the Fun Run.

Check out these photos from last year’s Fun Run!

“We always try and change things up a bit,” says Texas Outlaw Challenge organizer Paul Robinson of the upcoming installment of the extravaganza, set for June 24-28 in Kemah, TX. The event, which features parties, bikini contests, bike rallies, awards and on-water fun (see schedule below), has had a proven record of expanding and improving on the more “show-stopping” elements of the Shootout—and the 2020 Challenge is shaping up to follow that trajectory.

The theme for this year’s event is Return of the Champions, according to Robinson, and that will entail highlighting many of the past Shootout winners in a few significant ways. Past winners have included Vern Gilbert, Bruce Bullock, Kenny Armstrong, Gary Smith, Kenny Mungle, Michael Lee Lockwood and Brad Schoenwald.

Robinson said the 2020 Street Party will be bigger and better, as will Armstrong’s world-famous pool party. “He has some new big additions, but he’s not sharing them just yet,” Robinson chuckles. “He’s making them a surprise.” Those familiar with Armstrong’s blowout know that he’s down to do anything during his off-the-hook bash. “He always comes up with something Texas-big for his party,” Robinson says. “Last year it was a money drop—he dropped $1 million worth of Outlaw Dollars that people collected to use a casino the next evening. Nothing would surprise me—he could have a ferris wheel and circus there, for all we know.”

Friday evening, the event will debut a new venue, Barge 295, which will host an outdoor concert for the public. “It will be a new water festival kind of thing,” Robinson says. “We’ll also be having our usual Miss Outlaw bikini contest there.”

Following up on last year’s Challenge, dealership Marine Max will host its Saturday-night “Outlaws to the Max” finale gala and awards ceremony at its expansive facility in Seabrook, TX, which includes a huge showroom, patio and private marina. “They have welcomed us back,” Robinson says. “They spoke very positively about what a great crowd we had and encouraged us to go bigger this year on their property—they’re doubling the casino tables and doubling our bar capacity. We’re expecting more than a thousand people there.”

Robinson added that he would be welcoming back all of the key sponsors back to the 2020 Challenge, much of which takes place on Clear Lake, and that registration for the 2020 event is going briskly and ahead of schedule.

Below: the 2020 itinerary. For more information, please visit texasoutlawchallenge.com.

 

 

 

Top: Artist's rendering of the M37R. Below left: The deck mold arrives at the factory. Bottom right: The bottom mold arrives at the first of the year.

DCB Performance Boats of El Cajon, CA, continues to get closer to debuting its much-anticipated new model: the M37R. Yesterday, the deck mold and some other smaller miscellaneous mold parts arrived at the factory. This comes on the heels of the bottom mold arriving the first week of the near year.

The boat’s deck design was spearheaded by Franco Gianni (of SFG Yacht Design, Miami Beach, FL) and the team at DCB. According to DCB President Jeff Johnston, it was derived off of the company’s flagship M44, specifically for a few key features, incuding:

• Three-step steps at transom (bustle), resulting in ease of boarding.

• Dedicated walkway around the side of the windshield, resulting in ease of walking to front deck area.

The boat’s bottom design was a collaboration of an engineering team with decades of knowledge and experience. The plug and mold work was contracted through a third party based in Florida.

Several M37Rs have already been pre-sold, and DCB continues to take deposits on future hulls. slot #6. The first boat out of the mold is slated for a late-April to early-May debut.

Below: Some photos of the deck mold that just arrived at the factory.

Eliminator Boats is throwing a party—and you’re invited.

The legendary muscleboat manufacturer is opening the doors of its Mira Loma shop in Southern California on Saturday, Feb. 29, for its annual Winter Open House. It’s an event with barbecue, music and numerous boats in the showroom from the builder’s impressive lineup on display.

In addition, Eliminator will be liquidating a massive amount of “new old stock” parts—helms, vents, washers, bezels, cupholders, horns, cleats, rubrails, hinges, switch panels, steering wheels and hardware galore for older models like the Daytona and Eagle series. You’ll also find gauges of all sizes by the likes of Livorsi, Autometer, Gaffrig, etc.

“People are going to find some pretty big bargains, so they should come down and pick some stuff up,” says Eliminator’s Mark Baker.

A live band and a barbecue truck will be on hand for plenty of fun music and delicious food, and the kids will get to jump around in a bouncy house.

Baker says Eliminator will have its 36 Speedster (with twin 1350s) on display, along with the 25 Speedster (with twin Mercury Racing 450R outboards), and a 28 Speedster (also with twin 450Rs), which will be floating in Eliminator’s famous swimming pool.

“We’ve remodeled our entire showroom and our front office, so people can tour that as well,” Baker says. “We put in all-new flooring and new ceilings, and we’ve got a 100-foot banner placed against the back wall.”

Eliminator is expecting to feed as many as 400 people on Saturday.

For more information, visit eliminatorboat.com.

This Fountain 34SC (Sport Console) was brought to Miami by Big Thunder Marine and was sold to a customer at the show.

Jeff Harris, CEO of Iconic Marine Group (comprising Fountain, Donzi, Baja) told Powerboat Nation that the company enjoyed its best Miami Show since it started exhibiting at the event.

“It was clearly the best show we’ve had since we started about three years ago,” he said.

Iconic displayed six Fountains and two Donzi models, the 38 ZRC and the 41 GTZ. “They created a lot of excitement,” Harris said of Iconic’s lineup. “Our dealers sold boats at the show and continue to follow-up and close on deals almost every day following the show. We’re just really pleased with the momentum we’ve gained in the first part of the selling season.”

Mega-dealer Big Thunder Marine, based in the Lake of the Ozarks, was responsible for bringing two of the Fountains to the Iconic display this year: the 34 Sport Console and the 34 Thunder Cat. The 34 Sport Console (pictured above) was sold at the show to customers who had taken it for a demo ride; it will now be shipped to the Virgin Islands.

In addition, Harris said Iconic is looking to expand its dealer network, and met with a number of new prospects, both domestic and international, at the show. “We’re setting up visits with some dealers in areas where we don’t have coverage. “We’re taking a team approach,” he says. “We need to make sure we get the right people, who understand our product and our passion about what we’re doing, who understand the heritage of our brands.”

Looking forward, mega-dealer Big Thunder Marine will gather “BFD” (Baja, Fountain & Donzi) customers for its annual Fun Run this summer, to kick off with a Registration Party on Thursday, July 23, and the main event on Friday, July 24. “We already have a good number of people signed up for it,” says Big Thunder Marine general manager Jeremy Anderson. “We started with 70 boats our first year, and last year—our second—we had more than 120 boats. So it’s a very well-represented event for all of the Baja, Fountain and Donzi customers at the Lake of the Ozarks, and anybody else who travels in for it. So it was a great event last year, and it’s going to be a bigger and better one this year.” Register now by going to bigthundermarine.com.

 

The two Donzis on display, the 38 ZRC and 41 GTZ, were both painted “Black Cherry.”

Big Thunder Marine brought this gorgeous 34’ Fountain Thunder Cat, powered by Mercury Racing 450s.

Fountain 34TC (Tournament Edition), powered by twin Mercury 400 Verado outboards.

Fountain 39NX, powered by triple Mercury 300 Verado outboards.

Fountain’s 34CC LS, powered by triple Mercury 300 outboards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Malc Attrill

International powerboat racing promoter Powerboat P1 has announced two Ocean Cup offshore endurance events this year. In early June, the Gateway Marathon–Ocean Cup will send boats on a 200-mile round trip from West Palm Beach, FL, to Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. Then, at the end of August, an Ocean Cup world record attempt will be made over the Cowes Torquay Cowes course as part of the historic event.

The first Gateway Marathon entry received this year was from the SilverHook team of veteran offshore racers Nigel Hook and Jay Johnson, who set the Ocean Cup–Key West to Cuba world speed record in August 2017. The crossing of 102 miles was completed in 1 hour, 18 minutes and a new Guinness World Record was approved for the fastest journey by powered boat. The 2019 Ocean Cup event revived the Gateway Marathon race, which dates back some 55 years and, accompanied by Swedish co-pilot Michael Silfverberg in the 48-foot SilverHook V-hull 77 Lucas Oil all-carbon boat, Hook established the UIM world speed record from West Palm Beach to Freeport of 1 hour, 3 minutes 43 seconds, averaging 95.326 mph.

Also expected to take up the challenge is the DoublEdge Motor Sports team of Ryan Beckley and Chris LaMorte in their 30-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran. Throttleman Beckley, a veteran offshore racer who grew up in Key West and now one of a handful of racers who live in Sarasota, is looking forward to the Freeport record attempt on June 5-6: “It will be a true offshore run, with a real sense of excitement and freedom, and we are stoked to be taking part.” Speaking from his home in New Jersey, LaMorte added, “It will be great to be alongside my friend Ryan running a 100-mile open water, timed event that has history dating back to the 1960s.”

Another team planning to race in the Gateway Marathon is Sheriff Lobo, a Trinidadian- German duo who became Super Vee world champions last year. Experienced driver Mark Niemann has been competing in offshore circuit racing for more than a decade and is excited about the prospect of racing in constantly changing conditions in open ocean waters. Alongside him will be owner and throttleman Shameel Mohammed, nicknamed Shamo.

Promoted by Powerboat P1 and sanctioned by the UIM and the APBA, the Ocean Cup concept has special meaning according to P1 CEO Azam Rangoonwala: “It revives historic races and record attempts and creates ‘new history.’ Like Nigel, we want to keep alive the true spirit of powerboat racing and add real value. It’s great to continue our relationship with the SilverHook team and we’re excited about the two Ocean Cup events this summer. There are more Gateway Marathon entries in the pipeline and we’ll be announcing these next month.”

The local promoter in Freeport is Jamie Rose, Managing Director of OBS Marine who are the Mercury Marine distributor for Grand Bahama, and after Hook’s record-setting round trip last year he said that his aim would be to stage the Ocean Cup event annually: “It was a great experience and wonderful to see the passion and commitment from everyone involved. We always intended the 2019 Gateway Marathon event to be a stepping stone towards inviting a number of teams to compete head-to-head in the race to Grand Bahama in 2020 and beyond. The boats will be greeted in Freeport on the weekend of June 5-6, when we enjoy a public holiday to celebrate Labor Day, and join in the third annual Grand Bahama Powerboat Summer Fest presented by Prodigy Group in partnership with OBS Marine and Mercury Marine.”

Last September, Grand Bahama Island was devastated by hurricane Dorian and this year’s Ocean Cup will raise money for local organisations and charities to support the rebuilding and recovery programme. “In addition,” commented Rose, “we want the race event and the Powerboat Summer Fest to take people’s minds off the devastation and for it to act as a catalyst for bringing powerboat racing back to The Bahamas.”

Organized by the BPRC, the weekend of Aug. 29-30 will see the Cowes Torquay Cowes event celebrate 60 years of powerboat racing from Cowes and plans are in place for an Ocean Cup event to be staged over the same course within the race schedule to attempt to set a world record for the legendary 200-mile journey. Promoted by Powerboat P1, the Ocean Cup run will be called Cowes Torquay Cowes incorporating Ocean Cup. Nigel Hook and his team will make the journey from their base in California in search of another endurance world record. “All boats and crews who meet UIM specifications and register as an Ocean Cup entry will be eligible to set new world records within their class,” explains Rangoonwala. “The addition of the Ocean Cup challenge will enhance the 60th anniversary celebrations in Cowes.”

Christian Toll, race director of Cowes Torquay Cowes, said, “The British Powerboat Racing Club is delighted to incorporate the second round of the Ocean Cup 2020 series into the 60th running of the famous Cowes Torquay Cowes offshore powerboat race this August. We have already received firm commitments for entries from the United States, Bermuda, Italy, Sweden and France to name a few. We recognize there is a long-standing relationship with the racing community in the United States and very much look forward to welcoming these competitors for many years to come. The Cowes Torquay Cowes race is the only offshore race remaining that is comprised solely of long offshore sea passages; it’s the longest continuously running offshore race in history and without question poses one of the greatest challenges the sport has ever seen.”

For 2021, Powerboat P1 and Ocean Cup are in the initial planning stages for a world speed record starting in Fajardo on Puerto Rico’s Atlantic Coast. Also, in mid-April next year, Powerboat P1, Ocean Cup and Erik Norgskog, son of the legendary racer Bob Norgskog, are aiming to revive the famous Rum Run and establish a UIM world speed record course from Long Beach in Southern California around the Island of Catalina some 29 miles to the south west. Here’s how the Ocean Cup calendar currently looks:

June 5-6, 2020 : Ocean Cup – Gateway Marathon from West Palm Beach, Florida to Freeport, Grand Bahama.
Aug. 29-30 : Cowes Torquay Cowes incorporating Ocean Cup
March 2021: Puerto Rico – World Speed Record
April 2021: Ocean Cup – Rum Run from Long Beach, California around Catalina Island.

For further information on the Ocean Cup, visit oceancup.com.

DCB M28 powered by Mercury 300 outboards and Mercury props.

Mercury Marine of Fond du Lac, WI, has given DCB Performance Boats of El Cajon, CA, its prestigious Service Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Award for 2019.

Mercury’s Service CSI Program measures the satisfaction of consumers after having service work done on their Mercury outboard or MerCruiser Sterndrive or inboard. DCB won the Service CSI Award for its ongoing commitment to providing exemplary customer service based on the responses of customers who had warranty work performed at the dealership during the past year.

The CSI score for each dealer is measured and monitored by Mercury Marine. After warranty work has been completed, Mercury sends out a Service CSI survey to the consumer, asking him or her to rate the service received. To be eligible for the Service CSI Award, a dealer must maintain a score of 94 or better out of 100 in the Service CSI survey. These surveys ask consumers to rate their overall service satisfaction with the dealership and also indicate if they would re-visit the dealership again in the future.

Tracking Service CSI scores is a way Mercury evaluates the effectiveness of its individual dealers and of its own policies and training programs. Dealerships that score high in Mercury’s Service CSI surveys are recognized through the awards program.

Powerboat Nation and Speedboat Magazine salute DCB for their commitment to excellent customer service!

 

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