Kap's Tickfaw 200 Revisited Review 2015

[KAP]

TICKFAW 200 REVISITED 2015

Foreword: As most of you know I always do a Poker Run Review after an event. This time the review is about our second visit to the Tickfaw 200 in South Louisiana. This review will focus on any changes to the event and different experiences from the prior year. In addition, we wanted to compare and contrast [revisit] our experiences of the event from the prior year. In keeping with tradition as most of the readers know these reviews are intended for the performance boater who would like a participants viewpoint rather than a paid promoter. It is my hope the readers will trust and rely upon my insight as good information on what to expect and look for when attending such an event.

Intro:

The Tickfaw 200 [hereinafter Tickfaw] poker run is held at the Blood River Marina in Livingston Parish, Springfield Louisiana. It was founded by Crazy Charlie who’s memory lives on through the efforts of Joey Fontenot and family, owners of the marina. Casey Harrison is also the Vice President and co-organizer for the event. It is the efforts of these two people and their families and countless volunteers, employees and local agencies that transform this sleepy marina into one of the best Poker Runs in the country.

The schedule for the Tickfaw is spread out over two days and all stops are open throughout the event. There are no group starts or defacto races to the first card stop everyone can complete the event at their leisure. The more stops you went to the more cards you were dealt at the end of the day. This year if you went to at least 7 card stops you could buy another poker run hand for $100.00 versus paying $250. This motivates boaters to visit every venue during the event. I witnessed many boat captains at the card turn in with multiple locations punched on their event cards.

The Tickfaw event covers an enormous area of water and provides both river and lake boating for the poker run attendee. The areas include Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain fed by fresh water rivers which include the Tickfaw, Tangipahoa, Amite, Tchefuncte, and Bogue Falaya. This event provides miles of boating with a variety of boating conditions from wide calm lake water to a rough wind whipped Ponchartrain chaos. The river boating is also amazing as you have twisty winding river tributaries including the man made diversion canal.

Event:

As most of you know we had made plans to return to the Tickfaw event even before the last boat was put on the trailer last year. We started from San Diego California which is 8 miles from the Mexican border as far Southwest as you can go [1,900 miles one way] to Springfield Louisiana. This year we contacted Casey Harrison and Joey Fontenot and made arrangements to stay on site at the Blood River Marina. Our rationale was we wanted to experience the event from it’s home location at the marina. The headquarters of the Tickfaw is the Blood River Marina and the famous bar/event headquarters which includes the famous “Funhouse.” The “Funhouse” is a open aired bar with a wooden boat converted into a bar complete with a stage dance floor and event registration center.

Registration is a simple one page form and can be downloaded online along with the cost which was $250.00 for a two boat crew. The fee in my opinion is a bargain which also included one poker run hand and wrist bands for captain and one crew. I pre-registered as it makes things easier because as all you need to do when you arrive is pick up your materials. For those that like to buy multiple poker run hands you could buy as many as your pocket book could handle. The staff members at this event are warm and friendly and really offer south Louisiana hospitality like no other event. We made so many friends the prior year amongst staff and participating boaters alike our return was like coming home for us.

The atmosphere of this event is very laid back and if I could choose one word to describe how the organizers and staff make you feel it would be “family”. This event unlike others we have attended has a high degree of camaraderie and everyone goes out of their way to make sure you have a great time. One caveat I will mention of importance to prospective boaters. This event is an adult venue and not suitable for minors as everyone must be 21 to enter the Fun House and most on water venues such as the Prop Stop, Hook Up, Blind River Bar Sun Buns is 21 years old or older.

The Tickfaw event also raises a tremendous amounts of money for local law enforcement agencies of Livingston Parish. Jason Ard is the Chief of the Sheriff’s Department and along with Captain Chad McGovern, Tony and other officers set up a command post on site to ensure the safety of all attending and poker runners on the water. The command post was impressive and had onsite medic and helicopter and patrol boats for safety of all poker run participants. As a California boater such police presence would normally dampen some of the atmosphere but this was not the case. Officers would cook for all attending law enforcement personnel including any poker run participant. I can assure you the “pastalaya” a take on traditional Jambalaya prepared by one officer was superb and shared by all. Kudos to the departments attending one of the best community relations efforts anywhere in the country.

As part of your registration packet Joey and Casey provide you with an amazing laminated map of all the card stops including GPS coordinates for any first timer to find all the card stops. It also makes a great souvenir poster to hang in the garage or man/woman cave. This year we had a crew member Rafe Guidry who is from Baton Rouge aboard and he was our defacto navigator for the event. Having a local person on board is such a bonus because they can advise you of any unknown water hazards and tricky approaches to some of the river entrances. If you do not have a local contact follow a boat or extend an invite to a knowledgeable boater. In the end whatever you do always have the Tickfaw map onboard as a reference...it is that good.

Culture:

In my previous review I did not mention the culture of South Louisiana a key component of this poker run. The food, hospitality and natural scenic beauty of the area are amazing and important in making this event stand out from all others. I cannot think of any other poker run that one can experience such diversity of cultural firsts. [Note: By cultural firsts I mean things that I have never seen or experienced which are unique to South Louisiana.]

On Thursday we were taken out by Mr. Jeff Ford and Robinita Gilmore on their pontoon for what we described as the backwater cruise to Black Lake and Amite. It was an amazing experience from flora and fauna stand point... it was simply incredible. The deep rich black waters of the back Bayou are something every boater should experience. We saw numerous alligators and numerous birds including a once rare bird the Roseate Spoonbill commonly known as a flame bird or American Flamingo. We were also able to see and observe water moccasins and snapping turtles. The scenery was spectacular and render you speechless from the back water trees dripping with moss to the deep still waters of Black Lake.

We also came across an amazing and unique church “Our Lady of Blind River” we stopped and visited including signing the book inside. Upon our departure I wondered what they think when they read San Diego California in the visitors book? It was an amazing experience and one we completely missed out on the first year. When traveling to other poker run venues, I urge you to go outside your comfort zone and develop friendships with locals and seek out different points of interest. You will soon discover things that no one else will see during their short stay. I understand most come for the poker run however if you miss the cultural highlights of the area you are doing yourself a great disservice. Plus I would venture to say with confidence very few out of state people have the opportunity to see what we have seen on this trip.

Now the cultural aspect of the food in South Louisiana will astound you, even more so if you love seafood. The Tickfaw poker run includes many top ten foodie things to try including crawfish boils, catfish (no you haven’t tried real catfish like Middendorfs), gumbo, redfish, crawfish etouffe’, grilled oysters, po boys and so many other cultural foods exclusive to South Louisiana. I cannot think of any other poker run that offers so many regional food items inherently unique to this area of America.

A local unheard of food favorite came up unexpectedly when I started talking with two brothers Jean Luis and Jacques Veillon. Jean Luis owns Veillon Food Market and makes something that is so delicious... called a Boudin Biscuit. I am talking “WOW” this was foodie heaven homemade crust with homemade boudin and cheese inside. The ultimate breakfast, lunch and dinner food... super delicious and ultra rich tasting. This is the Bayou’s best treat alongside a morning cup of coffee. Thank you to both brothers for their hospitality and friendship. If you’re on the fence about attending this event the foodie aspect should put you over the top on any list of boating events. I “Garunteee it” [using my best cajun accent].

The people in South Louisiana are unpretentious and straight forward but most of all they have a sense of hospitality like no other. If your from out of town tell them your new and they will make sure you feel right at home. This is a key component of why this event has grown from 25 boats to over 350 with 380 poker run hands sold in one day. If you ask anyone attending this event if hospitality is a key component in their attending this event, they will not hesitate and most certainly tell you...it is the number one factor of repeat attendance. On a personal note I traveled 1900 miles one way driving solo with a 32 foot boat in tow. I did so not because I had to... but because I wanted to and it was worth every mile covered to get there.

We also brought with us Southern California cultural beverages to share with our Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama etc... and performance boating friends. Micro distilled tequila which has many who have tried it, smiling and those that have tried it, now requesting it by name or send me photos of this tradition.

We enjoy sharing cross cultural perspectives from our area amongst performance boaters which in turn builds friendship, trust and camaraderie.

Boating:

Preface: I covered the basics of boating the event in my 2014 Tickfaw review so I will try not to rehash general information.

This year we stayed at Blood River Landing Marina via rv (versus hotels) and found it offered so many new experiences. The marina has it’s own launch ramp staff members will use a tractor to launch your boat and stow your trailer. It is akin to valet service and makes things so much easier for the poker run participant. As a California boater I was always concerned about safety of trailer boat etc... I can assure you having attended two consecutive years your boat and everything you brought is very safe and well taken care of. Joey and Casey have an outstanding group of staff members who are nice, patient and caring with all participants. What is surprising is most knew me by name a year later...it just adds to the level of comfort just like being at home [also don’t forget to tip volunteers and staff that help you].

The poker run is held on two lakes Lake Maurepas and Lake Ponchartrain with poker run stops on both lakes. We found that doing all the stops on Lake Maurepas on Friday and then all the Lake Ponchartrain stops on Saturday was the way to go. The reason is most poker runners were following the same format. Therefore, you would have a greater number of fellow poker runners doing the same stops. This is important for safety reasons in case you had boat issues and for building better friendships and camaraderie. Keep in mind these lakes can get rough [yes I heard it often by newbies “Oh this isn’t rough it’s a lake” until they get out on it and find out] thus tagging along with other poker runners is a great idea.

We tagged along with David Whelen, Jason Koehn and Ryan Bosworth and crew in their 44 Skater. Whereas in our 32 Doug Wright, our crew consisted of Lora Caparell, Tiffany Wilson, Rafe Guidry and myself. All exceptional crew members and boaters themselves. I will share this tip it is important to run with another boat that has the same speed or agrees to a set speed for the day. You don’t want to be constantly chasing someone or waiting for a slower boat. Talk to each other and come up with a plan that works for all involved. It really does make things that much more fun.

If your worried about size of your boat put that aside this poker run had all types of boats participating from pontoons to million dollar plus catamarans. Unlike some other runs the Tickfaw run has a theme of inclusion hospitality and not snobbery, arrogance or exclusion. I would go a step further and say if anyone acted/behaved in such a manner. They would soon find themselves alone and drawing the ire of locals and other performance boaters.

The poker run stops were all open both days so you can pick and choose which ones you wish to stop if you like you can create your own plan on how to manage the stops. An added incentive this year by Joey and Casey was if you went to at least 7 stops you could buy another poker run hand for $100. We love to boat so this was an added bonus as we went to every stop listed for the event. This incentive was done to promote all card stop businesses not just the closest or most popular ones.

The first two days [Wednesday and Friday] we logged in 260 miles of boating on Saturday we only logged in 145 miles of boating. {Note: On Thursday we did the pontoon cruise through the backwaters.} For a grand total of 405 miles of on water boating we averaged 3.2 miles per gallon and maintained 100MPH boating over much of the larger lakes. This run offers plenty of room to exercise your engines and also offers a variety of river waterways to enjoy the scenery.

Lastly, thank you to Joey Fontenot and his family as well as Casey Harrison. To the employees, volunteers who made the decision to put this event on again for 2015 your hard work and efforts made our stay one of the best. Unbeknownst to many Joey was contemplating not putting the event on for 2015 as it puts a huge strain on his family and time. I for one along with everyone attending were overjoyed Joey/Casey continued the tradition.

We had the time of our lives and developed friendships that carried on even after the event was over. We appreciate all you do for the performance boating community and will nominate you as ambassador’s for the Louisiana Division of Tourism. To all our Bayou friends and boaters we enjoyed your friendship, hospitality and waterways.

See you next year for sure!

John "KAP" Caparell

Footnote 1: As I stated in my 2014 review book your accommodations early as this event will have local hotels and accommodations booked months in advance. If you have a large group rent a home on one of the lakes or rivers as it is very convenient.

Footnote 2: The trip meter on the truck had 4,231 miles traveled and 421 gallons of diesel. This does not include the fuel in the boat. It was worth every penny and we will do it again next year. I did have several obstacles while traveling including one flat and several truck issues. So plan accordingly bring tools and spare parts. Lastly, allow enough time to get to your destination if something does come up you can still make the event.

About the Author: He resides in San Diego California and has been a performance boater for years. He is passionate about boating owns two boats and travels to many boating destinations including poker runs and Shootout’s annually. He is an independent writer for Hotboat.com and has published numerous reviews. The goal for this author is to provide information to other performance boaters about specific events and areas from a participants perspective versus general commentary. Questions and comments can be directed to him at contact@dougwrightwest.com.

[KAP]

Here are some of the photos:

[KAP]

I am posting the photos in random order but they should be chronological as the event progressed.

[KAP]

We had a spectacular time hope everyone enjoys the pictures. I have some running video I want to post but will do so later.

KAP

[riverrunner1984]

Man, that looks like an awesome event!
I have some family friends in the area, Im going to have to check this out sooner than later.

[KAP]

Our good friends Jeff Ford and Robinita Gilmore rolling in their immaculate 26 Redline.

[HB Vic]

Kap your best review ever!! At least in my opinion, and I'm pretty sure I've read all of your published reviews.

But I'm just guessing, based on your comments, this may have been the best trip ever. So writing such a great review on it should be easy

I honesty am still kicking myself in the boot not taking you up on your offer to attend. I really hope next year, for me, turns out better and I can attend.

A couple of things that strike me as over the top are the shear amount of water covered in a day and over your trip. I can't imagine doing that in a big HP monster boat. Hell even my little 26 would need a fuel barge in tow. But from what you and I talked about, your fuel bill for that entire trip was less than what you and I spend in a day or weekend on our big HP boats. And you didn't lift much it seems. That totally blows me away. Your setup with the Merc OB's seems absolutely ideal if you plan on covering big chunks of the lake or river or big blue. Mindboggling.

Aside from the complete fix of running your boat all over the place, the atmosphere and food seemed equally as fun to me. If I were boatless, I'm guessing I could have almost as much fun just eating and hanging out with what seems like some real good people and food that looks delicious.

Glad you had a great time. And thank you very much for sharing your experience with us. I definitely felt like I was along for the ride.

HB

[KAP]

Your right on many points. We covered 405 miles and averaged 3.2 miles per gallon combined. Our total fuel bill for the boat
was $362.00 dollars of premium 91 non-ethanol gas. Another key component of Louisiana is they are one of the few states
that have non-ethanol gas....love it.

The area has several fuel docks and you can take on gas rather easily.

You can attend without a boat but to really take in the experience you need to either haul yours out or ride with someone as a crew member.

I believe every review is different in some way much like every venue. I am not kidding when I say the hospitality is like being at home.

The Tickfaw is hard not to love we have made so many friends in such a short time.

I want to post a video trying to get the format from the person. We ran from Landry's to Slidell and never came under 100MPH and that is gospel.

KAP

[HB Vic]

Kap how did Jeff's boat run? I'm not sure if he's done anything else to it recently other than paint.

[KAP]

His boat ran awesome as usual. It just received an amazing paint job. What a transformation is all I can say.

From what it was to now....night and day.