Total Fountain Mania Coming To Chesapeake Bay In July

With full support from the team behind Total Marine—a Fountain Powerboats dealer since 2019 with locations in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland and New Jersey— local performance boater and event organizer Jimmy Jernigan is bringing a new event to the Northeast’s alluring Chesapeake Bay at the end of July. Dubbed Total Fountain Mania, the event is open to Fountain Powerboats owners and fans from around the globe and, according to Jernigan who is a multi-Fountain owner himself, is going to be a full-on celebration of the iconic brand taking place July 28-30 in Baltimore and the surrounding Maryland waterways.

A new event—Total Fountain Mania—is coming to the Chesapeake Bay at the end of July. Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

“Jim (Renfrow) and the guys at Total Marine have sponsored some events around here the last couple of years and they had the idea of hosting a full Fountain-only run so they asked me if I would consider organizing one,” said Jernigan, who also puts on the Rockin the Harbor Poker Run in Baltimore at the end of June with his good friend, David Landsman. “As many people know, I’m a Fountain guy myself—so I was all in. I bought my first one when I was 21 in 2003, a brand new 35 Executioner that I still own. It’s my 12-year-old son’s boat now mainly (laughs). Heck, I even have a Fountain tattoo across my back so I don’t know if you could have a more passionate person behind this event.”

Jernigan, who has been around the poker run and offshore racing scene for many years, has a lot of connections with Fountain pleasure boat owners as well as current and past offshore racers who have deep roots within the Fountain family tree.

Event organizer Jimmy Jernigan is expecting Fountains of all ages and sizes at Total Fountain Mania. Photo courtesy Clint Schaffnit/Big Thunder Marine/Clint Cole Racing Photos

“To me this event makes so much sense because we have tons of Fountains on the Chesapeake Bay,” Jernigan said. “But it also makes sense because Fountain is an incredible brand with a phenomenal following. I believe we’ll have owners travel from across the country for this. Last year, we had a couple of guys from Texas bring their Fountains to Rockin the Harbor because they wanted to enjoy the Chesapeake. To me, the bay is the highlight, which is why we’re doing this poker run over two days. We want people to enjoy the waterway and spend some time at the cool establishments we have around here.

“We are working on several things to celebrate the brand during the event, including handing out some unique awards,” he added. “We’ve already received support from the factory thanks to Total Marine’s involvement. And I’ve been in contact with Reggie Fountain, III, who is planning to bring the original Fountain—the 10 Meter Executioner his father built in 1981—to the run so if that happens it automatically gets the oldest boat award (laughs). I’m hopeful that Fountain founder Reggie Fountain, Jr., can make it but I know he’s not getting around as well nowadays. We’re definitely expecting participation from some Fountain bigwigs, if you will; some of the classic racers and well-known poker runners.”

Jernigan said the event format is going to include a floating card stop and two stops on Friday with an upscale dinner in a ball room at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, followed the next day with brunch at Nick’s Fish House, a card stop in Annapolis Harbor and a floating card stop, with poker hand playing, dinner, awards and a bikini contest at Tiki Lee’s Dock Bar to close out the evening.

“Total Fountain Mania is going to be a full, fun weekend,” said Renfrow, who added that Total Marine has several customers registered for the run and is going to have its new demo 38 Sport Console with quad Mercury Racing 450R engines on display. “We’re expecting this event to be a great time for Fountain owners and other like-minded individuals. We’ve been a Fountain dealer for three years and it didn’t take long for us to discover how enthusiastic the customers are about the brand and that poker runs are a great way to market to people. My business partner, Tom Caruso, is building a 38 SC that we should have in late spring. We’re going to do several poker runs with it and even enter it in the Tiki Lee’s Shootout On The River, which is a couple of weeks before Total Fountain Mania.”

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor docks should be packed with Fountain models in late July. Photo courtesy Rockin The Harbor Poker Run

Renfrow added that Total Marine is a sponsor of the Tiki Lee’s event as well as the title sponsor of the Rockin the Harbor Poker Run.

“We’ve had a lot of fun at the poker runs and met some wonderful people,” Renfrow said. “We’re expecting this season to be just as fun, especially with the 100-plus-mph 38. Tom’s new boat is going to be a real crowd-pleaser. We can’t wait to show it off.”

Total Fountain Mania Coming To Chesapeake Bay In July

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