October 7, 8, & 9, 2011

Enjoy Cajun country hospitality for boaters and spectators as well. The main race, the Tour du Teche II, will be held as a staged race totaling 135 miles along the banks of the Historic Bayou Teche in Southwest Louisiana.

Competitors will begin in Port Barre and paddle to St. Martinville on Friday, St. Martinville to Franklin on Saturday, and Franklin to Berwick on Sunday. Time will be taken after each leg, with the best overall time determining the winner.

Musical entertainment, food and fun will take place in several towns along the Bayou Teche. Highlights include musical performances including internationally renowned musicians Keith Frank and Mark Willis and Cocodrie in St. Martinville and Johnny Chauvin in Franklin. Also enjoy a gumbo cook-off in New Iberia and kick-off ceremony with food and a Cajun jam led by Mayor Gil Savoy in Port Barre.

Tour du Teche II will provide a lovely glimpse of our natural waterways, our bayous in Louisiana, food, dancing, and "Laissez les bon temps roulez."

Race starts at 7 a.m. the first Friday in October
USCA sanctioned

Mandatory boat and required equipment check Thursday noon to 6 p.m.

Race begins at 7 a.m.

Download a form here for an Official TDT II Keepsake Poster!

Tour du Teche II Official Keepsake Poster

Download a form here for an Official TDT II Keepsake Poster!

Tour du Teche is a cultural preservation and environmental conservation education program that organizes hand-on education opportunities, education kiosks, education markers, maps and outreach materials with the goal of providing information about the local ecology, history and culture through guided and self-guided education. Tour du Teche is a program that has been developed to preserve and improve a bayou used for recreation. The principle activity of Tour du Teche is designing and implementing self-guided education opportunities to the public in an effort to help them better understand and appreciate the culture, history and ecology of Bayou Teche.

Bayou Teche is on the US Environmental Protection Agency 303d list of impaired waterways. One goal of the TECHE Project and Tour du Teche is to educate people about water quality and the need for nonpoint source pollution prevention and reduction. Discovery can take place with an interactive, hands-on experience on and along Bayou Teche. Tour du Teche will work with the National Park Service, parishes and towns to identify public access needs and help implement improvement activities and public access points including boat launches and bayou-side parks. Education kiosks along specific points yet to be determined along Bayou Teche will be built by and installed and accessible by both water and foot. These kiosks will provide self-directed education to boaters and paddlers about water quality, preventing non-point source pollution, native flora and birds, culture, history as well as boater safety information for children and adults.

Bayou Teche is rich in history and culture. It was named by the Chitimacha Indians in a legend that persists today. Bayou Teche served as a source of food and water for Native Americans, as well as a transportation corridor. Several Civil War battles were fought on Bayou Teche. Civil War cannon balls have been retrieved from Bayou Teche by local residents and archaeologists. A Civil War encampment in Arnaudville is on the National Register of Historic Places and one sunken boat, located in New Iberia, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The only lock and dam, Keystone, is the oldest operating lock system in the Delta region and is being pursued for National Historic Register status by a local lay historian and professional architect. Bayou Teche is considered one of the most historically significant bayous in Acadiana, according to the Acadien Memorial director, Brenda Comeaux-Trahan. It was a primary waterway that brought exiled Acadiens from Acadie, present day Nova Scotia, during the “Grand Derangement” to this area. Each year, the Acadian Memorial celebrates the arrival of the Acadians, present day “Cajuns,” in St. Martinville, Louisiana with a public re-enactment. The Evangeline Oak is also located at the Acadian Memorial and is said to be where Evangeline awaited the arrival of her love, Gabriel, in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Evangeline” written in 1847.

Tour du Teche educates citizens about the local history and culture. Tour du Teche is working with landowners, a local Kiwanis Club and lay historians to build and install education and historic plaques along Bayou Teche to educate paddlers and boaters 365 days a year. These markers will provide self-directed education to boaters and paddlers about 3 culturally and historically significant locations including the Stephanie Plantation, Robin House and a known sunken shipwreck at La Jonction. Tour du Teche will also work with a local community organization in St. Martin Parish as they begin to install foot paths along Bayou Teche in a long-term project. This project will also dovetail into the paddle trail planning anticipated with the National Park Service. We will cooperate to create and install and maintain education kiosks and points accessible by boat, foot and vehicle. These kiosks will highlight the ecological, cultural and historical significance of Bayou Teche.

Tour du Teche plans to map places of significance, education markers and access points with Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates that will be made available on the website for download to a handheld GPS and printable maps to better facilitate the self-guided education process.

Tour du Teche hosts a 135 mile canoe and kayak race as well as shorter races along the entire length of the bayou.  According to the federal Clean Water Act, all public waterways must meet water quality standards 1. for fish and wildlife propogation and 2. primary (i.e. swimming) and secondary (i.e., boating) recreation. Races along the bayou will allow Tour du Teche to educate participants about water quality standards in Bayou Teche. Also, education opportunities will be provided to participants about Bayou Teche ecology, culture and history and educational materials will be made available to the public before, during and after the race at local mini-festivals in the towns of Port Barre, St. Martinville, Franklin and Berwick. A workshop designed to educate the public about safe boating, appropriate technique and adequate nutrition for long paddles will be provided free to the public as part of race preparation and safety education. A mandatory safety meeting with the race coordinator will be required for all racing participants prior to the race to ensure safety education. Boy Scout of America plan to camp along the race route and volunteers from Tour du Teche and the Chitimacha Tribe plan to meet with the campers to talk and deliver education and outreach materials about water quality and cultural and historical significance of the bayou. Working with the municipalities and parishes to provide outreach and education materials about water quality will assist the municipalities and parishes in complying with their Environmental Protection Agency mandated Municipal Separate Storm Sewage (MS4) permit in the Outreach and Education portion of the permit at public outreach tables. Conducting a canoe race is an exempt activity within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Code because it serves a public rather than a private interest. Any private benefits derived from the canoe race are incidental and do not lessen the public benefit of education. It serves first as an educational activity by providing technical and safety education as well as ecology, culture and history education to all participants.

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SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Contact Nicole Patin at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 337.394.6232 for private and corportate sponsorship opportunities.