Re: Power Boat Magazine....WTF!!!
 

Agree 100%. :crazy:

Re: Power Boat Magazine....WTF!!!
 

If you're not entered in the poker run, don't run with the pack!!! If you want to watch, that's all good.....stay off to the side. If you run with the poker runners, that is not cool and some people do that. Not that a poker run is a "race" but imagine if you showed up at a NASCAR event with your stuff, didn't enter the race but ran along with the others......WTF? That is where thief, cheap skate and other words would come from.

Re: Power Boat Magazine....WTF!!!
 

I agree with Phantom...... and Power Boat.

last year some yahoo was hanging out with the fleet at the Manhasset Bay Poker Run....After the fleet left and he had his one blast to compare his performance to the paid customers he proceeded to cross Long Island sound and head for the last check point. Somehow he stuffed his boat and had serious injuries.......

The point?...A week later the police contacted the Poker Run organizer seeking to assign liability to him........(speaking of WTF????)

This could have been disastrous to the event and the organizer, robbing even the paid...and insured...participants of the opportunity in future years.

Bottom line...you can't "run alongside" at a Nascar event....so don't try it at a Poker Run.

Otherwise....you're not only a moocher....you're a potential accident looking for a place to happen.

Sorry if I wasn't sensitive to your feelings.

T2x

Re: Power Boat Magazine....WTF!!!
 

I agree with Phantom on this one.

Re: Power Boat Magazine....WTF!!!
 

I grew up with very little $ and never experienced boating until I bought my first boat about 10 years ago. It was an 80s 23' Wellcraft beater that I brought back to life with a new motor/drive/interior and airbrush job. I ended up reading a lot of reference material and launching it on a regular basis to get the experience. One of the things I did (shortly after finishing the boat) was join SCOPE for the year (I think it was 97 or 98) and hit their Long Beach to Newport Poker run. Although I made it to Newport and back, I didn't really participate because I only made one card stop and I purposely lagged behind so that I didn't interfere with any one else. However, I have to say that everyone went out of their way to make my time enjoyable. At no time did anyone make me feel intimidated or out of place. In fact, at the Yard House brunch afterwards, I ended up having drinks with several of the members and actually was a contender for the boat with the least horse power award (I believe I came in second). The attached picture is of me and a friend just finishing the trip back from Newport into Long Beach Harbor on that day.

Like everything else, I think it comes down to the people involved. Some are good, some are bad. I actually rejoined SCOPE again this year (with my new to me 35) based on the run I had with them 10 or so years ago.

Re: Power Boat Magazine....WTF!!!
 

I am glad everyone got what I was saying without thinking I was attacking the writer....and yes I think we are all in agreement that the article did not come across right...

Now to adress the topic of feeling intimidated because your boat is not as big, fast, or expensive as the other boats.....Yes I do feel intimidated some times. But you have to remember the whole idea of a poker run is the fun we are all getting from the day out on the water with people who enjoy the same thing we do. Remember the Best Hand Wins...not the fastest, biggest, or most expensive. Now anyone who is intimidated to run can run with me in any of the three NPBA events this year and watch how much fun we have even though I am most likly the smallest in the fleet.....

Re: Power Boat Magazine....WTF!!!
 

This Is The One Time That I Was Looked Down On For My Boat.

I Participated In A Poker Run In Texas Last Summer With A New To Me Scarab 21. As I Docked At A Local Bar Some Azz Says Pretty Loud, Who Has The Training Wheels. At This Point I Just Kept My Mouth Shut And Was Thinking About All The Time I Have Spent In Boats For The Last 23 Years And I Am Only 28.we Left For The Next Stop Together, He Could Not Keep Up With My "training Wheels" Scarab 21. He Also Broke Down. As For The Article, My First Poker Run Was As A Spectator And Now I Enter All That I Can.

One Free Ride At One Poker Run Has Meant A Lot Of Entry Fees At Others.

Re: Power Boat Magazine....WTF!!!
 

I do agree with this whole heartedly....stay on the side lines......but go home and calling them thieves is harsh.....

Re: Power Boat Magazine....WTF!!!
 

Nascar is a poor analogy...... its open water, open river, whatever. The truth lays in the question "what is a poker run?"..... It is supposed to be a gathering of boats with select stops to collect cards and compare hands at a gathering and awarding prizes for the best hand. If you dont pay you dont get cards, you dont stop at the card stops, you dont eat lunch at the chosen locations, you dont attend the pre and post run parties.... in other words you dont participate other than running in free water at the same time as the entrants. I dont see the harm. Now dont make claims of potential distraction of poker run safety crews, danger to entrants, etc... Look at the videos of runs with 170mph skaters passing pontoon boats full of people, cruisers getting overtaken at closure speeds in the triple digits, and just general carelessness. Unfortunately what it has morphed into is a race where entrants get annoyed if you "compete" with them without paying.....

I think that the reason run like Jacksonville are so popular is because the venue is great, the parties are better and the cost is not ridiculous... Other organizations see fit to charge $500 to $750 for what??? What are they doing for us?? Dockage? Easy enough to get... Lunch? I can figure that out.... The run? Sure, organizing all of those boats is a feat but damn, once the green flag goes up the racers are gone....oops, I mean poker runners. I think that the popularity would drop if we started just organizing get togethers and runs that are free... An OSO run would be a good start. I do give credit to Stu Jones for his ability to pull things together in Key West and some of the other venues. Stu also is very cognizent of safety issues, something that PRA may not figure out until one of those pontoon boats gets run over and every employee gets sued personally. There is no excuse for some of the speeds that the runs endorse on public waterways, and we know that there is no way to close down the river or the ocean without monumental efforts. Ahh well, have fun!! I have to get ready for the FPC Daytona Run next weekend........

Re: Power Boat Magazine....WTF!!!
 

I havn't had a chance to read the article yet, but if is a well organized event then there shouldn't be any so called THIEVES. We put on a event here in Northern Michigan called Boyne Thunder www.boynethunder.com and we feel the need for spectators, in fact most of our town pulls together to welcome all boaters and we find ways for spectators to have fun, carnivals, games, pub crawls, ect... because in the end everyone benefits, we raise alot of money for charity.
What most people don't realize is how many people it takes to put on a well organized Poke Run, there are literally hundreds involved behind the scenes that may or may not have a boat or the extra money to buy one, so they volunteer there time and these people want to come out and see the event that they put so many hours into...so now the weekend of the event comes around and alot of these peoples work is done and they can sit back and relax and become spectators, Not Thieves.
I think it is better to sit on the side line of the event and watch and learn and make sure you and your boat are ready, rather then just enter and not no what you are doing out there.
As for the dinners and party's we have a fair charge (considering the cost of the boats and that all of the money is going to charity) for spectators, NOT THIEVES to get in and look at he boats and talk to the owners.
Most of the boaters love people looking at there boats and talking about them, thats why alot of these paint jobs scream LOOK AT ME. And look at the engines and all of that chrome do you really think these guys spend thousands of dollars and put in hundreds of hours polishing because they don't have anything else to do? No they raise there hatches and love to show it off. I have lost volunteer boats that after helping, watching and talking to to poker runners are now participants. I do have a suggestion for people that love to watch these events, contact the organizers and see if there is anything they can do to help...You never know...someday you might be out there in the fastest boat leading the pack. But everyone has to start somewhere and no one should ever feel like a THIEF. Sorry for rambling on but THANKS, JB