SHARKEY-IMAGES

New Jersey Performance Powerboat Club announces poker run changes to enhance safety and promote poker runs for single engine performance boaters for the upcoming 2007 season!



Toms River, NJ, November 6, 2006 - The New Jersey Performance Powerboat Club (NJPPC) today announced new initiatives to help enhance poker run safety at all of our poker run events in 2007. NJPPC has always been in the forefront of performance boating safety and we believe that we need to always look to new ideas on how to improve upon our commitment to safety.



We also believe that there is a huge void for the under 30ft single and twin engine performance boaters. NJPPC wants to work on bringing more under 30ft performance powerboats into the poker run scene.



At the conclusion of the recent fall Planning Committee Meeting, the planning committee unanimously approved the following changes for the upcoming 2007 season:

Life Jackets

Fanny pack or pouch type life jackets / flotation devices worn around the waist will be banned and will not be acceptable for any of our NJPPC poker run events. NJPPC has determined that that they do not provide enough protection or ensure that they will deploy at high speed water impact.
STRONGLY suggest that all NJPPC poker run participants wear FULL LIFE JACKETS (i.e. Waver Runner or Life Line) instead of suspender type inflatables. We will not make this mandatory but we believe that full life jackets will provide more protection and greater safety for all participants.

Weekday Atlantic City Poker Run

Due to heavy inland water way boat traffic, we will be moving the annual Atlantic City Poker Run to a Friday instead of a Saturday. The Barnegat Bay will be much less congested and there will be no sailboat races to contend with. This will offer participants the opportunity to return home from Atlantic City on Saturday or extend the weekend event to Sunday. The annual Barnegat Bay Poker Run will remain on a Saturday.

Speed Limits

We will create a SELF IMPOSED speed limit on Barnegat Bay for all of our Poker Run participants this season. 80 mph will be the maximum speed allowed. There will be no speed limit offshore for the offshore legs.

NEW GROUP 45mph

We have always broken up our groups and starts into 3 groups.
Offshore for those larger faster boats who want to run in open water
Inshore for those boats that want the comfort of the bay but enjoy speed
60mph for center consoles or for those who just want to cruise
The NEW 45MPH group will cater to single engine or smaller twin engine boats. We want to encourage all performance power boaters to enjoy our events. We believe that by creating this NEW 45MPH group, it will attract those performance boaters that always thought their boat was too small or not fast enough to participate in a poker run.


About the New Jersey Performance Powerboat Club

The New Jersey Performance Powerboat Club (NJPPC) was founded in 1999 and has over 200 members. The NJPPC is a members-run club that's charter is to provide its members with top quality Poker Runs and other exciting events. It enthusiastically welcomes a broad cross-section of performance powerboaters to join the club. Its schedule is planned considering both smaller and larger boats. Consequently, its membership spans from owners of 18 to 50' boats!



Distinct from other Poker Run organizations, the club chooses to limit the number of event participants to assure safety, promote camaraderie and to facilitate a well-run, enjoyable day for all involved. The limited number also affords access to the highest quality marine facilities such as Trump Marina Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City . The club has no profit motivation prompting it to host the biggest events, but it is strongly motivated to run the best events and in that way, everybody profits! NJPPC membership is required to participate in the club Poker Runs.



For further information please visit the club's website at: http://www.njppc.com . NJPPC can be contacted via telephone at 732 674-2946, via email at [email protected] or via mail at: Dave Patnaude, President, NJPPC, 604 North End Ave Toms River, NJ