Great Idea...

Looking forward to hearing more about the Lake Nipissing run!

I've asked the same question at a couple of runs. The answer:

"because the slower boats like to see the faster boats run by them"

Of all the trouble the different event organizers are going to, in hopes of creating a safe/fun event, how is this not the most glaring and dangerous issue, that is most simple to change?

BL, I can tell you from personal experience that most of the "fast boat guys" would whine about having to wait for the "slow boat guys" to "get there". I put up with it for 10 yrs as the poker run director for the club. Didn't mean I would actually listen to them but I pretended to

The main reason I can see to justify the tactic is so that all boats arrive at the card stop at approximately the same time. If the slower boats are given a long enough head start, it can and does work well and safely. The hardest part is getting the fast guys to actually WAIT until they are supposed to leave. Oft times the impatient ones would take off with the slow boat crowd and that would start others doing the same thing.

Solid control over the drivers is what is needed to make it work and still be safe. Not just threats of removal from the event but action as well.

We've been running our 60mph group at our events for 4 years now. When we first started it we had only 2-3 boats and they were mostly smaller boats. Now the 60mph class has grown to 15-18 boats that included large 40ft+ big HP boats. They like to run that class becuase they have brought family/friends/kids and don't want to get beat up.

Good luck in the great white north with it! I hope it catches on like it did here!

We also use 2 pace boats to set the speed of the group as well. Another thing that helps is that we arrive to the card stops as a group and we wait for ALL boats to get their cards and then we leave as a group again. This does away with the OMG they're leaving without us syndrome!

Someone told me your fast pace boat got passed by a 21' Stingray last year........

So you can watch them rip past and save some smooth water for the smaller boats. I find half the fun in running a poker run is watching the "fast" boats rip by.

Great idea. Poker runs put some stress on the smaller boat owners to try to keep up with the pack. I for one am not going beat myself or my boat trying to keep up with the pack. I think this approach provides a safer less stress free environment for the boaters involved in the event.

Alot of boaters come to one poker run a year. They enjoy seeing all the high dollar hardware docked and running. I do a few runs a year and have more fun at watching the big dogs run and chatting at the party than running my own boat. Lets face it most of us run our boats alot harder on a run than we they are taking there family to the beach on saturday.