Good idea less wear & tear on boats:ernaehrung004:

If the big cats feel safe enough to blow through a bunch of fishing boats, sailboats, and pontoons they ought to be able to navigate through some fellow performance boaters that at least know they are coming and are usually holding a straight course. After all these years I am still amazed that a big group of high speed boats are allowed to rip down the middle of a body of water filled with unaware recreational boaters, PWC, and even swimmers and tubers. I have heard many people say how scared they were on the 1,000 island run, not because of the boats faster than them, but because areas of the run are filled with spectator boats that they are constantly dodging. Our runs don't start the slow boats first, it's just sometimes the fast boats hang back a bit. Also our runs are not filled with super fast boats, it's mostly club boats so you pretty much know the boats and what to expect from them. We did a small run in Fl and one of the best things about it was seeing boats like Loose Cannon, Gino's MTI, and Dennis's turbine boat pass us. Of course there were no spectator boats and a lot of ocean around us, so it was safe. Perhaps most of the people that are against boats starting at once have been on more crowded runs so I can understand and respect their concerns.

Oddly enough the only time I was scared was on a run in Lake Charlevioux, at the start there was a 45-50 MPH parade lap for the spectators. With the boats traveling in a circle the waves got big in a hurry and started coming at us from every direction. Boats were very close to each other and our heavy 43'BT was rocking from side to side like it has never done. I actually started to panic and started screaming at Ian to get us out of there. It was sort of funny after the fact, I had customers on board who had never done a poker run, of course I had talked about all the runs I had been on and here they are not knowing what to expect and I am screaming like we are going to die. I am surprised they did not ask to go back to the dock. That's when I knew for sure I would not be the next Betty Cook:D

Donna,
Hollering when it get's rough or uncomfortable is the smart and safe thing to do. You can still easily get hurt at 40-60 MPH in the wrong conditions....

Thanks Sprague I still remember how scary that was. Hopefully we will be seeing you soon on Lake Erie, Ian and I missed spending time with you this summer, I know he looks forward to your long boat chats.

let the fast boats go first. theres plenty of obstacles to avoid without having to dodge people in your own group. why take the chance, theres enough accidents on the water as it is. insurance is out of control, and the last thing someone running 150 mph in a cat is to have a non-experienced driver freak out and not stay his line. i agree its an awesome sight to see them go by, but i have also seen some close calls. plus this gives the fast boats time to get tied up, start fueling, lunch, whatever. remember its only going to take one good accident, or fatality to put stu out of business. besides it puts a damper on the rest of the run. my $.02.

If that's the case it should be the Jr. MTI class and then have a real MTI class, I hate having to slow down!:party-smiley-004:

The post started out that they are going to have a group that could run at 55 MPH. Why do the threads always get off course and get to and criticizing the guys capable of going faster? I really feel this just keeps a negative vibe going. The last year to year and a half, the runs have been slowed down quite drastically. The organizers as well as the members have really gone out of the way to make the runs safer.
I think designated speed groups are great. I think there should be restrictions implemented to keep the runs safe. I also feel under the right situations, like out in the ocean, away from other boaters, the guys that want to run fast should be allowed.

This started out as a positive post. I think we should all try to keep it positive. I think continuously posting negative comment (faster boats blowing by the little guys and blowing through sailboats and fish boats) really makes poker runs look much more dangerous and out of control then they are. There are other people reading these posts that don't like our sport and would love to see poker runs shut down. Why give them the ammo epically when things really are much more organized and controlled then they use to be.

we did the LGPBA run in 07 the speed limit was 60 mph and they had a ton of fast boats , we hung with the big boys at 60 in a 1972 SBC cig 20 no power steering no power trim , we had a blast we got bounced around a little but we met our goals had a good time run the boat .
we went out in group 2 of 4 total we were last in our group getting to our stops but we never got passed by the group behind us

you'll see us at the back the little black and yellow blur

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pt8-g3Dzvo

Gino I hope you don't think I was being critical of fast boats, I am not, but several people seem so against having them anywhere near the 55 MPH boats that it makes me wonder why they are not more concerned about recreational boaters that are coming and going in all different directions. I know if the runs that we attend here in Lake Erie and MI made all the guys in the 55 MPH class wait until the big boats left if would diminish the thrill for most of us. But again that works in some areas but not in others.

I like the 55mph idea. It is way more fun to run with a lot of boats rather then being left behind and running by yourself.

Most guys run in packs anyway.. Everytime we go to an event we see who is cruisin and who has some energy to burn off. Everyone talks all night Friday night.. We eventualy find a pack and run with them. At all the Poker runs we have been at. We always see waves of boats pull in TOGETHER. some are faster then others but most will travel in packs. Don't be negative if people in the "SPEED" boat want to go fast.. That is the whole reason they bought a " GO-FAST" boat. At least for me. I have always found that everyone looks out for one another during these runs. With the BAND on alcohol and wearing PDF's all the runs we have been on have been SUPER safe..

There are not other events that make SAFETY there number one priority!!

:drink::drink: Happy boating!!