I have said before I'm in my 3rd year of poker runs. I do not want our Poker runs to disappear. All that I have met at these events seem to be decent people who love boating like I do. I'll start it off with a few ideas from my limited time in Poker Runs.

1. These fastest of the fast. Man these are cool boats and I love seeing them at the dock and out running fast. Why not have a Friday afternoon or probably better yet a few hours in the afternoon on Poker Run day that we could have a closed course of a mile or two with and maybe a few turns, if can, and let these boats open it up. Nothing better that floating a few hours watching fast boats. Call it what you want grudge match hour, Chinese downhill, Kiss my A$$ match or whatever.

2. Starting off in speed brackets seemed to work well at the Lake Lanier run. It was supposed to be 5 between speed groups. Five minutes is a long time, its not but seems to be, to wait and go. I think we did wait at least 2 minutes before each group left. they had color coded flags for speed and it seemed to work. I'm not sure which way to start slow to fast or fast to slow but that seems to be a good thing.

I'll stop here and see what else comes out of this thread. Let us not point fingers or bash here but give positive ideas to help preserve what we love to do.

I like your ideas But I think the controlled and closed course part should be the first card stop. if its not people are still going to race to first card stop even if they already had a chance to open it up earlier.

I'm curious, are all poker runs having issues of running all out to first card stop? The only actual Poker run I've done is the Cumberland Poker run and one time I blew a drive before even making it half way to the first card and the other ran hard but not unsafe. Makes me wonder if there is ever any under the table gambling going on between the fastest guys to who can get to the first stop first?

Kevin

The only way I see some place like Lake Cumberland to keep having a run.

1. A marked course and a speed limit in that course.

2. strick rules to anyone that leaves that course at speed or exceeds the speed limit.

3. Far greater use of safety boats to keep course clear of traffic.

4. The race aspect has to be completely removed. Honestly it should be nothing more than a parade to the stops. The big boats going by in a formation at 100 MPH will look just as cool if not more so than if they go buy helter skelter at 130 to 170.

5. A shoot out can be added if the big boats want to have braggin rights for speed at the event.

I know some may say this is to much restriction. Let's face it that ship has probably sailed. There is going to have to be a drastic change to the format if these runs are to survive.

The following is just my opinion and observation, as well as a couple of conversations with guys like myself that have fast boats (150 MPH +):
I think one of the reasons LC, Desert Storm and others are so popular for some is BECAUSE of the fact there is no set speed limit. To be honest, the expense and time involved to haul your oversize boat to these events, not to mention the time away from business is significant. Therefore if that kind of investment requires a reward of sorts, and being able to run your boat at the speed you chose is a big part of that reward.
That said, perhaps the focus should be to still be able to do so, but in a much more controlled environment, especially on waterways with limited size or a large spectator fleet. After visiting with others, one solution would be to offer some sort of Shootout style race within the poker run that would allow boats of all speeds to run hard (with required safety gear and support personnel) while still picking up cards and running to the rest of the stops at a lower speed.
The LOTO Shootout is a good example because therenis a poker run with a speed limit that enjoys success as well as speed runs at a separate event on a different day. If there would be a way to combine the two, perhaps even giving out cards for the top speeds at the controlled speed event (such as an ace for the top speed, king for 2nd, etc,) it could perhaps provide the incentive for the uber fast boats to be there while increasing safety for both the general poker run fleet as well as the spectators.
When I asked a few guys if they would attend such an event, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Not so much for an event with parade style speeds by itself.

Just a thought.

Kind of hit the nail on the head here.

Also you are right. You take away the speed at runs where the big boys come and run and you lose a lot of crowd and participants. Those boats are part of the draw even if others don't want to admit it.

You think I was flying from FL to LOTO to see a bunch of boats do 70mph?

There just needs to be a way to keep it more controlled and safe so everyone can enjoy the sport and fun.

Thunder on the water. I think that's what it was called in 1994 Mississippi. Controlled course. (Like the Loto shoot out) for a one kilo run. Then a shot gun type of PR like in Destin. YOU take away the bragging ego to the first stop, or ENFORCE the rules. I Closed course events are hard to manage with all the logistics, but on open water IE, Lake Mich, or on the ocean 10+ miles away from traffic the big boys can run, and still have them at the dock for us little guys to drool over the hardware. Many of the current runs are $( profit) driven, and that's taking it way from the good ole time fun events. I see PR's fade away and fun runs getting more popular. Remember, SLOW DOWN it's a run not a race. There is a place and time to run. For some, they should join the race circuit.

I agree with you 100%.