Support Your Troops PR - LOTO
 

Is there going to be a strong turn out similar to the previous couple years for this event? It appears this is a nice, well run and organized event. www.lakeozarkspokerrun.com. Already took off work and am planning to attend w/ 6 others plus the wife, all are pumped for the run. Signing up over this weekend after we finally de-winterize! This will be our first year for the event. How do you feel the 70 MPH speed limit will affect the event....not that I am affected as I'll be in the back of the pack with a maximum speed of 58 MPH burning up some high dollar fuel!!! :bsflag:

It should be close to the same turn out, the change to Friday might make a few people stay away because they can't get off work.
I think it's much safer having it on Friday vs Saturday though, should be a great turn out, LOTOs and boating is always a fun time.

In my opinion, which isn't worth much, the organizers planning a Friday run is great. With enough notice, hopefully it doesn't affect many who want to attend. There should be more dock space, less snipers (jet skis) on the water & hopefully not as much nasty chop. I hope there is a good turnout as it is for a great cause and supports the local businesses. Watching the previous run videos doesn't help with my poker run anxiety....:eek:

I am hoping to finally get the power in the BatBoat this next week or two and have all of the yet to be determined demons worked out of it by then. It is the week of our 25th anniversary, so we will be down for the whole week. The Friday run might lessen the number of spectators, but I don't think that it will impact the number of participants.

Lookin forward to it....

Gas on the water was $3.95 this weekend, still pretty decent! We have had a speed limit of 60 in the years past, we should be fine this year.

My drive refresh has been a nightmare completing. Not sure boat will be off the trailer by then.

Were going to be there for sure...Love that they moved it to Friday, there will be less boat traffic during the run... People never seem to have an issue coming down on Thursday evening for the Shootout Fun Run and back in the day the Big Thunder was also a Friday run....Hopefully we will have a good turnout for a great cause.... Operation Homefront really does a lot of good for our Servicemen and thier families...

Agree on the Friday comments. Can't wait for the run and hoping for a great turnout!

I prefer the Friday runs as well.
Will be a good time.

Gonna be a good time. I got an email on a couple changes from the starting point, etc. Starts from H. Toads now including Thursday evening registration. If you haven't checked the website or didn't get the email I'd check it out. Looking forward to it and hope weather cooperates!!

I am not sure how many people I will have on my boat or if I can make it for sure. Can we still register on site Thursday night.

Yes we will be at H Toad Thursday night for the registration party.

Thanks

Is it true a 70mph speed limit will be enforced by tickets and arrests

I am not sure about arrests but I would guess a ticket would be issued but don't really know how they enforce the limit for participants. It is my understanding the MO WP will discuss safety concerns and the speed limit at the 9 am drivers meeting on Friday before the run. I personally don't have to worry much as I can stretch and break throttle cables on my boat and won't see 58 MPH!! However, I do enjoy hearing and seeing the speedy guys fly by me running hard all day long....

heard they issued several tickets last year even a couple of arrests, I understand they are going to be stationed at several points on the run looking for violaters, they are suppossedly using photo and video to record violaters

Many times, what people hear and what is true is two completely different things...

There was a couple of tickets issued weeks after the event, but they were found to not be prosecutable, it was much more political than enforcement!

My guess the arrest that may have been associated to any tickets, were for fail to appear, not because of the actual non existant arrest... Just missing the court date.

Now my personall opinion:, there really is no speed limit, so their enforcement can only truly be subjective and most likely if you were to fight it, it would be costly, but eventually you would win, now that does not mean they could write you for something else...

Now if they are worried about safety, which should be their first priority, consider this: for the first part of the run, close the section between the take off point and the bridge for the 20 minutes it takes to start all the boats... Line up the patrol boats, announce it from the choppers and have the water patrol keep everyone advised.

That 20 minutes could show everyone how everyone is safety concious, those running could run, and it would be a positive for the entire event! But untill everyone gets on board, we will have enforcement types trying to push their power by intimidation and those that want to run mut be rebels, doesnt make sence to me....

Bottom line, if one was to use common sence, there should be no problems and as always it will be a great event!

The Regatta Permit only allows for the Poker Run to be 70mph and the water patrol will most likely be watching speeds. I do not think the actual operator will be ticketed for the speed unless there are other factors involved.

The main isssue is that the WP issues the Regatta Permit and if the rules they set are not followed by the participants, then this event may never get a permit again and I would hate to see that happen. This is a great event for a great cause.

Griff - I agree with your statement and would hate for these type of events to not be permitted in the future.

I am in total agreement!, But I still think the big picture is being missed.

The event is great for the lake, the participants and troops.

But by making a couple of simple changes to the route, ie, closing down the lake for the start of the event, it would give the best of everything people are there to see, the spectators as well as the participants. This would also be the very best way to have a safe event.

I just think intimidation is the WRONG way to to promote safety and enthusiasm, Positive reinforcement and education leads to better tourism, and a better economy for the lake.

The best part, my suggestion costs absolutly zero to impliment.

I am not saying anyone really wants to listen, but it is a suggestion...

Bajaholic - I don't disagree with your comment and IMO you could be on to something. However, I would imagine it would be difficult to get the regulatory agencies (MO WP) to make the effort to establish something similar to your proposal. It is more than likely much easier for and more financially beneficial to the MO WP to implement a speed limit for the event to elevate safety precautions and apply ticketing to those who do not follow. I still think it is a great event and believe the organizers are doing a great job promoting , scheduling and permitting the event.

I agree with you. the event is great for everyone involved. I think everyone will respect the rules this year and the event will go over great and will be done again next year. this event is becoming nationally recognized and is ran and promoted by true oat and charity lovers.

Last year the speed limit was 60 mph, this year WP asked us to do the event on Friday and gave us another 10mph. Let's not find out they plan on enforcing it, how many tickets they can issue and if they are legal. We are asking everyone to take it easy on Friday during the run and return back to the dock Friday night at Dog Days to have dinner together. If you have ever heard the remarks made by the military members that went for boat rides, what Operation Home Front has done with the money raised or seen the look on the eyes of the boat owners that gave them rides on the run you would come back every year regardless if they made us stay off plane.

If you are new to the run please introduce yourself on Thursday night to me, it's always nice to put a name to a face. My wife and I got nine banners hung up on Friday and I'm getting stoked about the run. We have people on the way from MN and TX that we only get to see a few times a year. Hope to see as many new faces as possible Thursday night at H. Toad at the 7mm. :evilb:

Eddie - I agree with your comment. In addition, I would love to meet you & say hi. it looks like you guys as organizers do a fabulous job for this run and the benefits it provides.

Not exactly! The one boat that was ticketed went to court was "prosecuted". Got a speed limit imposed onto him personally as part of the "sentence". Heard it from the horses mouth!

But either way, there will be boats running over 70, you can count on it.

What I heard was 4 tickets, correct? and only one was actually found guilty of the "ticketed" charge was the one that didn't show up for any of the hearings, and MAY have had an issue with the non-appearance? But hey, in many cases: "I heard" can have 46 variations of the same story, so my version may not even be close, Personally I wasn't one of the "People", Thank goodness!

I still want to make it clear... For me, on this issue, it is not worth the hassle to fight the system, I just feel there are better alternatives that everyone could find acceptable in the year's to come.

We are VERY much in support of everything the MWBP crew is doing, it is a great event and we are proud to be part of it, in years past and years to come!

The other ticketed boat.

Let me throw my .02 in here.
I got several calls from the WP after our last event. They wanted a face to face meeting before they would issue another permit for this years event.

Over the winter we sat down with the WP and they explained their concerns and we explained ours. They are in a tough spot. When they issue any regatta permit, it says right on the permit, that a 60mph speed limit is in effect. This has never really been an issue, as most people run on the lake the same way they run every weekend when there is no speed limit.
What happened last year, is that one very vocal, local resident filmed and copied youTube videos of some of the 150mph + boats and proceeded to flood the WP's inbox with these and messages about how they weren't enforcing their own rules.

We explained that with a True 60mph speed limit, we really can't put on a poker run, as no one will show up if they think they're going to get a ticket for going 61.

The WP agreed to 70 and stated that they're not out to ruin the event, in fact they support the event and are happy we are hosting it again at the lake for the military charity. They do have a job to do which is keep the lake safe. They said that they are not going to harass someone that hits 75, but if you decide to run 150 down the lake, then they are probably not only going to stop you, but it will be the end of poker runs for us and probably poker runs in general at the lake.

I truly believe that if everyone just uses a bit of common sense this won't be an issue at all. This is a great event that raises a ton of money for a great cause. Its a fantastic opportunity for a lot of people at the lake to get to see amazing hardware, and for us to be ambassadors for power boating.

The last thing we want is an accident or for someone to get hurt, we also would hate to have this event canceled in the future, and this is our opportunity to show the locals and the water patrol that poker runs can continue to be held at LOTO in a safe manner that still provides a great day of boating for everyone.

Hope that clears up a few things. Hope to see you all there!!!

That was a mouthful. Good to know all the info behind the probation and or stronger speed enforcement. Still will be a great event for the cause. See everybody next Thurs.
Should burn a lot less fuel this time around.

Bill Holder = TOOL


We should flood his inbox and have a boating flashmob type raftup this summer up at the 55MM (we could call it Holderisaputzpalooza). We still have the right to congregate, correct??

Hmmm... that's not a bad idea!

Dr jeff - thanks for the info and well put.

I can't even run 70 MPH. If I had a 100+ MPH boat, I'd still enjoy running at 70 MPH & supporting a great event. With that being said, it is ridiculous one man takes the time and makes the effort to complain so much, especially when he is located at the 55 MM where boat traffic is nothing like the 5-25 MM. Is this the guy thay has a dock which is falling apart (in You Tube vids complaining about marine max regatta) due to lack of maintenance and age? Looking forward to the upcoming weekend. Is there a group planning to raft up somewhere on Saturday?

That would be him. He's still stuck in 1962 and thinks everybody else should be too.

Bingo!!! that is the guy. I think we will probably raft up on Sunday. Saturday, I think most people are going to the toad to check out the pool party.

We will swing by the pool party Saturday afternoon then. Looking forward to it. Gonna be a long week waiting for Thursday evening and Friday!

Fridays good for me! I think it is better on Friday. Less boats on the water! Better water conditions! Less freaking WP! Better party Friday night, more room to dock! Not a problem on Friday.

Thanks for all the support! We are on our way to another 100 boat poker run! :evilb:

Party at H. Toad starts at 7:00 p.m. and bikini contest at 8:00 p.m. should be a good time.

We need boats for "props" for the calendar shoot Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. if your interested in using your boat call Shane at 573-480-3424.

The whole calendar of events is posted at lakeozarkspokerrun.com and is as follows:

THURSDAY JUNE 23, 2011
- Registration Party
- Mandatory attendance to pick up race packets and complete registration forms
- H Toad (Camden on the Lake) 7MM in Toad Cove
- 6 PM - 9 PM
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FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2011

.-Mandatory Drivers Meeting 9 AM
- Hot breakfast for all participants
- H Toad 7MM in Toad Cove
- Poker Run Leaves 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
- Card Turn In - Dog Days 3 PM - 6 PM
- Dinner - Dog Days 6:30 PM
- Awards Banquet and Post Party - Dog Days 7:30 - Close

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SATURDAY JUNE 25, 2011

.-Wrap Up Party
- H Toad 7MM in Toad Cove
- 7PM till Close

I should add the bikini calendar shoot starts at 10:00 a.m. and we will be at the pool of H. Toad most of the day. Someone has to be able to watch and make sure Shane's doing a good job and they are not getting oils all over our boats. . . :hitit:

Then at night it's on with another party at H. Toad at 7:00 p.m. :evilb:

Can't wait. We depart at 6:30 A.M. tomorrow. Weather forecast is looking good.