St. Johns River Cruise
 

Looks like there is registration info up on the Velocity Owners Group site for an overnight run up to Palatka on the St. Johns April 29-30: http://www.velocitypowerboats.com/20...tionPacket.pdf

Sounds like it should be a fun and relaxing run!

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

so do i read this right you get 4 breakfests for 225 bucks

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Mike,

$225 is the entry cost per boat (which includes 4 breakfasts). The hotel is $77 and docking is included so for about $300 you get a well organized overnight cruise (instructions/maps/private Captains meetings) and two great days in unique locations with your fellow Velocity Owners. If you are insinuating that $225 is a lot of money for an event like this please bear in mind there is no outside sponsorship (I wish there was!) and only about 20 boats. Also, please compare this to the cost of a typical overnight, performance boating event.

Feel free to call me if you'd like to discuss. I'm always very open to ideas how to do events better and apparently cheaper.

Rick Engstrom

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Can I ask stupid question......is it open to only Velocity boats. I apologize for my laziness, I bet if I read the flier again it might have said and I just missed it.

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

so where does the money go then i not insinuating anything just asking as when we the club in charlotte did our run most of the money went to a poker run pay out since there is no poker run what is the money for is it going to a charity i am a velocity owner and i do enjoy doing things with other owners no that is not a lot of money if it is going to some good

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Mike,

First thanks for the question as I bet others that haven't attended VOG events may be wondering the same thing.

In Charlotte, you guys are fortunate to have sponsors to cover the fixed costs such as meeting rooms, awards, liability insurance and a host of minor things that add up (I'm currently hiding all the deposits and receipts from my wife!)- or maybe you don't even incur those costs due to local connections? Yes I could probably cut some costs but there's always a balance to maintain between owners that want to go first class and those that want to minimize the out of pocket costs. There's no sponsorship with the Velocity club and unfortunately we don't have 40 boats to distribute the costs against so it costs more for our Velocity only cruise. I hope you can make it because I think you'll find that it was well worth $300 - especially compared to the PRA and FPC events this spring. Thanks.

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Mneal,

Yes this is exclusively for Velocities. Other owners groups from Baja, Donzi and Outerlimits have similar events on the east coast. As you might expect, the Velocity event is positioned in the middle - not bare bones like Baja but not in Newport, RI like Outerlimits!

Rick

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Thanks for the clarification Rick, I assumed as much, typically these clubs are exclusive. Unfortunately we have a less popular boat for this type of cruises (Chris Craft) and although a ton of CC clubs, they are all older wooden boats. Perhaps I will steal some of your info in regards to places to stay/eat etc. and just do a run with my wife. Nice day.

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

You'll have to excuse me coming to the party late but, I've been out of town.


I've seen the e-mail, and read the registration information, and I just don't see a fun-run warranting that kind of fee. I'm not bashing or insinuating anything, but there really isn't a chance for any type of return on investment, like at a poker run.



I'm sure you've heard all about our run, but I don't know where you got your information about sponsors. We had none!!!!!!!!!!!! All of the leg work was done by club members, mostly by phone calls, and all of the extra costs were paid for by the club. We arranged a decent rate at a local hotel and used public launch ramps for the boats. A couple of restaurants let us use their docks, because we ate there as a group.


Velocity was nice enough to bring a bunch of stuff to give away. But the total $100 entry fee was paid back out to the top 5 winners!!!!!!!!!!!


Just a suggestion, but you should at least take a percentage of the entry fees collected and give some back out by raffle tickets, or some other way.

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Just a little clarification...........


My comments were not to gripe about the cost of the run, because we do about 10-12 Poker Runs a year. I was simply questioning why a fun run would cost that much. We do several boating trips, other than poker runs, as a group every year, but there is never a fee and all members and friends are welcome.

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

John,

The Velocity Owner's Group doesn't charge any annual membership fee or currently have any sponsorship to offset costs. In Carolina I believe your members pay $150 a year which funds your events. With regard to Carolina sponsors - I saw Velocity was listed as a "co-sponsor" on last year's (June 6th) registration form. There's different event cost structures at play here but please read on.

For the VOG I didn't feel it was right to collect an annual fee from members since we're located all around the country and many probably won't be able to attend any events. There's just no value in that for many. If I did collect even $50 per VOG member I'd have a substantial budget to work with to lower the costs as you do in Carolina with a club budget. Unfortunately there is no VOG club budget - it's my checking account. I can only say that the costs are what they are and indeed they're much more expensive when you're going to new places each time as opposed to staying in one's home location (NJ for me). I had a similar idea to your suggestion with regard to if we get enough boats to generate a surplus - perhaps gas money going to the Longest Tow Awardee! I really wish the event was for free but without any other way to underwrite it - it just can't be. I've been working on getting sponsorship but it just hasn't panned out yet. I will try harder!

That being said I truly hope you and Mike can see the value of having an exclusive Velocity event in Florida and that you expect to have a good enough time there to justify the $225 investment.

Respectfully,

Rick Engstrom

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Wow...Rick you better hire a lawyer.

I have a great Idea for all the NC boys....Next year step up and plan all the events.

For 06 rick moved the northern run south in hopes to include you guys.

Where I come from all the math works. At every level this is a pay to play sport. Nothings Free.

I give Rick all the thanks I can because he spends hundreds of hours so I can pay some $$$ and have a great time.

Rick thanks again for all you do

NC boys step up or clam up.

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Rick I for one see that the math works out just fine,as well as I know for a fact that you and your wife spend countless hours organizing all of these events and it is appreciated.I can not understand why these people do not understand where the money goes,it is very clear to me.Please do not get discouraged,and I hope to see you in Philly on the 18th of March at Dave & Busters.
Bill

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

my questions were to Rick not you it takes a big man to tell someone to step up or clam up, on a web site the last time i checked i was allowed to ask, as far as the money if i am thinking about going i have a right to ask what the money is for. how many Velocity runs do you go on a year i try to make a few and we also have one here and for 100.00 out of you pocket we paid out 1200 to win and down to fifth place and no we do not have paying sponsors yes Velocity did through in some very nice prizes and we all pitched in and made it happen because we enjoy boating and friendship with folks of like interest i am sure Rick has done a good job on this so everyone have fun

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Rick,

My comments were in no way a personal attack against you. I was merely pointing out that we did similar out of town runs with our members for free, & I was simply wondering where the entry fee was going.

Yes our club does charge $150.00 for membership, but with only 15 member boats, the money does not go as far as you think. We pay over $300.00 year for web site hosting. We pay more than $700.00 per year for club t-shirts. The rest of the money goes to a end-of-year party.

Melody makes all of our fun run arrangements, and coordinates all of our events. Like you she does this in her spare time with no compensation other than the thanks of our members.

All of our runs have a coordinated agenda, but the members pay all of their own expenses. Last years fun run made no money for the club. We had 20 boats with 32 paid participants. All of that money was paid back out to the top 5 places. There were no monetary donations made to fund this run from any outside source. VELOCITY donated prizes to raffle off, as did our club and some of our club members. The total cost of the run for the club was approx $50.00. Steve and Melody made all of the arrangements with the hotel, and restaurants.

Melody and I spend a lot of money every year doing runs all over. Powerboating is not a cheap sport, but it is something that we both love. I want to make sure each run is worth the investment. That is the only reason that I was questioning the fun run registration fee, while personally I may not agree with the price, I do understand where you are coming from.

I am looking forward to another good year of boating and meeting some of you on the water.

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Vicious22, I see how you got your screen name. Just to set the recond straight, I can and will set up any fun run that you would like to attend (for free). I want to first say though that Rick does a great job of promoting Velocity and the Velocity name, so in no way do I believe that any owner would question that. I also do not believe that anyone is attacking him for what he has done or is doing. So do not take it personal. I talked to Rick and his wife in Miami and we have the same interest in common. Velocity. I do not think that there is a question of brand loyalty when it comes to the velocity owners. So I would hope that everyone can enjoy the Velocity events that are put on by any and all parties. I hope to be able to attend most of the events if they are not scheduled on a booked weekend regardless of where they are.
Out of curiosity how many velocity owners are there where you boat?

Another proud Velocity Owner
Steve Teeter
Carolina Powerboat Club

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

My view point.... FWIW.... since I have never organized an event and don't fully understand all that is involved, I look at not the cost of the event but instead what it is worth to me.

I am spending $600 + 2 nights hotel room ($300?) at the end of this month for the PRA Sarasota event. Granted, there is a chance that I could see some winnings from the poker hand, but unless I opt to purchase extra hands, my chances are VERY slim of seeing any return on my investment. I know that I will have a good time, and I will get a few meals included, but I doubt I will enjoy the weekend nearly as much as I will for the $300 two-day event that Rick has planned.

Additionally, I have no idea how insurance enters into these runs, but I suspect that the Carolina events have none or very little and I suspect that Steve Stepp either encourages or insists that a "Velocity" event have at least some level of protection. Obviously the exposure for a non-profit club would be much less than that of a multi-million dollar a year private company.

All told, we are all literally in the "same boat" (Velocity!!) in that we have a good time going new places while meeting and interacting with people with like interests. The value of that is different for each individual, but for me it is well worth $300.

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

[QUOTE=mikes280]my questions were to Rick not you it takes a big man to tell someone to step up or clam up,

Mike sorry if ruffled your feathers...Not.
I am on the board of several volunteer run oganizations and over the years I've heard my share of complaints. It's not the complaint that bugs me it's the tone of the complaint.

Step up or clam up is my way of saying if you have a comment or complaint, let's here it, but bring it up with a solution, resolution or what ever else you think would better the event.

I'm not a vicious person but the tone of posts was wrong and I'd be more than happy to discuss in person, over a beer, with any of my fellow Velocity owners.

sincerely

Steven Foulk

PS let's not muddy up rick's thread, feel fre to pm me.

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

All comments above well taken and I too agree with CA's observation. We all want to have a good time and I can assure you that when the Velocity Boys get together we do just that. Also, the comment made by CA about insurance is a big issue. I can assure you that you will not buy insurance for a poker run covering particpants without deep pockets. They only insurance obtainable last year was for the organizer and his libility only and not for the particpants who were suppose to have insurance. I am sure each state is different. But having a get together with all the Velocity owners from different areas is priceless. Without the Velocity connections, we would have never met you guys.
Sincerely, A proud velocity owner

Steve

Viscious22 , I will take you up on that offer of a beer, or 3
Hope to see you guys soon

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Mike sorry if ruffled your feathers...Not.
I am on the board of several volunteer run oganizations and over the years I've heard my share of complaints. It's not the complaint that bugs me it's the tone of the complaint[/QUOTE]to start with it was not a complaint it was a question apology accepted....Not

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Dam! this **** is getn good! Just be carefull running up the river the man is everywere lately. Keep it around 25 and obay the no wakes! Me and Mike will brake out the junk yard dog. I hope its ready!

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Sounds like a fun run with a great bunch of people (Velocity Owners). Who could ask for more.
Count us in.
We're in a 260 but does size always matter?

Re: St. Johns River Cruise
 

Not when you own a velocity.