Jones To Florida Powerboat Club Tampa Bay Poker Runners: ‘Explore The Local Waterways’
If the current weather forecast holds—and that’s often a question mark in Florida—some 300 participants in 75 boats are in for treat this weekend during the sold-out 14th annual Florida Powerboat Club Tampa Bay Poker Run. Daytime highs for the Friday and Saturday runs are predicted to top out in the low 80s.
Conditions for this weekend’s Florida Powerboat Club Tampa Bay Poker Run are predicted be ideal. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
No one is more excited about the upcoming weekend on the water than Stu Jones, the president Florida Powerboat Club, and not just because poker-run organizing is his business and the event is a sell-out. Though Jones and his wife, Jackie, live across the state in Pompano Beach, the Tampa Bay boating environment is among his favorites.
“Aside from the poker-run agenda on Friday and Saturday, I always encourage our attendees to get out and explore the local waterways,” he explained. “There are dozens of sandbars and small little islands, where all of the local boaters tend to congregate on the weekends, that are accessible within an hour of downtown Tampa. The entire Tampa and St Pete area is an ideal playground for those who enjoy the boating lifestyle.
Tampa Bay is loaded with local hotspots and hangouts for performance-boat owners and their guests.
“That’s why I love bringing a poker-run to Tampa every year,” he added. “We just enjoy giving our members the opportunity to see many parts of Florida that they may not otherwise discover.”
As it is with any sold-out Florida Powerboat Club event, piecing together dockage was a challenge for the weekend. Jones said that John Wittenberger, the club’s first-year operations manager, “appeared to have his hands full” with dockage for the Tampa Bay happening but nailed it down.
“I’ve done the Tampa run before as a club member and I’ve always enjoyed it, but it’s just a little different now that on I’m on the planning side,” Wittenberger said, then chuckled. “It’s a little challenging to squeeze all those boats into the Tampa Convention Center docking venue.
Jones will tackle the weekend fun his Top Gun Maverick 1130, his vintage 38-foot Cigarette V-bottom powered by twin Mercury Racing 565 engines.
“Of course. we have to take care of our sponsors so they can get the best exposure for their new models, but we managed to pull it all together,” he added. “The important thing is that members know we have it handled.”
Next up on the Florida Powerboat Club event roster is Orange Beach Powerboat Week, May 9-12, hosted at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Ala.
Look for a complete report on the Florida Powerboat Club Tampa Bay Poker Run on speedonthewater.com.
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