Peering Into September—Quality Reigns Over Quantity With Go-Fast Boating Events
The last gasp of the summer boating season, Labor Day weekend never offers much in the way of structured group-events. Organizers understand that most folks just want to relax on the water with friends and family. Kids head back to school the following week, if they haven’t already returned.
Plus, last weekend’s ultimate celebration of speed on the water, the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout is in the books. September is the perfect time to exhale.
But there are at least six September-event gems—three East, two West and two Central—for those of you not ready to call it a season. Here’s a quick look.
Lake Cumberland Poker Run
For Stu and Jackie Jones of the Florida Powerboat Club, tackling the Lake Cumberland Poker Run last weekend in their own boat was a first. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix,
First up next month is the Lake Cumberland Poker Run in Kentucky, which will celebrate its 18th anniversary this year on September 6-7. That the State Dock-hosted event has lasted almost 20 years speaks to its longstanding appeal. Even Florida Powerboat Club head Stu Jones, who with his wife, Jackie, participated in the Lake Cumberland happening for the first-time last year, found it impressive. And Jones is appropriately hard to please when it comes to go-fast boating events.
Pirates Of Lanier Charity Poker Run
The Pirates of Lanier Charity Poker Run returned to form in a big way this year, moving the dates from July to September and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities. Photos courtesy Dov Goldstein/DockBars.
Thanks to a revival spearhead by Georgia-based performance-boat-loving powerhouse, Sheridan Bazemore, the 2023 Pirates of Lanier Charity Poker Run raised an event-record-setting $450,000. Chances are good that the September 12-15 event will up its impressive fundraising efforts this time around.
Waves And Wheels End-Of-Summer Fun Run
The Waves And Wheels End-Of-Summer Fun Run is as casual as Lake of the Ozarks go-fast boating events get. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.
Set for Friday, September 13, the eighth annual Waves And Wheels End-Of-Summer Fun Run starts out of the Osage Beach, Mo., company’s recently sold marina. Stops for the one-day happening have yet to be announced, but Wagner’s emphasis on keeping things casual never changes. Weather knocked down last year’s turnout to six boats, but the Waves And Wheels happening usually attracts 20-something entries.
Colorado River water is DCB Performance Marine water, and the Phoenix-based company will have a healthy catamaran contingent in the Lake Powell Challenge Mix. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
Out of the September event rotation for a few years, the Lake Powell Challenge returns September 19-22. Flanked by tall walls of solid rock, the clear, cool and mostly empty waters of Powell—the largest lake in the Colorado River-fed, man-made chain of waterways—never fails to impress anyone with eyes. The houseboat-village-headquartered event is based out Antelope Point Marina in Arizona. According to DCB Performance Marine president Jeff Johnston, the Phoenix-based catamaran will have a “major presence” with the likes M37R cats Mad Props and Cowboy & Indian committed to participate.
Emerald Coast Powerboat Week
As a home-base for a Sunshine State boating event, Destin is tough to beat.
The bad news about Emerald Coast Powerboat Week—the penultimate event in any Florida Powerboat Club season—is that its dates overlap with those of the Lake Powell Challenge. The good news is that the events happen on different sides of the country. That’s not to say the dedicated road-warriors of the go-fast boating world wouldn’t like to participate in both, but the distance between them is more than 1,800 miles. Like the Lake Powell affair, the Destin, Fla.-headquartered happens on some of the prettiest water this country has to offer. Freshwater versus saltwater, towering rock walls versus sugar-sand beaches—take your pick. Either way, setting-wise you can’t go wrong.
Oneida Lake Chicken Wing Run
Even with a mostly regional following, the Oneida Lake Chicken Wing Run typically attracts more than 100 entires. Photo courtesy/copyright Rodney Olson.
Despite the move by longtime organizer Ron Forbus to Southwest Florida, the Oneida Lake Chicken Wing Run in Upstate New York will move forward this year, according to posts on its Facebook page. The event is set for Saturday, September 21, but because it has a more regional following than either the Destin or Lake Powell affairs, the schedule overlap is of minimal consequence.
Catalina Fun Run
Participants in the Catalina Island Fun Run spend two nights in Avalon. Photo courtesy/copyright Daren Van Ryte.
What started as an out-and-back lunch trek from Long Beach to the town of Avalon on Catalina Island has morphed into a two-nighter off the Southern California coast in the past eight years. Now the Catalina Fun Run, which is set for September 27-29, attracts a healthy variety of mostly local go-fast boats. The event routinely sells out, and for good reason. It is the West Coast’s only annual Pacific Ocean trek for fans of speed on the water.
Related stories
Peering Into August—Summer’s Event Full-House
Emerald Coast Sparkles For Florida Powerboat Club Poker Run
Image Of The Week: DCB Takes Lake Powell Personally
Local Motion At Waves And Wheels End-Of-Summer Fun Ru
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