Image of the Week: Will Harmon Creek Make The Year In Review Again?
Anyone who’s ever been to the early September Lake Cumberland Poker Run hosted by State Dock in Jamestown, Ky., knows that Harmon Creek is home to the largest and rowdiest raft-up of any poker run in the country. I won’t refer to it as the largest raft-up in the United States because folks in Michigan will cry out for the Muscamoot Bay gathering in early August on Lake St. Clair, as will boaters in Missouri and Florida who proudly tout their Party Cove, Crab Island and other tie-ups.
The Harmon Creek raft-up during the annual Lake Cumberland Poker Run is an impressive sight. Photo by Black Label Imagery
Either way there’s nothing quite like the Harmon Creek display with the incredible amount of performance boats, cruisers and, most important, houseboats, tied up together with off-plane boats carefully cruising the horseshoe path in and out of the cove. It’s unlike any display I’ve witnessed at an event, and I’ve been to many of them. I vividly remember the first time the boat owner I was with began idling into the cove and asked all of us if we were ready to “run the gauntlet.” I said, “sure thing,” knowing that whatever lied ahead was not going to be easy or quick to get through. Nothing called “the gauntlet” could be, right?
Since then, I’ve ran the gauntlet a few times and I’m still mesmerized every time I see drone or helicopter images of the Harmon Creek raft-up in all its glory. I was again this year when Lake Cumberland Poker Run organizer Shanalda Burden sent me images taken by Black Label Imagery that we’ll be using in our 2024 Year In Review magazine that starts shipping next month.
I’m sure there are some dedicated poker run participants who remember years that the Harmon Creek gathering was larger than it was a few months ago. If you haven’t been there before, it’s hard to imagine it being bigger than the image above, but it can be and has been. Still, no matter the turnout each September for the poker run—Burden said the 2024 event had 150 registered boats and that the participants really enjoyed the Woodstock at State Dock theme—the raft-up, and its rousing gauntlet, is part of the event each and every year.
It’s usually part of the Speed On The Water Year In Review magazine as well, but you’ll only know for sure if Harmon Creek makes the cut again if you order your 2024 Year In Review magazine today. Get it now before the cost goes up once it leaves the printer.
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