Angle Of Attack Marine’s Most Excellent West Coast Adventure
Having owned more than 100 boats—most recently a Mystic Powerboats C4000 catamaran—by his own estimate, South Florida’s Chris Richards has just one regret about his first Desert Storm Poker Run experience in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. And it’s not something he missed doing during the three-day event, because from the Thursday street party to the Saturday top-speed event the Angle of Attack Marine owner did everything the event had to offer.
South Florida Mystic Powerboats dealer Chris Richards finished up his Desert Storm Poker Run experience with a pass during the Shugrue’s Shootout. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.
“My only regret is that it took me 51 years to get there,” said Richards, who also owns a 44-foot Mystic cat but opted to bring the newer, 500-hp outboard engine-equipped 40-footer to the event. “I loved everything about it, even my hotel room at the London Bridge Resort above the night club, which stays open till 2 a.m.
“Thank god for AirPods,” he added, then laughed.
From idling through the infamous “channel” leading to Lake Havasu to running 100-plus mph on the three-quarter-mile Shugrue’s Shootout course, Richards absorbed an adult portion of the Desert Storm happening, as well as Lake Havasu boating itself. Of course, he didn’t attack the experience blindly. Just as he had the week before in Southern California where he experienced Pacific Ocean boating for the first time, Richards tapped high-performance marine finance and insurance man and longtime Desert Storm backer Devin Wozencraft as his guide.
The Angle of Attack Marine crew experienced Lake Havasu for the first-time last month.
Though it took some effort thanks to the conditions, he reached his goal of running 100 mph on the world’s largest body of water.
A week later, Richards was picking up his guide from the Wozen-Barge, a floating card-stop its namesake sponsors at the southern end of Lake Havasu, after repeating the poker-run course a few times. At Wozencraft’s suggestion, they took off in the Mystic cat and headed up-river to Pirate Cove Resort for lunch.
Angle of Attack Marine showcased Richard’s Mystic C4000 catamaran in the Desert Storm Street Party.
Richards loved Pirate Cove. He described it as a “sort-of souped-up” Gilbert’s Resort and Tiki Bar in Key Largo, Fla., a famed waterfront lunch sport in the Upper Keys that’s a short run from his Miami-based outpost for the Mystic brand. But the journey to Pirate Cove was even better than the destination, he said.
“It was spectacular—I have never seen anything like that kind of topography,” he explained. “No one told me how beautiful it was there.
“I love driving the boat, but I have to focus on what I’m doing so I never get to fully enjoy the scenery,” he continued. “So Devin drove on the way back, and we stopped a few times to take some pictures. I sat in one of the rear seats, chilling out. It was like being in limousine. And the water was so clear. It was a little chilly, but it didn’t matter. I had to dive in.”
Richards compared Pirate Cove Resort to a “soup-ed up” version of Gilbert’s Resort and Tiki Bar in Key Largo.
Now back in South Florida, Richards will arrive in Alabama today for the start of the Florida Powerboat Club’s Orange Beach Powerboat Week Poker Run. From there he heads to Europe.
With the Desert Storm experience still fresh in his mind, Richards said he knows the West Coast go-fast boating community is ready for the Mystic brand. He plans to return to the event next year, and not just with his C4000 catamaran. He’ll also bring his under-construction M5200 center console.
“I see no reason why we can’t sell the Mystic brand there, and it will happen,” he said. “I don’t say I’m ‘going to do’ something. I just do it.
Richards (right) couldn’t have chosen a better guide for his West Coast adventure than Devin Wozencraft.
“Lake Havasu is a very competitive powerboat market, and there are some great, well-established brands there,” he added. “But Mystic offers something new and fresh, and it’s not something everyone else has.”
Richards paused to chuckle, then continued.
“Sometimes, it’s nice to show up at a Ferrari party in a Lamborghini,” he said.
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