Fort Myers Offshore Returning To ‘Event-Saving’ Venue For Season Finale

Given the string of record-setting turnouts for Fort Myers Offshore lunch-runs during the eight-event 2023/2024 season, there’s a great chance the club’s season-ending “Tiki Run” to the Riviera Bar and Grill on Alligator Creek in Punta Gorda will continue the trend. The Saturday, April 20 event is once again being backed by Cape Coral, Fla.-headquartered Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats.

Nor-Tech is the presenting sponsor for the final event of the 2023/2024 Fort Myers Offshore season. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

That the Fort Myers Offshore season finale happens on the heels of Nor-Tech’s three-day dealer meeting at the Westin Cape Coral Resorts also raises the odds for success, both in turnout and—more important—scholarship fundraising, which is the nonprofit group’s primary mission. Most of the dealers and guests on hand for the meeting stick around for the Saturday Fort Myers Offshore run, and Nor-Tech typically brings a substantial center-console fleet of its own to the mix.

Plus, the company typically donates no less than $5,000 to the Fort Myers Offshore cause during the event.

Fort Myers Offshore leaders Tim and Cyndee Hill will tackle the Tiki Run in their refurbished Skater 32B catamaran.

Club president Tim Hill “discovered” the Riviera Bar and Grill in January when the original destination for a run that month backed out because of a staff shortage. Hill had 10 days to come up with another lunch venue, and the Punta Gorda location stepped up and saved the event.

“As it happened, we were planning a run to a new destination, Riviera Bar and Grill, in Punta Gorda, for a February 3 event,” he said in a speedonthewater.com article following the successful January run. “So I reached out to see if they could accommodate us on the date of the Hyatt Run, and they quickly said yes and welcomed us with open arms.

“The fact that they stepped up to accommodate us kind of last-minute is a testament to the Riviera’s dedication to performance boaters in Southwest Florida,” he added.

he Tiki Run follows this Saturday’s Cayo Costa Beach Raft-Up, Fort Myers Offshore’s most casual annual happening.