Gallery: Scenes From The 2024 Florida Powerboat Club Season-Opener

A couple of years back, Florida Powerboat Club members who signed up for the outfit’s season-opening Winter Fun Run were treated to a chilly weekend in the Florida Keys that included low-40-degree temperatures on the return leg to Miami. This time around, the Florida Powerboat Club faithful were rewarded with a warm weekend-getaway that included 80-plus-degree temperatures on the way home.

There are worse ways to escape the cold than the Florida Powerboat Club Winter Fun Run . Photos courtesy/copyright of the Florida Powerboat Club.

Such is the weather variability in the Florida Keys during the early winter months.

The 26-boat fleet departed Miami last Friday morning and stopped for lunch at Gilbert’s Resort and Tiki Bar in Key Largo before moving on to the nearby Playa Largo Resort. The following morning, though not too early, the group headed out for an 80-mile round-trip run to Hawk’s Cay Resort on Duck Key for lunch at the Angler and Ale Restaurant . The group returned that balmy afternoon for dinner at Playa Largo and headed back to reality the next morning.

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The 2024 event boasted an eclectic mix of go-fast boats.

Such are the simple details of the 2024 Winter Poker Run. But for club president Stu Jones, the most-recent season-opener may well have been his favorite.

“Over the years, the Winter Fun Run has earned its name thanks to cold temperatures that everyone remembers well because of the extra layers and jackets they had to wear,” he said, then laughed. “But this time around, no cold-weather clothing was required as we saw record-setting warm temperatures in South Florida. I can honestly say those were some of the best boating days I’ve had recent years.

“Plus, we made it home in our Cigarette 38 Top Gun Flight 1130 in exactly two hours dock to dock,” he added, then chuckled again. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that.”