Holiday Week Run Rocks The Sunshine Coast

What started last Saturday with the Fort Myers Offshore Holiday Fun Run—a 91-boat barn-burner of a lunch trek to the Riviera Bar and Grill in Punta Gorda, Fla.—ended yesterday with the 13th annual Joey Gratton Memorial New Year’s Day Fun Run from Sarasota to Bradenton. Between those bookend events, there was some kind of lunch run, fun run, photo shoot or happy hour gathering off the water every day.

Though Sunday was an off-day in that nothing structured was planned, that didn’t stop folks in town for the week from doing their own things. South Carolina’s go-fast boat aficionado Chuck Stark, powerboat painting wizard Stephen Miles and their good friend Zach Martin, for example, went for a late-afternoon rip off Cape Coral in their MTI catamarans and ran almost all the way to Captiva Island.

The following morning, they braved walls of fog and some sporty water to run all the way to Dock Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille in St. Petersburg. Starting from various points on the Sunshine Coast, some 50 to 60 high-performance catamarans, V-bottoms sportboats and center consoles made the lunch run.

Fog scrubbed the annual New Year’s Eve photo shoot handled by Pete Boden. But that didn’t keep the mostly Sarasota-based fleet from making another lunch trek.

And then there was the Gratton event, which celebrates the life of a beloved offshore racer who called Sarasota home. Once again, some 50 to 60 boats made the trek to Woody’s River Roo restaurant on the shores of the Bradenton River. Participants included Gratton’s sons Blake and Brock and their families, Reese Langheim and Julian Maldonado of the national champion Super Stock-class Jackhammer team, much of the crew from Manatee Marine Unlimited in Palmetto, Fla., Troy Hannon of Supreme Marine, Ron Muller of Electronics Unlimited and, of course, primary organizer Ryan Beckley of Kinetic Animation in Bradenton, Fla.

“This all started a long time ago with the New Year’s Day run in Sarasota,” explained Chris LaMorte of New Jersey, who ran his well-traveled 36-foot Skater catamaran with friends all week, during dinner two nights ago. “It was a long way for most people to travel for just one day of boating, so lunch runs and photo shoots were added and it grew to where it is now.”

LaMorte paused, then chuckled. “I’ve heard a few people say this week could be ‘better organized,’ and it probably could. But no one pays to be here. There’s no registration or registration fee. It’s all very casual.”

The notable exception to this laissez-faire approach to event organization? Shaun Torrente led a group of his STR customers throughout the week. But that was the only such formal effort.

The rest of the group relied on social media announcements, text messages and phone calls. And that meant staying fluid with plans, because lunch destinations changed last-minute with the size of the group departure times moved with the morning fog.

Short version? If loose plans and organization make you itchy, the holiday week on the water in Southwest Florida isn’t for you. But if you’re comfortable with spur-of-the-moment change and a little improvisation, you’ll be fine.

Most out-of-towners who came to enjoy the week leave town today or tomorrow. For the most, nothing is planned for today. That won’t stop a few folks from hopping in their rides for one last blast, maybe even with a lunch stop, before they head home.

And that is the beauty of this annual gathering. All you know, at least beyond reasonable doubt, is that a group of performance-boating fanatics will be in town for a week. The rest is mostly up to you. And if you wake up one morning with a plan of your own for your day on the water, you just do it.

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Source: https://www.powerboatnation.com/holiday-week-run-rocks-the-sunshine-coast/