On Hold For Two Years, Powerboating For A Cure Rebounds With New Charity
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Event Coverage: On Hold For Two Years, Powerboating For A Cure Rebounds With New Charity
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During the past 11 years, the Powerboating For A Cure Poker Run based in Norfolk, Va., raised more the $400,000 for Susan G. Komen For A Cure, a worthy organization helping to fight the battle against cancer with research and patient services. The event returned last weekend after a two-year pandemic-fueled break, but in the interim Susan G. Komen For A Cure relocated its headquarters out of state.
A returning Powerboating For A Cure Poker Run participant, Brian Forehand of North Carolina brought his canopied Outerlimits SV 50 to the event. Photos courtesy/copyright Chuck Guthrie and John Ainslie.
Wanting to keep their charitable efforts as local as possible, Bob Veith and his fellow Powerboating For A Cure Poker Run organizers and members of the Mid-Atlantic Powerboat Association selected a new benefitting charity for their 12th annual event. They conducted a search before choosing locally based Edmarc, a more-than-20-year-old nonprofit organization in Portsmouth, Va., providing hospice services to terminally ill children.
And with 42 boats and 175 participants in the mix, they raised $25,500 for the charity.
“Edmarc does amazing work with powerful, professional volunteers, and no one ever receives a bill,” Veith said. “When we presented them with a check, excitement was in the air with conversation all about coming back next year.”
The weekend began with a casual fun run on Friday to Decoys at Bennett Creek Marina, followed by a catered outdoor welcome party at the docks behind the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel/Waterside Marina, the host venue for the event. Saturday’s 135-mile poker run started just after 10 a.m. and the course took the fleet north down the Elizabeth River, then into the Chesapeake Bay for the first stop at Little Creek Inlet. From there, participants headed to Blue Water Yachts where lunch was provided by Brick House Catering.
Enjoy more images from last weekend’s Powerboating For A Cure Poker Run.
After lunch, the boats took to the Atlantic Ocean before stopping at Rudee Inlet, followed by a stop at Chick’s Oyster Bar in Lynnhaven Inlet before returning to Waterside Marina. Participants were greeted there by servers offering steamed shrimp, sliced pork, lamb chops and sausage—all before the brisket and chicken dinner handled by Mission BBQ.
When the poker hands were played that evening, Jeff Ainslie took top honors with a King-high straight worth $1,500, followed by Craig Smith, who won $1,000, Kenneth Anderson, who nabbed $750, Joel Tosh with a hand worth $500 and Roger Balducci with $250. All five participants donated their winnings back to the charity, as did Craig and Michelle Smith, who won $700 in the 50-50 raffle.
Though 42 boats was roughly half of what the event has attracted in years past, the Powerboating For A Cure Poker Run made a strong return, and everyone involved believes it will regain its past momentum. Veith and his fellow organizers and participants from Mark Tuck and Brian Forehand to Craig Mytelka and Jon Buncell, already are talking about next year’s happening.
“It’s the friendships and camaraderie that make it all come together,” Veith said.
Virginia’s Mark and Nancy Tuck, who own a Wright Performance 360 catamaran, were delighted to see their favorite local poker run return.
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