On Tap This Weekend—Florida Powerboat Spring Key West Poker Run

Between now and early May, the Florida Powerboat Club has three events on tap. The trio of pre-summer happenings begins with this weekend’s Spring Key West Poker Run and followed by the April 13-16 Tampa Bay Poker Run and Orange Beach Powerboat Week, which is set for May 11-14.

Of these three happenings, the upcoming Key West event is—like its annual Winter Poker Run to Key Largo counterpart in January—the most casual and intimate.

The Spring Key West Poker Run is among the Florida Powerboat Club’s most laidback events. Photos courtesy/copyright of the Florida Powerboat Club.

Registration for this weekend’s Key West trek is still open. Last year’s run attracted 32 boats.

“It’s looking good so far,” said Stu Jones, the founder and president of the club. “So far, we have 22 boats registered, which is close to the 25 boats we normally expect to get.

“I can use a nice, easy event before the next two, which are a lot larger and busier,” he added, then chuckled.

The Spring Key West Poker Run includes a pair of daytrips from the city at the end of the road. On Friday, the group heads for Boca Grande. The following late-morning, the group runs to Woman Key to raft-up and hang out for the day.

“Smaller events create a casual atmosphere for our attendees,” said Jones, who will run his Flight 1130 Cigarette 38 Top Gun with the Florida Powerboat Club fleet. “That’s what the Spring Key West Poker Run is all about.”