Photo Essay: Tampa Bay Plays Rough—Again

For the second year in a row, participants in the Florida Powerboat Club Tampa Bay Poker Run received a solid dose of rough water during yesterday’s outing. And with the same conditions—frothy three- to five-footers coming from multiple directions—predicted for today, they’ll be out there again to complete the two-day poker run.

Tackling the Florida Powerboat Club Tampa Bay Poker Run in a Mystic C4000 catamaran, company owner/founder John Cosker and his wife, Robin, enjoyed yesterday’s rowdy conditions. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

“They were troopers,” said Stu Jones, the president of the event-producing outfit, referring to the 50-plus captains and their crews who tackled yesterday’s sporty water. “It was super-bumpy, but not quite as bad as last year. I’m not sure the whole fleet completed the run. I saw at least five or six boats turn around at the Skyway Bridge.

“We’ve revised today’s course to avoid going out in the Gulf Coast waters,” he continued. “We’re pointing the poker run north to the protected waters of Tampa Bay and we’ve changed our raft-up location. Overall, the course will be very similar to yesterday’s—we’re just staying away from those sloppy waters around the Skyway bridge.”

Yesterday’s conditions delivered plenty of action—and there’s more on tap today.

While more than a few club members will appreciate the course change, it won’t matter to John Cosker of Mystic Powerboats. Cosker and his wife, Robin, ran a Mystic C4000 catamaran powered by a pair of Mercury Racing 450R outboard engines yesterday and had a blast.

“We ran 70 to 75 mph right over the top of it,” he said. “I love these boats in the rough. That’s where’ they belong.”

Today, they’ll be joined in the cockpit by their daughter, Rachel, who’s currently in law school in Tampa.

“Rachel loves the cats,” said Cosker. “Kendall, our younger daughter, loves the center consoles.”