Rock The Coast Poker Run Hits All The Right Notes For West Michigan Offshore
With 70 boats in the fleet, last weekend’s West Michigan Offshore Rock The Coast Poker Run qualifies as a successful, well-attended go-fast boating event—by any measure. But that number becomes even more meaningful when you consider that the nonprofit group, according to president Scott Otterbein, has 85 members. That means the almost 90 percent, 88.2 percent to put a fine point on it, of those members participated in the multi-top run that started and finished in Grand Haven, Mich.
West Michigan Offshore member Jerry Bernish took delivery of his new Cigarette Racing Team 42X V-bottom just in time for the Rock The Coast event. Photos by Brian Caswell copyright SpeedShot Photography.
The Rock The Coast weekend started last Friday with the Keith Holmes Memorial Fun Run. More than 40 boats took part in the event celebrating the life of the popular Michigan-based offshore racer, who died in a racing accident during the 2017 St. Clair River Classic.
“It was a fantastic weekend,” said Otterbein. “And the lake was calm for what it can usually be.”
When it comes to Lake Michigan, of course, “calm” is relative. Justin Snook of Mancelona, Mich., who ran the event in his 42-foot Fountain V-bottom, described Friday’s conditions as “three- to four-footers.”
Enjoy more images from last weekend’s Rock The Coast Poker Run.
“Just like I figured,” he said, then laughed. “It was an absolute blast—great people great cause, beautiful golden sandy coast line on the west side of the state. Boating over there has some great destinations.”
Shields of Hope, a nonprofit organization serving children and adults with cancer, was the beneficiary of this year’s Rock The Coast Poker Run, and the event raised $6,800 for the charity. On Friday, Rock The Coast participants took 22 children from the Shields of Hope program for boat rides.
Lake Michigan has its own definitions for “calm”—just ask Justin Snook, who tackled last weekend’s West Michigan Offshore Rock The Coast Poker Run in his Fountain 42 Lighting.
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