Winter Fun Run Thunders Into Chilly Key Largo
In search of open water minus ice at its edges, Lake of the Ozarks-based Big Thunder Marine led a trio of boat-owner clients and their guests to the Upper Florida Keys last week and joined up with the Florida Powerboat Club for its Winter Fun Run to the Playa Largo Resort in Key Largo. As it happened, they didn’t have to go far to meet up with the FPC group as its Marriott Autograph Collection destination also was home-base for the Big Thunder clients during the week.
Even when Upper Florida Keys weather is chilly, the views are hard to beat. Photo courtesy/copyright Big Thunder Marine.
“We had a great time all week,” said Ed Champion of Big Thunder Marine, which has several locations at the Central Missouri waterway. “It was unbelievable.”
Of the 26 boats in the fleet, three Fountain Powerboats models—two 38-foot center consoles and one 34-foot catamaran—participated through Big Thunder’s collaboration with the Florida Powerboat Club.
Also known as the “Winter Escape,” the event kicks off the club’s season. It’s meant to give club members relief from the cold back home, wherever that happens to be. But “cold” is relative, as is “relief,” and the Upper Keys were unseasonably chilly for most of the trip.
Florida Powerboat Club leader Stu Jones ran his 39-foot Nor-Tech center console. Photos by Tyler Jones courtesy of the Florida Powerboat Cub.
“Mother Nature put a little spin on the agenda by serving up some almost-record cold-temperatures,” Jones said, then chuckled. “But with participants from Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia and Tennessee, pretty much everyone agreed it was a far better—and warmer—place to be than back home.”
Perhaps no participant appreciated the weather more than Brian Blount and his family, who traveled from Oregon for the event. With their own boat sidelined with a mechanical issue, the Blounts caught a ride with Jones on his new Nor-Tech 390 Sport center console.
Dubbed King of Clubs, the 39-footer is the club’s official support boat.
“It was the perfect platform for the family to enjoy the Florida Keys for their very first time, partly because they had never ridden on a Nor-Tech center console and partly because they had traveled thousands of miles to attend,” Jones said.
Enjoy more images from last weekend’s Florida Powerboat Club Winter Fun Run.
The relatively small size of the group made for an easy lunch stop at Gilbert’s Resort and Tiki Bar in Key Largo on the way to the Playa Largo property.
Saturday’s lunch run to Three Waters Resort, formerly the Post Card and Holiday Isle Resort gave participants a chance to run their boats in slightly warmer weather. The lunch run also provided an opportunity for Jones to check out the renovated property, and he was pleased with what he saw.
“It could be an event venue for the Florida Powerboat Club in 2026 and beyond,” he said.
As often happens on such trips, the weather warmed substantially on departure day. Jones said that made for a far more comfortable ride back to the group’s starting points in Miami, Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
Next up on the club’s schedule is the third annual Florida Powerboat Club/Speed On The Water Miami Boat Show Bash presented by Nor-Tech. Open to club members in good standing and special guests, the celebration is set for Friday, February 14, starting at 8 p.m. at the Sagamore Hotel in South Beach. The club’s Miami Boat Show Poker Run departs for Hawk’s Cay Resort on Duck Key the following weekend.
Thanks to Big Thunder Marine the fleet had a couple of Fountain center consoles in the mix.
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Source: https://www.speedonthewater.com/winter-fun-run-thunders-into-chilly-key-largo/