CROSSING THE LINE!
WHILE FLORIDA POWERBOAT CLUB HAS ALWAYS BEEN FOCUSED ON KEEPING ITS POKER RUN EVENTS WITHIN THE SUNSHINE STATE, CERTAIN OPPORTUNITIES TO VENTURE ACROSS STATE LINES ARE JUST TOO IRRESISTIBLE TO PASS UP, AND STAGING A POKER RUN FROM THE WHARF IN ORANGE BEACH ALABAMA IS ONE OF THEM! STORY: STU JONES
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inding the right venue for a great poker run isn’t always easy, and Orange Beach Alabama wouldn’t seem to be a likely target for a powerboat club focused on Florida-based events. But things happen in peculiar ways, and it all began way back in 2004, when FPC organizers decided to bow out of Emerald Coast Poker Run one year due to shifting tides with the co-organizers, and we soon discovered that Orange Beach was a boaters’ paradise. That vivid memory lasted well over a decade, and somewhere around 2017, FPC member Scott Favre suggested to Stu, that his family’s new resort property called The Wharf, located in Orange Beach might be the ideal poker run stage. Those words started the wheels turning and by 2019, FPC launched its 1st Annual Orange Beach Powerboat Week, with strong backing from Scott and his father Art Favre, owner of The Wharf. Little did many of the first-timers realize, The Wharf was not just any little family resort. Lodging choices include luxury condo rentals on property, or a brand new, well-managed Springhill Suites hotel, right on the doorstep to a huge floating dock marina. Making it even easier to stay on property and enjoy a one-stop-venue, multiple restaurants, bars,
6 | POWERBOATING IN PARADISE
amusement rides, a giant movie theater and shopping boutiques galore, this was a boater’s paradise and the first impressions had many teams asking, “When are we coming back?” Well course the plan was to be back in 2020, but due to the pandemic FPC had to scratch that from the calendar, but May 2021 brought the Orange Beach rendezvous back, with a repeat performance from The Wharf ownership and management team, as the event’s presenting sponsor. What a win-win this was for everyone attending, for so many reasons! Some simple changes to the format created the ideal agenda. Organizers dropped the Wednesday Powerboat parade, and focused on Thursday as the primary arrival day, with the Miss Orange Beach Powerboat Week as the kickoff party. This event on the entertainment agenda, as well as all the captains meetings and evening parties were staged at a private party venue, The Port, which is just steps from the hotels and condos on property. In other words, no driving…anywhere! No driving means one thing to this event organizer, as it does to many others, we can DRINK all night!
