MIAMI BOAT SHOW POKER RUN

Escape To KEY LARGO

OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE FEEDBACK MAKES IT CLEAR THAT THE "BOAT SHOW" PART OF THE MIAMI BOAT SHOW POKER RUN IS HERE TO STAY.

Story by Jason Johnson

Always intended to be the show after the show, the Florida Powerboat Club’s Miami Boat Show Poker Run has taken on new meaning the last couple of years with the addition of in-water and on-land displays at Gilbert’s Resort and Tiki Bar in Key Largo in 2021 after the Miami International Boat Show was cancelled. While the boat show was back on in 2022 with a return to the revamped Miami Beach Convention Center, the club opted to keep its own show going the following week thanks to encouragement from sponsors, participants and manufacturers alike.

And, based on the positive responses from the 2022 event, Florida Powerboat Club president Stu Jones and his team are likely to keep the same format going for quite some time. Especially when longtime FPC members such as David and Jennifer Landsman, who attended the 2021 and 2022 events, have praised the poker run with affirmative feedback.

During last year’s Miami Boat Show Poker Run, David Landsman met with Randy Scism, the owner of MTI in Wentzville, Mo., and ended up ordering a new 390X catamaran with twin Mercury Racing 450R engines. The Maryland-based performance boater, whose new 39-footer was on display in MTI’s boat show booth at the Miami Beach Convention Center, said he had a great time at the FPC event, adding that the water conditions were perfect and that the weather was great. “The Miami Boat Show Poker Run is always one of the best FPC events of the year,” Landsman said. “It was great having the chance to run a cat again—I haven’t had one in five years so that made it a little more fun. The 390X is incredible. MTI builds an amazing boat. To be able to cruise at 90 to 100 mph is such a different boating feel. Don’t get me wrong, the center consoles are fun, but that style of boating is a different animal.”

Landsman was referring to the slew of Midnight Express Boats models he’s owned recently from the Miami-based company, which had a handful of new boats in the poker run, including Zach Polsky’s 43 Solstice powered by five Mercury Racing 450R engines. The poker run was the New Jersey boater’s first in the red-hot 43-footer that was delivered to Stephen Miles Design in Kentucky a few weeks after the event to get some accents and highlights added to its all-red canvas. “We had a great time in the new boat during the Miami Boat Show Poker Run,” said Polsky, who owns the King of Cars and Trucks dealership in Woodbury, N.J. “The Florida Powerboat Club sure knows how to organize an event. We brought the family down and stayed for 10 days. We did the first half of the trip in Miami and the second half of the trip in Key Largo. The boat was everything I expected and then some. Those 450R engines are something else. “And to me, you can’t beat the look of the Solstice,” he added. “I think our boat looked good all red, but it’s going to look even better once Stephen Miles Design is done with it.”

Polsky praised Lesly Puentes and the Glaser brothers behind Midnight Express—Eric and Harris—for their support during the event, and for building such incredible boats. The company, which sponsored the event, showcased several new boats in front of Gilbert’s, including the Glasers’ personal boat, the 100th 43-footer to come out of the factory.

Performance Boat Center co-owner Brett Manire, who brought the Florida- and Missouri-based dealership’s latest Cigarette Racing Team 41 Nighthawk to the poker run, said the whole setup worked out wonderfully. “The event was perfect for us,” Manire explained. “We had rooms for the team at Gilbert’s and we were able to treat a bunch of our customers to a small fun run and lunch at Island Fish Company in Marathon.”

The Performance Boat Center group wasn’t the only one to host its own fun run as the various customers from MTI, Mystic Powerboats, Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats and more enjoyed some fun with their fellow boaters. “I had a lot of fun during the poker run seeing everyone enjoying their boats,” said Shad Vera, sales manager for Big Thunder Marine’s Florida Keys operation, which had two new Fountain Powerboats center consoles in the run as well as a Donzi Marine 38 ZRC that Big Thunder’s Ed Champion drove to Key Largo with FPC head Jones by his side. “That was my first time doing an FPC run as a ‘working event.’ The crowd was good and we got a lot of leads. Overall, the vibe was great and it’s clear Stu and Jackie know how to organize a fun event. “One thing I thought was cool was the different brandspecific runs that took place,” he continued. “Next year we’re going to try to do something like that for sure. Big Thunder is looking forward to the full FPC season.” wife, Belkys, his son, Eric, who is Concept’s vice president, and his daughter, Eden Hernandez. “We had a great time at the poker run and got a lot of exposure,” Eric Avila said. “Stu and the FPC team are always wellorganized and they pulled off another awesome event. We had the three 44s as well as two 39s and a 36 on hand. We didn’t sell any boats during the run but we got a lot of leads.”

Another “family” on hand for the run included a couple of DCB Performance Boats owners from each side of the country. South Florida performance boaters Greg Harris and Yvonne Alemán, who are new to the DCB family, were thrilled to show off Mad Props, their new DCB M37R Widebody catamaran powered by a pair of 450R outboard engines. They were also thrilled to get to know FPC newcomers Mauricio and Angie Vivanco, who came all the way from Southern California with their twin Mercury Racing 1550/1350-powered DCB M44 Widebody catamaran, which ended up taking home the event’s Best Catamaran award. “Stu brought me up and asked me, ‘Who should I give the Best Catamaran award to?’” said Mauricio Vivanco, who was joined by DCB president Jeff Johnston and the couple’s good friends and fellow DCB owners, Todd and Samantha Edinger. “I said he should give it to whoever he thinks deserves it. He said, ‘Well, of course it’s going to you guys, Mauricio. You have the best catamaran here; do you know that?’ I said, ‘Well, I do now.’ “We were shocked,” he added. “There we so many beautiful boats there. We had an amazing time at the event. I am speechless on how the boat ran in rough water. It was like butter.”

Photography by: Jerry Wyszatycki & Stu Jones

Michael and Neveda McClallen—Illinois residents who spend most of their boating time on Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks—said they had a great time at the event in their 37-foot Active Thunder V-bottom, which they’ve since sold after acquiring a wave-smashing 50-foot Hustler Powerboats V-bottom with triple 800-hp Innovation Marine engines and surface drives. “The Miami Boat Show Poker Run was a more relaxed type of run,” Michael McClallen said, adding that the couple was able to attend the boat show and stick around for the poker run, which they did alongside their friend from the lake, Precision Paint Worx owner Les Voudrie who ran his recently revamped MTI-V 42 center console. “It was a very relaxing weekend because we were free to do what we wanted to do. One day we went to Marathon and another day we ran around Islamorada and hung out at the sandbar for a while. We had great weather and met a lot of cool people. We’re hoping to get a little more active with FPC. I’ve really enjoyed Stu and Jackie’s expertise and how well they put everything together.”

Another Midwest couple who enjoyed the run was Kirk and Liz Anderson from Missouri. The Andersons are relative newcomers to FPC, having done the 2021 Key West Poker Run in their Sunsation Boats 40 CCX dubbed Sun Dog. “We had a wonderful time with the FPC group; their events are well-organized and they take such good care of us,” Kirk Anderson said. “So does Performance Boat Center—we are PBC customers at home at the lake and in South Florida. We utilize F3 Marina in Fort Lauderdale because it’s so darn convenient. A few years back we decided we like being down in the Florida Keys in the winter so we gave it a try and were hooked. After that we decided that we probably needed a boat with outboard power so we started looking at center consoles. We have a 47-foot SeaRay and a Cigarette 42X so my wife wasn’t sure about switching to a center console. I told her if we don’t like it, we’ll sell it and get another cruiser. Now the Sunsation is her favorite boat.”

Also relatively new to the club, New Jersey’s Jim and Tammy Johnson had one of the most attention-getting boats in this year’s poker run—a 50-foot Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats catamaran with four 1,200-hp engines. They also had some luck on their side as they pulled the high poker hand on Friday night at Gilbert’s. “I couldn’t believe we pull five 2s to win whole thing,” Jim Johnson said with a laugh. “We had such a good time in the poker run. It was nice to be around so many big performance boats. I am really starting to enjoy that type of atmosphere and getting to know so many people who are all on the same page.”

Johnson, who is a helicopter pilot so he appreciates the engineering that went into the boat’s complex setup between its driveshafts, crashboxes and two-speed transmissions, said the team at TNT Custom Marine in North Miami has been a huge help with the boat. “I love this boat—it’s so mean,” he added. “Wherever this boat rolls in—even at TNT Custom Marine—everyone stops to look at it. There are not a lot of boats like it. I can’t say enough good things about the team at TNT; if I didn't have them, I don't know what I'd be doing. They put so much work into maintaining my boat. They have it ready to go when I get there and they wash it when I come back. They have it down to a science and they take care of us big time.”

In the end, that’s what really matters because without the teams behind every poker run—whether that’s the organizers, the crews at the marinas, the restaurant staffs and the folks who keep the boats running—the Miami Boat Show Poker Run would be a lot less fun.

Michael & Neveda McClallen | IL | Team COLD ONE CONFESSION$ | 37' Active Thunder

Tory Robson | MN | Team BE FIRST | 42' Cigarette

From YouTube Viewer To Club Member

Alittle more than a year ago, Minnesota’s Tory Robson was sitting in his office watching FPC videos of powerboats making their way through the Florida Keys. He’d watched many of the club’s videos on YouTube before, but at that moment he asked himself, “I’m sitting here and they’re all down there—why am I not doing that?” “Literally 30 days later I had a boat, a condo in Miami and a spot at Haulover Marine Center,” said Robson, who initially bought a Cigarette 38 Top Gun with twin Mercury Racing 565 engines and recently upgraded to a Cigarette 42X with a pair of Mercury Racing 1100 engines. “I plan on doing several runs with the Florida Powerboat Club this year. I’m lucky because there are four direct flights a day between my house and either Miami or Fort Lauderdale. I feel like I’m leading a dual life now, which is amazing. “The Miami Boat Show Poker Run was killer as was the Spring Key West Poker Run we did a few weeks later,” he added. “It’s great to be boating on the waterways I’ve seen in the videos so many times. It was especially cool boating through the mangroves because you feel like James Bond. I call that area the James Bond channel. Sometimes I still can’t believe I’m actually there doing it.”

Besides driving his boat, the self-proclaimed “V-bottom guy” said the most fun part about the poker runs is getting to know the other boaters and being able to see their boats cutting through the water next to his. “It’s kind of like a team concept or a tribe, don’t you agree?” Robson asked. “It’s really neat to be a part of and it’s especially interesting to find out where people are from and what they do for a living. I can’t wait to do more events and get to know even more club members.”

Brett Manire | MO | Team PERFORMANCE BOAT CENTER | 41' Cigarette

Bill Munholland | KS | Team PIRATE BOOTY | 39' Cigarette SO BLESSED Crew

Eusebio Verrier | FL | Team SO BLESSED | 34' MTI

David & Jenny Landsman | MD | Team GAME CHANGER | 39' MTI

GAME CHANGER Crew

Michael Tandoi | NY | Team OUT OF CONTROL | 40' Skater

MTI Crew NO XCUSES Crew

Frank Lovato | NJ | Team NO XCUSES | 42' Cigarette

Dawn & Donald Hadden | SC | Team DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS | 44' Concept

Sponsor

Jorge Perez | FL | Team CONCEPT BOATS | 44’ Concept

Eric Avila | FL | Team CONCEPT BOATS | 44' Concept

ON THE ROCKS Crew

Dan Knox | TX | Team HARD KNOX | 36' Wright Performance

John Wittenberger SR | NJ | Team ON THE ROCKS | 39' Cigarette

Michael & Brenda Carravetta | CANADA | Team ROUGH RIDER | 46' Cigarette

Corey Murray | NJ | Team DESTINATION UNKNOWN | 39' Deep Impact

Shad Vera | FL | Team DONZI | 38' Donzi

Julian Maldonado | FL | Team MANATEE MARINE UNLIMITED | 44' H-Craft Powerboats

Greg Harris | FL | Team MAD PROPS | 37' DCB

Chris & Quinn LaMorte | NJ | Team SKATER 36 | 36' Skater

Mike Pizzelanti | FL | Team WASABI | 42' Mystic

Daniel & Becky Cates | GA | Team NAUTI NAUTI | 33' Renegade

Sponsor

Eric Glaser | FL | Team MIDNIGHT EXPRESS | 43' Midnight Express

Zach Polsky | NJ | Team RELOADED | 43' Midnight Express

MIDNIGHT Crew

John Stella | NY | Team PERFECT PRESCRIPTION | 39' Nor-Tech

Don Goins | FL | Team BLUE HEAVEN | 34' Nor-Tech

John Wittenberger Jr | NJ | Team BAD DECISIONS | 30' Spectre

Big Thunder Marine Sponsor photoshoot - Fountain 38' CC

FRIDAY NIGHT AWARDS ParTy

Best Catamaran - Mauricio & Angie Vivanco - Team DCB

Sponsor Award - Michael Hall - PERFORMANCE BOAT CENTER 1st Place - James Johnson - Team NEVER ENOUGH

2nd Place - Joe Gallo - Team X-RATED

Sponsor Award - PLANTATION BOAT MART Most Spirited Crew - Tom Archer - Team LAUGHING GIRAFFE

Best Performance V-Bottom - Tom Hofstetter - CHIEF MARINE GROUP - Cigarette 515 Farthest Traveled Award - Frank Bulte - Team SHARK RIDER

Sponsor Award & Best Paint Graphics Award Eric & Hagan Glaser - Team MIDNIGHT EXPRESS Sponsor Award - Steven Fernandez - TNT CUSTOM MARINE & Tom Stuart - MTI

Best Dressed Crew Award - Michael Tandoi - Team OUT OF CONTROL Sponsor Award - Team LEGEND MARINE GROUP accepting NOR-TECH FACTORY award

DCB Award accepted by: Mauricio & Angie Vivanco, Greg Harris, Yvonne Aleman, Tony Chiaramonte

Spring Fling

IN PARADISE

With snow still on the ground and boats remaining in winter storage throughout much of the continent, FPC members embarked on the third event of the Club’s 2022 event calendar, discovering there is something MORE to be enjoyed on the smaller poker runs! Story by Stu Jones

With 32 registered teams on the event roster, the four-day Spring Key West event enjoys a very different agenda than its much larger November counterpart, the Key West Poker Run which stages every November. With the smaller roster, attendees enjoy more availability of lodging and docking facilities in Key West, plus easier access to island destinations such as Boca Grande and Dry Tortugas, where poker run teams can enjoy the true meaning of Powerboating in Paradise.

About 25 teams kicked off the beautiful Spring St. Patrick’s Day with a poker card at the Haulover fuel dock, and the calm coastal conditions saw most of the boats exit Haulover Inlet for the short coastal romp to Government Cut and Port Miami. The event organizer enjoys plenty of great opportunities to ride on some amazing boats in the club, but was especially thrilled to be riding with new member Tory Robson from Minnesota, who had just taken delivery of a late-model Cigarette 42X “Be First” from Performance Boat Center. Accepting the task as crew member in itself was fabulous, but it was the owner’s gracious offer that iced the cake, as Tory stated, “Stu, I’m just thrilled to have you on board, and it only seems appropriate that you take the helm for the first leg….I’ll get the lines, Let’s Go!”

And “Go” we did, as the Mercury Racing 1100s brought the colorful performance V-bottom to an effortless 80-mph cruise, with a spectacular rooster tail streaming from the shiny cleavers. After passing through Port Miami, a handful of teams joined in at Grove Harbour Marina for poker card #2, and it was a smooth ride to Key Largo on Biscayne Bay, with the FPC helicopter in pursuit, capturing great images and video coverage.

The 180-mile scenic run to Key West maintained a clockwork schedule for the St Patrick’s Day boat ride, as teams started arriving on cue at 3:30 pm at the Conch Republic and Key West Bight docks in the Historic Seaport.

The amazing Spring weather continued, as teams enjoyed a variety of daytime destinations including Boca Grande on Friday, and with some generous contributions from club members, Stu Jones and Robson took to the skies in Key West based R44 helicopter for the second ariel flight of the event, giving FPC attendees another heaping helping of photo and video content. For a club event with a little more than 30 teams, two consecutive days with aerial coverage is normally rare; so

having that extra time to capture the action ended up being a great outcome for everyone in attendance.

Moving into day three of the festivities, the continuation of amazing weather and light winds attracted several teams to head out to the calm waters of Woman Key, while a handful of adventurous teams took the 150-mile roundtrip excursion to Dry Tortugas National Park, home of the historic Fort Jefferson. This is a must-do excursion for any boaters visiting Key West, but the decision to make this daytrip is very weather sensitive, and on this particular Saturday, it was just the perfect time.

The fun didn’t stop when the boats were tied up at the end of each day! Evening parties for the poker run were well-planned and executed, thanks to the staff at Conch Republic Seafood Company in the Historic Seaport. Thursday night offered a casual happy hour mixer, and club members gathered again for another one Friday evening, which was followed by a well-attended Duval Street rendezvous until midnight at Rick’s upstairs Martini Bar. As always, FPC organizers provided a structured but flexible format to participants, getting groups together wherever possible for socializing, but keeping it casual and optional to attend. By Saturday night a very spirited roster of sun-drenched weekend warriors gathered under a courtyard patio tent at Conch Republic Seafood company, in a private setting with dinner served and the FPC girls Hannah and Abbey, on hand to play out the poker cards. Stories of fun experiences and supporting photos were shared by all, as everyone celebrated their final night in the little town that knows how to have fun!

The best way to sum up the Spring Key West event, is that it’s a miniature version of FPC’s signature November event, taking place at the height of Spring Break when the town is vibrant and festive. The March fling, however, shares a different vibe and offers many perks that cannot be enjoyed on larger events. Several attendees commented on the benefits of the smaller group, which included easier docking at checkpoints and fuel stops, and especially the more casual vibe that seemed to attract more social interaction among the teams. After all, while the scenic boating in the Keys may be the most obvious benefit, it’s the chance to create new friendships and lasting memories, that makes it all worthwhile. SJ

Photos by: Jerry Wyszatycki and Stu Jones