Poker Runs America Season Kicks Off March 27-28

Poker Runs America is set to kick off their 2009 season in St. Petersburg, FL. The headquarters is at the prestigious Renaissance Vinoy Hotel, where a large block of rooms will be set aside until February 26th. In addition to the 5-start hotel accommodations, there will be unlimited rig parking, hotel dockage, safety seminars and great night life withing walking distance of the hotel.

PHOTO CREDIT: Poker Runs America

For more information, go to www.pokerrunsamerica.com or, you can call their poker run hotline at 1-800-354-9145. In addition, Festivals of Speed will present an exciting show of boats, planes and exotic cars; what with the state of the economy, I have a feeling there will be a lot of "lookers" but not a lot of buyers. But I suppose it's always nice to dream.

Chicago as a International Waterfront Destination

According to Great Lakes Boating, there's a lot of excitement and optimism in Chicago, surrounding what someday soon will be transformed into Gateway Harbor. The old "Dime Pier" is set to become the center spine of the new harbor, which should have over 240 slips, including about 160 transient spots.


In addition, a second new marina at 31st Street, is also in the planning stages. Sheltered behind a 1,200-foot breakwater, the new marina will reportedly have space for between 800 and 830 boats. In addition to a 2.2 acre park, this marina is also set to include an underground parking garage and a restaurant. Now if they can just get a shuttle running to the Red Head Lounge, we'll be in business...

The Famous Russian "Ghost Boat"

Or better known as "this is what happens when you don't use an ignition shut-off and a lanyard on your boat." For those of you who may not know, a lanyard is a device that will automatically shut the engine(s) down if you happen to leave the drivers seat for any reason. Usually attached to your life vest, the lanyard essentially works the same as those on a jet ski.

The device is simple, easy to install if you don't have one, and can help you avoid all kinds of tragic consequences due to a runaway boat. Even in larger boats, it's always possible to hit someone else's wake, encounter an unexpected wave, or be required to make a sudden and unexpected maneuver. Watching this video, it looks like an inexperienced pilot tried to take way too sharp of a turn at speed--with the result that the boat went one way, and he went the other.

As you can see, this is a pretty decent-sized boat; clearly more than the skipper was prepared to handle safely and responsibly. We assume he made it back to shore, though he is extremely lucky the boat did not hit anyone or anything else except the rocks on the shoreline. Without a lanyard, your boat essentially becomes an unguided missile should physics cause you to leave it for any reason.

Even though my own 26' Formula is not that fast, and has a hull that's known for stability, I'm still having an ignition cut-off system and lanyard installed this spring before I take it out on any big water, like Lake Erie.

Welcome to Miami

What a nice way to get the season started, with this sharp Key West run '08 video posted on YouTube by berman58. Some very nice hardware, indeed.

Miami Boat Show: Hoping for the Best During Hard Times

Even as last week's Annual Miami Boat Show opened, vendors, show officials and locals were taking a hard look at their expectations as well as their sales pitches. Hilary Lehman notes in the Miami Herald:

"In addition to stepping up efforts to sell the lifestyle, they are cutting deals and stressing affordability. Sales of smaller, cheaper boats are faring better than others. Some higher-end dealers are emphasizing their willingness to please the customer by customizing boats to suit buyers' whims."

PHOTO CREDIT: Freeze Frame Video

Initial reports indicate that while traffic was OK, sales were very slow, with a few exceptions; seems some of the manufacturers, like Outer Limits and Sunsation were well-prepared. A few others were obviously trying to cut corners, and it showed in their presentations. A fair amount of inventory going overseas as well. Should be an interesting season...

Big Bad Boat Goes F1 Racing!

Big Bad Boat has just sponsored an entry in the World Enduro Racing series - a virtual F1 racing site where competitors from around the world go head-to-head to see who can get to the top of the leaderboard! The first time we checked this out, I admit to being a little confused, but the more I looked at it, the more attracted I became to the whole idea. After all, it's not every day you get to see your business logo on the side of a race boat, and noting that a number of other respected marine-related organizations (like World of Powerboats, Aerocatch, Viper Marine Group and the OCR Drivers Association) it seemed like a great fit.


Essentially, World Enduro Racing (WER) works like this: The main website is set up like a virtual race, with a directory of competitors - sponsoring race teams - each of whom has their own individual business web page. Each time a visitor clicks on an incoming link (like the one at top left, or in the [B3] web page right hand column, it registers as a "lap" and is automatically tabulated on the WER site's RESULTS page.

It's fun, it's FREE to help us move up in the standings and check on race results, and the site is also a great directory of services and suppliers - not only for marine-related businesses, but for a number of other businesses as well. So please - HELP US OUT AND CLICK ON THE LINKS - so we can start heading to the front of the pack! You can start here right now! Thanks - and if you want to find out more, here's some more information about about WER.

Online Powerboat Racing Game: King of Shaves King of Power

Not everyone can get a gig piloting a big-dollar offshore race boat. But now you can get a taste of the fun with this online powerboat racing game we just found, brought to you courtesy of King of Shaves. Not only do you get to pilot an awesome world-class racing powerboat, you get to select from several different courses, including Plymouth in the UK and Arendal in Norway, as well as courses in Dubai, Spain, France, Qatar and Slovenia.

Click on game below to play!

More Video at iamboredr.com

The Flash-based game includes simple instructions on how to play, as well as links to information about Class 1Powerboat Racing and other cool stuff.

I did just okay when I played; I suppose I really should be playing The Docking Game over at Madmariner, an online boating site that I visit from time-to-time. After all, I'll admit that I could use the practice...