Sean
Well-Known Member
We dropped the boat in the water Friday to attend our first ever Poker Run. This was with the ACBS Toronto and 11 boats (of 16 entered) showed up for the 10AM start.
I had never done one of these before so, I hung back at the start.... but, I didn't like bouncing through the wakes of all those boats so, I pushed the throttle forward a bit more and found myself right at the front.
We followed the instructions on the route sheet and did not miss a marker!
All day we were in close quarters with a 1960 Hacker designed "Gentleman's Racer" that sported a healthy small block V8.... They did not follow the prescribed course and took the opportunity to "short cut" several legs of the journey.
Despite this my V6 Greavette (with 4 persons on board) and a full fuel tank managed to be first at every card stop while extending that gap to the final run back to Gravenhurst for the finish.
Now a poker run is NOT a race, and our poker hand left much to be desired with one of everything (Ace high). This left us in 5th place officially
. But at least I know there was no faster boat out there! Well, to be fair there was a Gold Cup racer that really IS a faster boat but, it was not running well and the owner was the organizer of the run... so he had to shepherd some of the boats that were getting lost. No matter, it was a great start.
Saturday was "Show Day" where we had a great dock assignment on A dock. In conjunction with the article on my boat in the club magazine, I was a very happy camper. My boat looked at her best as we met many, many people and spent hours talking about Greavette (and Sunflash IV's in particular). It was great to hear all the stories from others about their contact with this model boat. That night we had a fantastic meal at a friends cottage then went back to cover the boat for the night.
Sunday brunch was the awards event. It was located at the opposite end of the lake (about a 45 minute cruise). Many of the spectacular boats from the show lined the docks while we mingled with other boat exhibitors, organizers and sponsors. It was sort of an unofficial mini-show....
To my absolute surprise my Greavette Sunflash IV was awarded with a 3rd place! I was shocked as with my motor change there was an automatic 10 point deduction. I lost more points for adding carpet, altering my seating and changing it's colour. I also lost a point for not having my burgee staff! Still, that was good for 86 points and I hit the podium.
When you consider the quality (not to mention the value) of the boats at the show it is pretty amazing company to be associated with. Usually my type boat (plywood I/O) is overlooked and under rated amongst the near century old launches and racers. Many of these are restorations that counted in the 100's of thousands of dollars and were built by icons of the wood boat fraternity.
The bottom line is we had a fabulous weekend just showing up with our boat , meeting people and enjoying the weather. The award was most certainly icing but, this shows the entry level for the hobby is NOT as high as some think and more modern boats that are fun to drive and perform well can be accepted. This can help others become involved!
I had never done one of these before so, I hung back at the start.... but, I didn't like bouncing through the wakes of all those boats so, I pushed the throttle forward a bit more and found myself right at the front.
We followed the instructions on the route sheet and did not miss a marker!
All day we were in close quarters with a 1960 Hacker designed "Gentleman's Racer" that sported a healthy small block V8.... They did not follow the prescribed course and took the opportunity to "short cut" several legs of the journey.
Despite this my V6 Greavette (with 4 persons on board) and a full fuel tank managed to be first at every card stop while extending that gap to the final run back to Gravenhurst for the finish.
Now a poker run is NOT a race, and our poker hand left much to be desired with one of everything (Ace high). This left us in 5th place officially
. But at least I know there was no faster boat out there! Well, to be fair there was a Gold Cup racer that really IS a faster boat but, it was not running well and the owner was the organizer of the run... so he had to shepherd some of the boats that were getting lost. No matter, it was a great start.Saturday was "Show Day" where we had a great dock assignment on A dock. In conjunction with the article on my boat in the club magazine, I was a very happy camper. My boat looked at her best as we met many, many people and spent hours talking about Greavette (and Sunflash IV's in particular). It was great to hear all the stories from others about their contact with this model boat. That night we had a fantastic meal at a friends cottage then went back to cover the boat for the night.
Sunday brunch was the awards event. It was located at the opposite end of the lake (about a 45 minute cruise). Many of the spectacular boats from the show lined the docks while we mingled with other boat exhibitors, organizers and sponsors. It was sort of an unofficial mini-show....
To my absolute surprise my Greavette Sunflash IV was awarded with a 3rd place! I was shocked as with my motor change there was an automatic 10 point deduction. I lost more points for adding carpet, altering my seating and changing it's colour. I also lost a point for not having my burgee staff! Still, that was good for 86 points and I hit the podium.
When you consider the quality (not to mention the value) of the boats at the show it is pretty amazing company to be associated with. Usually my type boat (plywood I/O) is overlooked and under rated amongst the near century old launches and racers. Many of these are restorations that counted in the 100's of thousands of dollars and were built by icons of the wood boat fraternity.
The bottom line is we had a fabulous weekend just showing up with our boat , meeting people and enjoying the weather. The award was most certainly icing but, this shows the entry level for the hobby is NOT as high as some think and more modern boats that are fun to drive and perform well can be accepted. This can help others become involved!
