New
York and Italy Host Powerboat Action
June
21, 2001
— Marilyn
DeMartini (Photos:Chris Harris/Chris Davies)
New York and Italy Host Powerboat Action
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Down the Hudson in a
New York Minute at the NY Poker Run and Race |
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Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., June 21,
2001 — While APBA Offshore has one more "off" week before
the Sarasota race, other powerboaters from around the country were in a
"New York State Of Mind." The New York City Poker Run, hosted by the
National Powerboat Association, had 152 boats from as far as California and
Washington State, to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Maine and Florida
converging on the Big Apple to participate.
There were two events on Saturday—the "King of the Hudson" 14.5 mile
race, as well as a 75-mile Poker Run down the Hudson. Tom Abrams, of Northville,
Michigan, took the catamaran class title this year from last year’s "King
of the Hudson," Mike Fusco, and his 40’ Skater. Abrams’ 46’ Skater
covered the distance between the George Washington and the Tappan Zee Bridges in
5 minutes, 4.8 seconds, averaging 172 mph. In the V-bottom category, Seattle’s
Bob Russell won the honors, taking his 42’ Outer Limits "Rock It"
147 mph down the 14.5 mile stretch.
The weather gods were with promoter Billy Frenz, for this fifth annual event.
Friday, as boaters arrived for the festivities, they were greeted by sunny,
summer weather with New York City as the backdrop for the welcome party at
Liberty Landing Marina and State Park. Saturday, as clouds hung low over the
skyline, the Poker Run was delayed for an hour, awaiting better visibility for
the safety helicopters. By 1 PM, three classes of boats were off. The 100+mph
group was led by the Patron Tequila-sponsored 35’ Playboy Edition Cigarette.
Donzi Powerboats debuted its new 38’ F2/Poker Run Special, as the pace boat
for the 80-100 mph class, with VP of Operations, Steve Simon at the helm. Jim
Fassel, New York Giants’ head coach captained his Sea Ray Express Cruiser,
leading the 60 mph "cruiser" class and was joined by Baltimore Ravens
coach Brian Bullock as his first mate. Do you think they talked about last
year’s Super Bowl while cruising down the Hudson?
The Poker Run included two stops along the course, which started and finished
near the Surfside 3 Marina at Chelsea Piers, at 23rd Street and the Hudson
River. Sal Sciandra of Staten Island had the winning hand and won the $5,000
purse and Poker Run Crown with a flush. The group enjoyed an awards party at
Chelsea Piers, followed by Frenz and Friends at the "Afterglow" party
back at Liberty Landing. "That’s my time to chill out and not worry about
the weather, the starts or anything else at that point!" laughs Frenz, who
has not only raced Offshore Powerboats, but has produced powerboat races and
events for decades. "On Sunday, the skies opened, but we snuck our event
in!" he sighed with relief.
The New York City Poker Run has been broadcast on Speedvision and upcoming dates
for this year’s air times will be posted on the Club’s website at
www.nationalpowerboat.com. The next event will be the 9th Annual Manhassett Bay
Gold Cup Poker Run on Long Island Sound, August 18, 2001.
The New Jersey Performance Powerboat Club, who is the
race promoter for APBA Offshore’s first New York City race in September, made
a showing at the weekend event in the Big Apple. Dave Patnaude, the club
president brought a boat load of buddies, but perhaps one of the biggest
contributions this club has made to Poker Runs in general, is its researched and
recorded "rules" for Poker Run safety.
At any race or event where boats are traveling at high speeds, we have
learned—often times the hard way—that great care and attention needs to be
taken to protect the participants. Chuck Sprague, a NJPPC member, spear-headed
an effort to compile some general rules and received much support and input from
powerboaters across the country when he posted his recommendations on
www.offshoreonly.com. The aggregate of Sprague’s research was compiled into
what the club calls the Poker Run Ten Commandments, which are posted here. While
these rules have been utilized by the NJPPC, they are offered by the club for
any group that would like to adopt them for responsible boating:
The Poker Run Ten Commandments
(1) Absolutely no alcoholic beverages until the Poker Run is OVER.
(2) All participating poker run boat occupants must wear PFD's.
(3) Driver must wear kill switch lanyard(s) while the boat is underway.
(4) No sitting on top of the seats or on sun pads when the boat is on plane.
(5) Divide event start ups into groups based on speed.
(6) Medical/rescue personnel onboard--at least one boat in every group.
(7) No passing the pace boat.
(8) Minimum separation of 100' fore-and-aft and 50' side-to-side between boats
when on plane.
(9) Written instructions/charts handed out by organizer with appropriate speed
limit and safety notations.
(10) Strict speed limits in congested areas.
The New Jersey Performance Powerboat Club also has several upcoming events. The
Barnegat Bay Race will take place June 23-24, followed by the Barnegat Bay Poker
Run on June 30. There will also be a Radar Shootout on July 14 at the Water’s
Edge Restaurant in Bayville, New Jersey, with trophies offered to the winners of
each of 11 classes, based on size, boat type and number of motors. The entry fee
is $50 for two runs and if you want to join the show, visit www.njppc.com for
further information.