Solent Poker Run 23 May 2015

[PRA]

Following a very successful Poker Run organised by Mike Lloyd last year, the Powerboat Rally Association has been handed over to a committee of members to run. At a meeting last November Brian Pelham was elected Chairman, Rose Lores as treasurer (but currently acting Secretary too), and Andy Hiscox and Andy MacGregor were elected to support Brian in organising the events.

We have been busy pulling together a constitution for the members, a bank account for funds, and most importantly, details of the first poker run for this year:

The event is all booked in for Saturday 23 May 2015, running from Hamble Point Marina on the Solent.

The course will be around 50nm around the Solent, with 5 card stops, a lunch/fuel break at Cowes and an evening party at the Ketch Rigger back at Hamble Point. The entry fee will be £80 per boat which includes mooring at Cowes and two tickets for the evening meal. Additional tickets for the evening meal will be £15 per person. Overnight mooring is available at Hamble Point and there are camping facilities
nearby and other accommodation. It’s the weekend of the Spring Bank Holiday so come and join us and make a weekend of it.
All boats taking part must have at least one member of the PRA on board – membership is £30 for the year and registration forms are being prepared right now. We do need to impose some rules for safety reasons – vhf radio, life jackets and kill cord for driver will all be required, and your boat must be fully insured for third party liability. More detail will be supplied in due course.
Register your interest now and we’ll get all the details and entry forms out to you as soon as they are ready – message us on here or email us at PRAPirates@gmail.com
Come and join us and be part of this exciting event!!

[ShinyShoe]

For those who missed the thing last year you might wanna explain what a poker run is. I had similar mysteries about a cannon ball run. Clearly it involves a card stop but is that a game of poker or you get given a card at each stop and at the end of the run the person with the best 5 cards wins? Wins what?

Is it a race? What do you ask your insurer for cover for?

What sort of powerboats is it aimed at? Cruising speed required, how far off shore etc.

How are u dealing with the delights of liability as organisers. Not saying Poly's wording in the Scottish S*IB gathering would stand up in court but better than nothing. Of course his wording isn't appropriate for you because you are organising something rather than saying 'Guys I'm going here this weekend, if anyone else is going there too we can avoid 50 calls to CG with passage plans by submitting one jointly otherwise see you at the abandoned island'

[PRA]

Thank you for your comments Shiny Shoe – much appreciated. We hadn’t stopped to think that not everyone knows what a Poker Run is. Here is a brief explanation that can be found on Wikipedia:

“A poker run is an organized event where participants, usually using motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, snowmobiles, horses, or other means of transportation must visit five to seven checkpoints, drawing a playing card at each one. The object is to have the best poker hand at the end of the run. The event has a time limit, however the participants are not timed—winning is purely a matter of chance.”

Obviously ours will be by boat. We will be setting out a course from Hamble Point Marina with 5 checkpoints where each participating boat will collect a card in a sealed envelope. There will be a lunch and refuelling stop at Cowes, and after returning to Hamble Point and sorting the boats out, we will gather in the bar/restaurant there for a meal, a few drinks and a ‘presentation’ of cards. There will be prizes for the best 3 hands.

The course will be within the Solent so nowhere far off shore, and the boats will run in a group from one card stop to the next ... no doubt some at greater speed than others. We will wait for all boats and check that everyone is safe before setting off for the next stage of the run.

The local harbourmasters are all being made aware of our plans, and please be assured that we would not go ahead without their approval. There will be no need for participants to submit individual passage plans as the Association will have done so for the group as a whole in advance. This is most certainly NOT a race, and safety along with courtesy to other water users will be paramount. There will be a full briefing before we set off.

We want to be sure that all boats participating have 3rd party liability insurance as they are ultimately responsible for any incidents they may be involved in, but we will also be taking out insurance to protect the Association as a whole (and therefore it’s members) in the event of a negligence claim.

We have interest so far ranging from 20 foot Phantoms with outboards up to 37 footers with powerful twin engines, as well as some fast RIBs. Assuming good sea conditions, we would expect the overall cruising speed to be somewhere around 30 to 40 knots, but some will run significantly faster at times. Should conditions be particularly challenging common sense will prevail, and we may defer the run till the next day, or use an alternative shorter course around Southampton Water which is more sheltered.

Full details are being finalised and will be published very shortly. Numbers will be limited for safety’s sake, so those registering their interest early will have priority.

[PRA]

The PRA Committee are pleased to report a very productive meeting was held Friday evening. We are progressing well with the amount of detail needed to get things properly set up, alongside our normal day jobs. Not always easy, but please be assured that we are committed to making this happen.

The date of 23 May is absolutely firm for the first Poker Run, out of Hamble Point.

We are also in the early stages of planning a second Poker Run to take place on 4 July out of Littlehampton running down to Brighton and back.

We just need to get a legal eye cast over our paperwork and then we can start to send it all out. We have recorded details of everyone who has contacted us, be that via facebook, boatmad, rib.net or our email address and you will all be emailed the forms etc as soon as they are signed off. We also have a contact list passed over from Mike Lloyd and will email everyone on that as well.

Meanwhile, any questions or comments, please drop us an email at PRApirates@gmail.com

[PRA]

PRA Website has now gone live with all the details for the upcoming poker run


www.powerboatrallyassociation.co.uk

[PRA]

Almost Poker Run day .... here's the list of runners:

Red Mist
Terminal Velocity
The Beaver Returns
Rampage
Phantom20
Simply Red
Blast Off
Fugitive
Extreme 26
Cougar 21
Biscotti
Kickin Ass
Grey Ghost
Lightening
Cougar RIB
Phantom 23
Athito
D24
27 West


Boats to be in the water at Hamble Point Marina by 10.30 Saturday morning; crews should congregate at the Ketch Rigger where breakfast can be bought, and where a mandatory briefing will be held.
The boats will set off from Hamble Point at 12.30, pick up 2 cards in the Western Solent before taking a late lunch break at Cowes, and will then pick up 3 more cards in the Eastern Solent returning to Hamble Point around 17.00. The evening will be spent at the Ketch Rigger.

Emails are going out to all participants in the morning with greater detail.

ROLL ON SATURDAY AND MAY THE SUN SHINE!!