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STORY: STU JONES l PHOTOS: JAY NICHOLS
f Florida had a “sister state” it would have to be Michigan. A mere glance of each state’s geography would reveal that both states, similar in size, are surrounded by hundreds of miles of shoreline offering recreational boaters endless opportunities to explore. With most of Michigan situated above the 42nd parallel, it goes without saying that the boating season is short. But for three solid months, June through August, the climate is fantastic and Michigan’s diehard seafarers, along with an endless stream of visitors, head straight for the waterways to squeeze every moment of enjoyment from those limited number of weekends. That’s exactly what took place on the beautiful Lake Charlevoix in Northern Michigan this July as more than seventy poker run teams converged on the quaint little towns of Boyne City and Charlevoix. About eight years earlier, a Michigan powerboater named Tracy Nemechek came by the FPC booth at the Miami Boat Show, with brochures and images of this fabulous event, which, at the time, had just completed its first year. It was amazing to see the beautiful coloration of the waters, tremendous participation of boats and incredible scenery, featuring miles of forested rolling hills in the background. After growing up in Ontario, just a couple hundred miles away, I thought to myself, “How could I have possibly missed this?” It was Thursday afternoon when we rolled into the small
town of Boyne City, and already there were signs of poker run preparations. Large tents were erected in a waterfront city park and truckloads of barricades arrived in the small downtown core where a couple of city blocks were about to be closed off for the Friday street fair and boat show. After nine years, the town has preparation down to a science! Our first mission, was to check into our enormous Boyne Mountain Resort, located just a few miles out of town. This is by far the largest resort of its type in the area featuring a long list of outdoor activities in summer months and then converting to a popular ski resort in the winter months. For families, it’s a big hit any time of year, because of the gigantic indoor waterpark. Thursday evening, our first social engagement with poker runners, took place at Robert Burger’s summer home on Lake Charlevoix. Within an hour of arriving, we found that more than half of the guests were avid participants and members of Florida Powerboat Club. There were familiar faces everywhere including Bob & Elle Berg, Robert D’Angelo, Bob Barnhart, Terry Sobo, John Frohlich, along with photographer Jay Nichols, who came all the way from South Florida to photograph the event. In spite of being more than 1,600 miles from Pompano Beach, in no time at all, we felt very much at home in the company of so many longtime boating friends. continued on next page
POWERBOATING IN PARADISE
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