LHC Desert Storm Poker Run (Friday, April 29th, 2016)

We woke up this morning excited for the Desert Storm Poker Run.  For those of you who are not familiar with poker runs, it is a race (of sorts) down the lake.  There are five stations along the lake where the "racers" will each pick up a playing card.  The first station is at the far end of the lake, so the racers run down the lake at top speed to pickup their first card.  They then make their way back up the lake, stopping at the remaining stations to pick up their other four cards.  

The rules and card stops shown in the program

Lake Havasu is one of the few lakes in the U.S. that does not have a speed limit, so it is perfect for poker runs.  It gives the "racers" a chance to really enjoy the speed of their boats.  The object of the poker run is to have the best poker hand at the end of the night. When the "race" is over, the "racers" will have the option to buy additional cards to try to improve their hand.  The entire event is a funraiser for the community and its' charities.

As spectators, we always find a spot along the "race" route, where we anchor and watch the amazing boats go by at full speed.

Steve and I were on Tim and Cheryl's boat (Thanks guys for inviting us!) along with Brian and his sister Shawna, and then Alan and Linda come to our same little cove and tied up to us.  It was fun to have everyone in one place to enjoy the day.

The helicopters fly with the boats and take pictures during the poker run.  The boats actually out run the Helicopters.  Crazy!

The boat in the foreground was anchored like us, but this pictures shows about six of the poker run boats coming around the corner ahead of us.

It is hard to tell but we believe that many of the boats in the above pictures are going well in excess of 100 MPH.  Some are likely going 140+  MPH.  Crazy speed on the water!!!

Once most of the poker run boats had gone to stop one and were coming back up the lake, we headed to Havasu Springs Resort to grab a great hamburger and beer for lunch.  Then we boated back to the channel to do a little boat and people watching. 

The red and yellow "car" is called an amphibean.  It can run on land or water.

Brian, Steve and Tim watching all the craziness

Notice the boat parked directly across from us in the channel.  Those are the biggest Mardi Gras beads I have ever seen!

After a big day on the lake, it was time to go home and relax. Tomorrow will be the Desert Storm Shootout, where the "racers" will have a chance to see how fast their boats will really go.  As we understand it the boat Low Altitude (See previous post) was the fasted boat on the lake.  A whooping 193 MPH!  

The picture below shows the shootout course near the island.

A picture of the shootout course from the program

Most of our friends are going to the shootout, but I need to work, so we will be staying home.