To be precise, Lake Havasu is not on the West Coast. The Colorado River-fed waterway, which has shoreline in Arizona and California, is 439 miles from the Pacific Ocean shoreline, where foggy mornings are common in the late spring and early summer.
Lake Havasu, on the other hand, rarely sees fog. Lizard-baking heat, yes. Fog, no.
Regardless, Lake Havasu has long been known as the epicenter of “West Coast Boating,” and it works well enough, so to hell with pesky geographic facts. Plus, the desert lake has two go-fast major boating events in April that draw participants from West and East coasts. For the record, both happenings are far larger and more popular than anything organized in California, much less the Pacific Northwest.
Set for April 10-13, Super Cat Fest West in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., is the first event in what could be considered performance-boating’s shortest event season. Entering its third year under current leadership, it’s a thriving affair produced by Dave Johnson of the RiverDavesPlace online community and Alvin Heathman, who produces the original Super Cat Fest at the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri.
Just two weeks later, the venerable Desert Storm Poker Run will take over Lake Havasu City. The April 23-26 happening boasts a Thursday street celebration and exhibit by which all other such event add-ons are measured, a poker run on Friday and a top-speed contest on Saturday morning.
For East Coast powerboat-owners not up for the 2,500-plus-mile one-way haul to Arizona, Southwest Florida—the Sunshine State’s version of the “West Coast”—is home to three events in April. For the Fort Myers Offshore group, the good-times start rolling Saturday, April 5 with its Cayo Costa Beach Raft-Up. The nonprofit scholarship fundraising club’s 2024/2025 season-finale, the Tiki Run to Riviera Bar and Grill in Punta Gorda is set for Saturday, April 19.
Between those two events, the Florida Powerboat Club Tampa Bay Poker Run is scheduled for April 10-13. Thanks in large part to its downtown Tampa home-base, the event is a favorite of many club members.
Regardless of what coast you’re on—or how you define it—April has four events worth considering.
