23rd Annual
KEY WEST POKER RUN
November 10 – 16, 2015
It’s been more than two months since we’ve bombarded any of our club members and performance enthusiasts with email blasts, and that’s simply because we’ve been “Out of the Office” visiting all of our boating friends around the country since June!
After a fabulous FPC summer tour that traversed dozens of states and visited the top poker runs around the nation, the FPC staff staged the Emerald Coast Poker Run in the Florida Panhandle, and soon returned to our Pompano Beach headquarters to focus on the Fall and Winter season! That places our signature event, the 23rd Key West Offshore Poker Run, as a top priority for the next two months!
For this year’s Key West event, some big changes have been implemented to accommodate the ever-changing landscape in both Miami and in Key West. This email hopefully will set the record straight for all of you who plan to attend, and clear up any misconceptions about where to launch, where to stage, and where the starts are taking place.
So please talk a moment to get up to date and current on these important venue changes, so that you can hit the ground with your feet running, when you arrive in South Florida this fall!
TWO Staging locations will be utilized for the Key West Poker Run.
NORTH LOCATION
Haulover Park, North Miami (Sunny Isles Beach)
**This location will be utlized for ALL FPC events originating in Miami, and we highly recommend you familiarize yourself with this new format.
We continue to use this site as a launching location and staging for many out-of-town poker run attendees. For 2015, we will expand our operations here, with full-time staff on site for seven days, parking trucks & trailers in a secure lot, with additional lighting, gated access to the lot, and launching assistance.
POKER RUN CHECK-IN & CAPTAINS MEETING WILL OCCUR HERE!
HOTELS: Newport Beach Resort & Doubletree by Hilton, Ocean Point Resort
This staging location will now provide participants with a place to CHECK IN for the poker run..then attend the mandatory captains meeting,on the night before the run. Then on departure next morning, they can leave directly from Haulover Park, via Haulover Inlet, to start the poker run. There are (2) hotels on the menu selection when registering for the poker run. The captains meeting will be staged at the NEWPORT RESORT.
STARTING POINT for the poker run on Wednesday and Thursday departures.
SECURITY/STAFFING/LIGHTING/GATED LOT: This service is being provided by FPC, and is not paid for by Haulover Park officials. Poker runners will pay a security fee of $ 50 for this enhanced service to offset costs, and will continue to pay Miami-Dade County for the actual cost of launching permit and daily parking for trailers. These fees have not changed from previous years and are very reasonable.
Haulover Marine Center is located here also. The marina can provide minor service assistance and has two fuel docks, but does not provide transient dockage. The other marina on site, is BILL BIRD Marina at the south end of the park, which is managed by Miami Dade Parks. This office is providing a limited number of transient slips for overnight docking. Launching on the morning of the poker run is quite acceptable. Any boats in the water by 9:30am will be able to make the morning departure from Haulover.
Other Marinas Nearby: TNT Marine Center is nearby at 135th & Biscayne, therefore any boaters launching at TNT many use this staging/starting point for the poker run.
NET Result: This NEW Location provides an attractive one-stop staging location for all out-of-town poker runners, providing excellent boat launch ramps, moderately priced hotels, a poker run checkin venue with captains meeting, and support staff with 24 hr security to watch your equipment while you are away in Key West on the poker run!
SOUTH LOCATION:
Grove Harbour Marina / Coconut Grove
Hotels: Courtyard by Marriott & Ritz Carlton, Coconut Grove
GROVE Harbour Marina continues to be a Key West Poker Run sponsor and a #1 choice for staging by many poker runners on a variety of FPC Poker run events. As always, Grove Harbour will also be Checkpoint #1 for the poker run, and all boats that travel down from the North departure at Haulover Inlet, will come to Grove Harbour for their first poker run on both the Wed and Thurs departure groups.
Facilities: Grove Harbour Marina does not have a boat ramp, but specializes in custom lifting and launch by appointment, using forklifts and marine Travel lift equipment. A public boat ramp is located nearby, however no trailer parking is allowed at this ramp. The marina also has a complete service department and fuel for poker runners to stage and prepare for the run.
Caution: Please do not assume you have a spot to launch and park your truck and trailer here. Grove Harbour is a full service marina and boat yard, with monthly slip rentals and limited transient dockage, and a somewhat limited dry-land footprint to manage any excessive overflow. If you are already using Grove Harbour Marina for FPC poker runs and you have made your reservations, you will probably be safe. For all others who have NOT yet utilized Grove Harbour, you must MAKE your reservations there for dockage and/or staging. There are NO other marinas in the area that you can work with for dockage, so please be sure to make your arrangements directly with the Grove Harbour staff.
Call Marina manager Tony Zamora: 305-854-6444
Do Not Book Poker Run- related activities at SeaIsle Marina or Biscayne Bay Marriott!
We have made it very clear in the past at Captains meetings, in our club media materials, that the management at SeaIsle Marina ended their relationship with Florida Powerboat Club, and with the NMMA, which hosts the Miami International Boat show, effective March 201.
The Miami Boat Show and the FPC’s Miami Boat Show Poker Run that followed, were that last events to be staged at this venue. The marine’s owner, Florida East Coast Realty,had chosen to make this marina strictly an annual lease-holder marina, with no transient dockage, and specifically no special events, going forward in 2015 and beyond.
FPC will therefore have NO operations at this venue, which specifically means:
NO Dockage at SeaIsle
NO hotel rooms at the Biscayne Marriott
NO poker run checkin, and No Captains meetings.
SADLY, we are very unhappy to have to move from this venue. For well over 15 years, we have utilized the Biscayne Marriott and their staff has been first class in so many ways!
We made these plans very clear to our members and participants in the past, and we urge you to make any necessary changes to your agenda if you have already made any plans directly with this property.
CLOSING SEA ISLE MARINA TO FPC EVENTS?: These owners are free to do as they please with this marina…after all it’s a free enterprise world we live in.
That said, if you are unhappy with their decision to essentially “kick out” the poker run, just call or write to them with your opinions.
Contact: Property Manager,
Florida East Coast Realty : Call (305) 358-7710
Lee Swerdlin : lee@fecr.com
