Stu Jones had a rough morning yesterday. The Florida Powerboat Club president communicates primarily through text messaging to his members during poker runs, and his mobile carrier had an outage that extended into the early afternoon.

Plus, he was still salty from some less-than-courteous driving on the part of a few club members during last month’s season-opening Winter Fun Run to Key Largo. So he minced no words, though he had to shout them thanks to a dead battery in his famed bullhorn, with the 73 go-fast boat owners and their guests yesterday before the Miami Boat Show Poker Run to Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key.

Though outboard engines ruled the power roost, there were a few sterndrive-powered beasts including this brand new MTI 482 catamaran in the 2024 Florida Powerboat Club Miami Boat Show Poker Run mix. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

“You have go to be on your A-game at all times,” Jones told the group assembled at the run’s Grove Harbour Marina starting point in Coconut Grove. “You cannot drive like a group of weekend warriors.

“This a poker run,” he added as he has countless times before. “It’s not a race.”

And so the participants in this weekend’s poker run departed Grove Harbour, where they received their first card as they idled out of the marina, in neat and tidy order. Jones positioned his Top Gun Flight 1130 Cigarette Racing Team 38 Top Gun—named for its twin 565-hp Mercury Racing engines—near the card-dock area so he could video the time-honored Florida Powerboat Club practice of handing out playing cards.

Enjoy more images from the first day of the Miami Boat Show Poker Run in the slideshow above.

After the entire fleet departed and headed to Gilbert’s Resort and Tiki Bar in Key Largo for lunch, Jones fired up the Cigarette. Gone from his face was the inherent tension and anxiety that comes with being a high-performance powerboat event organizer. Now he was just another guy with a big grin doing what he loves most, running his go-fast boat in the Florida Keys.

Brightening Jones’ mood, the morning clouds had burned off. Glass-smooth water, which would persist throughout the trek to Hawks Cay, replaced the light chop on the Intracoastal Waterway.

The author rode down with Florida Powerboat Club head Stu Jones in his Cigarette Racing Team 38 Top Gun Flight 113-.

Of course, his attention to an event in progress never wanes. But once a poker run begins, Jones has to trust that everyone will operate safely and wisely. At that point, the success of his events relies on the judgement and skills of others.

Jones and his guests arrived last to the lunch stop, and once again his demeanor became serious. Docking hadn’t gone to plan and several participants ended up at nearby Sundowners Key Largo rather than Gilbert’s. It wasn’t a tragedy, but it was enough to furrow the club founder’s brow.

After lunch, Jones and company handed out cards from his boat to the vessels in the fleet before they started the final leg of the run to Hawks Cay. His oldest son Tyler, who was celebrating his 20th birthday, set an anchor in the channel just south of Gilbert’s.

No Florida Powerboat Club Miami Boat Show Poker Run would be complete without a stop for lunch at Gilbert’s Resort and Tiki Bar.

It was the first time, according to Jones, the club had ever done a floating card stop off Key Largo. Despite a minor hassle or two, the process was seamless.

“We’ve never done that before,” said Jones, the grin back on his face, as he fired up the Cigarette, pushed the throttles forward and pointed the 38-footer toward its final destination. “That was a lot of fun.”

The fun continues today.

Check out the slideshow above for more images from the 2024 Miami Boat Show Poker Run.

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