Just a few weekends ago, members of the Florida Powerboat Club were enjoying a new venue in Tampa for the the outifit’s annual Tampa Bay Poker Run, while the Fort Myers Offshore group was holding its annual run to Cayo Costa Beach for a raft-up and cookout. But this weekend, the roles—or at least the destinations—were reversed. The FMO group headed to the Vinoy Renaissance Resort and Golf Club in St. Petersburg (the former host venue for the FPC Tampa Poker Run) for its season-finale weekend, while the FPC group headed to Fort Myers for its annual poker run off the coast of FMO’s home base.

Pierre and Meghan Brousseau and company put their 40-foot Nor-Tech catamaran to good use this weekend in FMO and FPC events (click image to enlarge). Photo courtesy/copyright Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

And that gave Pierre and Meghan Brousseau and their friends Raymond Roberts of Ontario, Canada-based Double-R Performance and Edward Poirier an idea: Why not participate in both events?

So on Friday morning, they departed Fort Myers in the Brousseau’s 40-foot Nor-Tech catamaran powered by twin Mercury Racing 1350 and headed to the Vinoy destination. The following morning, the group—minus Meghan Brousseau, and FMO board member—returned to Fort Myers in the 40-footer to participate in the FPC event.

“On Saturday at 8:30 a.m, Pierre, Raymond and Edward left the marina in St. Petersburg,” she said. “An hour-and-a-half later they pulled into the Pink Shell for the Florida Powerboat Club captains’ meeting.”

Of course, as dedicated FMO members the group had to make it back to the Vinoy venue in time for the club’s banquet that evening.

“They did a portion of the FPC run, including lunch, left Boca 2 p.m. and made it back to St. Pete—with two breaks along the way—by 2:50 p.m.,” Mrs. Brousseau said. “The average speed was 90 to 100 mph, but they got to 150 mph when the conditions allowed.

“They also had to take their own race fuel for a fill-up,” she continued. “Needless to say, they had a great time.”

Related stories
Image Of The Week: Fort Myers Offshore Hits The Beach
New Venue Comes Up Aces For FPC Tampa Bay Poker Run