Just finishing up the lunch stop for the 12th annual Boyne Thunder Poker Run at the City of Charlevoix Marina and jotting down a few thoughts in advance of the wrap-up I’ll write later on this Michigan event. And here’s a thought for you: If I didn’t have to be here for speedonthewater.com, I’d be here anyway. The weather is gorgeous, the people are great and the fleet is intriguing and amazing. You couldn’t ask for anything better. If you own a powerboat, this run should be on your short to-do list.

Taking a break for lunch at the City of Charlevoix Marina. Above slideshow courtesy/copyright Tony Eposito/Speedonthewater.com.

This afternoon is a supposed to be a little rougher than it was this morning, but I think that will not matter much to us. My ride for the day, Mystic’s M3900 center console is impressive as hell—like all Mystics, it “hits and sticks.” I intentionally went all the way to the front of the boat to sit on the lounges just to see what all the “dry, soft ride stuff” mentioned by Scott Sjogen and John Cosker was all about.

Riding up front was a joy. It was like riding in the back seat of a luxury car.

I did get to drive the boat a little bit. It had a more cruiser-like feel to it than I expected, which makes pefect sense to me given that it’s a big 39-foot boat with an 11-foot beam and weighs something like 13,000 pounds.

I’m guessing we’ll be here for about an hour. It’s an absolutely perfect day, about 80 degrees with zero humidity. Maybe it could be 20 degrees warmer—I’m talking about the Lake Michigan water temperature. It keeps things pretty cool out there when you’re running.

And speaking of that—it’s almost time for me to get going again.

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