Don't just go to Desert Storm...SIGN UP!!!!

[rvrmom]

Ok your right 99. I was just trying to back track my years

97-got home from Hawaii
98 partied my ass of
99 met my Ex

the first half off 99 rocked LOL

 

[C-2]

All the big, bad boats...

 

[C-2]

H()tboats Rule... LOL... I have several of those T-shirts...

Arizona H()tboats, American H()tboats, & Southern California H()tboats...

Rich, I'm pretty sure you were at that one SCHB at Elsinore? That or it was the other notorious "Spot", lol

 

[C-2]

Circa about 2000, after 3 poker runs had already been thrown. Hhmmmmm, where all the crowds?

 

[spotondl]

Rich, I'm pretty sure you were at that one SCHB at Elsinore? That or it was the other notorious "Spot", lol

You are absolutely correct... Was there running this... Still have this boat though it looks completely different now...

 

[C-2]

You guys remember the shotgun starts?




Who is Art (LakeRacer) hanging out with in this pic?




I'm pretty sure this was the first Outerlimits to visit Havi



Seber/Eliminator...about the time that some fast boats started showing up.




Just a great pic

 

[Tank]

Those are some great pics!

Art really had a lot to do with getting the poker run to where it's at. He deserves a ton of credit for all he's done. And yea, that was definately the first OL to come to havi. Wild Thing was huge on the poker run circuit back then.

 

[jetboatmatt]

It really does sound fun!! Maybe one year we will do it!! Text always comes off different then the way you want it to sound!! And in one of my posts I stated with the food, drink and shirt and pics its really not a bad price!! But 450 is a lot of cash for families in a bad Economy!!
I don't think anyone on here wants it to go away! It's an amazing event for boaters!! I hope everyone has a safe and fun DS weekend!!

 

[jetboatmatt]

I love the big boats out there and think its really cool when my shitbox is parked next to one in the channel, and were doing the exact same thing for a tenth of the cost!! Hahahaa I Love my boat and I would only want a bigger boat if I had some serious cash flow and was able to run it all the time in the Ocean and the lakes!!! There fun to watch and it's a classy event and hope it stands the test of a bad Economy!!! If and when we come into some money we will be signed up and running this one year!!

Does anyone know how many boats can enter??
I'm just wondering because if the cost was say half maybe you would get a Ton of people to sign up!!
Thanks for all the info on this Event, it's been a huge learning curve!

 

[sirbob]

I think every body gets that the event is better for the promoter if they have a full sign up.

And while I know that entry fees are a key to getting revenue - and Jim has not said "we are about to go out of business" or are in serious jeopardy right now...

Just a thought for Jim... How about an escalating fee scale - I hear people saying that they can't scrape up 400-500 bucks (these seem to be some of the same crowd that says my boat is too small for this event anyway)

I wonder if a fee scale that escalated with the size of the boat...

Up to 22 ft - $250
23 to 25 - $350
26 to 28 - $500
29 to 32 - $ 600
over 32 ft - $1000

While I have not looked at the actual registration list from the last few years to see the size and number of boats - I would bet that some fee scale like this would make the little guys feel welcome (and affordable) and the big boys that will spend $10,000 just to get the boat and crew to the event would still pay a little bit higher fee and not flinch. Hell for most of the big boys this would be a rounding error at the end of the night for the crew bar tab.

Just a thought...

 

[Singleton]

I think every body gets that the event is better for the promoter if they have a full sign up.

And while I know that entry fees are a key to getting revenue - and Jim has not said "we are about to go out of business" or are in serious jeopardy right now...

Just a thought for Jim... How about an escalating fee scale - I hear people saying that they can't scrape up 400-500 bucks (these seem to be some of the same crowd that says my boat is too small for this event anyway)

I wonder if a fee scale that escalated with the size of the boat...

Up to 22 ft - $250
23 to 25 - $350
26 to 28 - $500
29 to 32 - $ 600
over 32 ft - $1000

While I have not looked at the actual registration list from the last few years to see the size and number of boats - I would bet that some fee scale like this would make the little guys feel welcome (and affordable) and the big boys that will spend $10,000 just to get the boat and crew to the event would still pay a little bit higher fee and not flinch. Hell for most of the big boys this would be a rounding error at the end of the night for the crew bar tab.

Just a thought...

An attempt at a good idea, but when you look at the DS event calendar, the costs (permits, dinner, etc) are the same no matter what size boat you run.
Not trying to be an ass, but you idea is like O; make the folks with the $$ pay more so those without dont have to pay as much.

All Tank is saying, if you want to have fun, register if you can, if not support the event (purchase shirts, etc) in some way!!
I think Jim should offer folks the ability to purchase poker hands and Friday and Saturday dinner tickets without having to purchase the entire captains package. That way you can enjoy (support) parts of the event if you cant afford the package deal.

 

[HavasuHank]

i think i might sign up for this dealio. :hmm

 

[sirbob]

An attempt at a good idea, but when you look at the DS event calendar, the costs (permits, dinner, etc) are the same no matter what size boat you run.
Not trying to be an ass, but you idea is like O; make the folks with the $$ pay more so those without dont have to pay as much.

All Tank is saying, if you want to have fun, register if you can, if not support the event (purchase shirts, etc) in some way!!
I think Jim should offer folks the ability to purchase poker hands and Friday and Saturday dinner tickets without having to purchase the entire captains package. That way you can enjoy (support) parts of the event if you cant afford the package deal.

Just to be crystal clear - yes my idea is to - "make the folks with the $$ pay more so those without dont have to pay as much"

Its not "like" that - it is that.

I could go on about trying to justify it with different stuff - like the lower prices don't get a t shirt or don't get dinner or have to pay for beer etc but the idea is to... "make the folks with the $$ pay more so those without dont have to pay as much"

Just a thought

 

[Tank]

Better late than never:

It was actually the 97 run...anyone remember this? That 38' scarab was the biggest boat on the lake. My 26' boat with the purple cover was considered too big at the time! oh, how times have changed. However the thing that didn't change is we were in the room hung over for this photo (this my cover is still on the boat)

 

[Tank]

Pic so you don't have to turn your head

 

[sirbob]

Pic so you don't have to turn your head View attachment 260595

As soon as I put my lap top down and scroll to the next post...

 

[milkmoney]

I think every body gets that the event is better for the promoter if they have a full sign up.

And while I know that entry fees are a key to getting revenue - and Jim has not said "we are about to go out of business" or are in serious jeopardy right now...

Just a thought for Jim... How about an escalating fee scale - I hear people saying that they can't scrape up 400-500 bucks (these seem to be some of the same crowd that says my boat is too small for this event anyway)

I wonder if a fee scale that escalated with the size of the boat...

Up to 22 ft - $250
23 to 25 - $350
26 to 28 - $500
29 to 32 - $ 600
over 32 ft - $1000

While I have not looked at the actual registration list from the last few years to see the size and number of boats - I would bet that some fee scale like this would make the little guys feel welcome (and affordable) and the big boys that will spend $10,000 just to get the boat and crew to the event would still pay a little bit higher fee and not flinch. Hell for most of the big boys this would be a rounding error at the end of the night for the crew bar tab.

Just a thought...

i can tell you. that based on your size boat doesnt mean your wallet is the same size...dumb comment......:thumbsdown

although i do agree with maybe putting different packages together for the weekend....good comment:thumbup:

 

[sirbob]

i can tell you. that based on your size boat doesnt mean your wallet is the same size...dumb comment......:thumbsdown

I guess i"m dumb...

What I do know for sure is the guys hauling a 50ft MTI across the country with a semi have a bigger wallet than I do.

 

[milkmoney]

I guess i"m dumb...

What I do know for sure is the guys hauling a 50ft MTI across the country with a semi have a bigger wallet than I do.

didnt say you were dumb, not all just the comment..didnt make sense to me.....

yes, there is always some bigger, faster and richer in this world..

there are some folks with fuck you money, that dont have the big boats, in fact i know one that has 18'jet boats..bad ass for sure jus not a million dollar baot..

 

[Singleton]

I guess i"m dumb...

What I do know for sure is the guys hauling a 50ft MTI across the country with a semi have a bigger wallet than I do.

Maybe true, but the guy with the 26' boat might have a bigger wallet then the guy with the semi, but made a purchase based on how his family boats.

 

[timewarp]

I have to agree with what Tank is saying, my wife and I are in the back of his picture from 97' in our Warlock. We have attended all of the Heatwave/ Desert Storm poker runs since 99' or 2000, even the fall ones they had back then, we even won the Poker hand in 2006. Due to personal circumstances we were unable to attend in 2011, and last year we were unable to take our boat, so last year we volunteered to help out, I won't say it was as much fun as being in the run but it was very close. We purchased an entry at last years charity auction for this years event. We are unable to attend this year again. But I will say that I would never consider going to the event and not entering or volunteering to help out in some way. As has been stated already the event is a lot of work for Jim and all his Volunteers.
Yes it is a public lake and yes you have the right to boat on the public water, but if you are going to the lake on Desert Storm Week because of Desert Storm, Please support the event.

 

[sirbob]

didnt say you were dumb, not all just the comment..didnt make sense to me.....



yes, there is always some bigger, faster and richer in this world..

there are some folks with fuck you money, that dont have the big boats, in fact i know one that has 18'jet boats..bad ass for sure jus not a million dollar baot..

I did not take it as you said I was dumb - thanks for your clarification however, I seriously thought your comments were balanced just stating what you liked and did not like about my thoughts :thumbup: I was not clear in the way I wrote my post.

Maybe true, but the guy with the 26' boat might have a bigger wallet then the guy with the semi, but made a purchase based on how his family boats.

Plenty of people that have more money than us that have smaller boats than we do - its easy to spend down.

But my experience has been that when somebody buys a big new shiny something or other that is 50ft long and a semi pulls it... well thats a little harder to hide your wallet behind - meaning a few hundred dollars here or there will not make a difference to them regarding how they use their boat.

 

[RBC]

How many miles is the poker run? Also there is no selection for Jet Drive on the online registration for us jet boat guys.

 

[plaster dave]

I think SirRob is on to something.:thumbup: Its not that you have more but the guys running 150+MPH do bring the higher premium's for the Insurance so they should kick down more cash then the guy doing 50MPH. Also I think if people dont want to do the diner and no goody bags then you can cut the cost for them. Just my .02

 

[steamin rice]

As the owner of a 34' boat, I can tell you that I would never pay $1000 to enter the poker run. I'm not a socialist and don't believe in charging people different prices for the same thing because 'they can afford to chip in more'. If the organizers of DS aren't happy with the revenue generated from entries, then maybe they should think of options for people to participate at the $200-250 level. That might mean offering an a la carte option where the basicR entry with one hand is one fee, shirts are another fee, etc etc.

I've participated in this poker run in boats from 21' to 38' and have had a great time no matter what size of boat. Now that I have young kids, I opt to spectate rather than run to the card stops. If anyone has an interest in entering the poker run but doesn't want to because they think their boat isn't big enough, then they should give it a try. The starts are lots of fun and there are really only a handful of boats running 130+. I'd guess the majority of boats are cruising between 40-60 MPH a lot of the way.

 

[FreeBird236]

Hey Tank, what's your thoughts on this? Hear there's a poker run and shootout in Biloxi Miss. same dates as Desert Storm. It's on Florida Powerboat Club website, they say it's not their's, but they highly recommend it. Heard it's having an impact on DS.

 

[FreeBird236]

Hey Tank, what's your thoughts on this? Hear there's a poker run and shootout in Biloxi Miss. same dates as Desert Storm. It's on Florida Powerboat Club website, they say it's not their's, but they highly recommend it. Heard it's having an impact on DS.

Bump, anyone have any thoughts? Seems like they could pick a different date.:thumbsdown

 

[plaster dave]

Hey Tank, what's your thoughts on this? Hear there's a poker run and shootout in Biloxi Miss. same dates as Desert Storm. It's on Florida Powerboat Club website, they say it's not their's, but they highly recommend it. Heard it's having an impact on DS.

I first heard about that PR last year and thought one of these needs to move the date of the PR.

 

[Singleton]

I first heard about that PR last year and thought one of these needs to move the date of the PR.

Heard a rumor those conversations are taking place. Started too late to move 2013, but 2014 one might move.

 

[FreeBird236]

Heard a rumor those conversations are taking place. Started too late to move 2013, but 2014 one might move.

That would be good.:thumbsup

 

[Hammer]

I first heard about that PR last year and thought one of these needs to move the date of the PR.

Rumor yesterday was that none of the east coast boys want a piece of predator....

 

[plaster dave]

Rumor yesterday was that none of the east coast boys want a piece of predator....

That makes sense too.

 

[C-2]

Isn't that kind of like worrying about the Irwindale races on the same weekend as Fontana?

 

[tkrrox]

i agree they should have packages...and they should try to entice the smaller boater again...if they can get the numbers the price won't have to be so high. i think the big boats are cool, but they are so far beyond my reach they don't do much...same with a 1350 merc. cool but i ain't buying there either...need to start bringing in vendors that the smaller guy can even entertain purchasing from...

 

[Singleton]

i agree they should have packages...and they should try to entice the smaller boater again...if they can get the numbers the price won't have to be so high. i think the big boats are cool, but they are so far beyond my reach they don't do much...same with a 1350 merc. cool but i ain't buying there either...need to start bringing in vendors that the smaller guy can even entertain purchasing from...

All the vendors at the boat show have options for the small guys. However it is not cheap to upgrade anything. I spent a good 30 minutes in the Teague booth taking about options on a 496HO and they were cool with it.