Embracing The Key West Worlds

Next week, offshore racers, poker runners and go-fast boat lovers of all kinds will find themselves in Key West, Fla., for the Super Boat International Offshore World Championships and Florida Powerboat Club’s Key West Poker Run. Despite that they happen during the same week, the two events run independently of one another. Yet they combine to produce a weeklong celebration of speed on the water like no other.

Don’t be surprised if Stihl runs away with the Superboat-class title in Key West. (For a different view, click the image.) Photo courtesy/copyright Jay Nichols/Naples Image.

Don’t be surprised if Stihl runs away with the Superboat-class title in Key West. (For a different view, click the image.) Photo courtesy/copyright Jay Nichols/Naples Image.

And that’s where the sensory overload begins. You’ve heard of sensory overload, right? That’s when your senses—sight, sound, touch and smell—become so bombarded that they simply shut down. Happens a lot in extreme activities such as skydiving and bungee jumping, as well as in places such as New Orleans, Las Vegas—and, of course, Key West.

With that in mind, I offer the following catch-as-catch-can guide to this year’s events, a short list of things to make sure you see, do and follow as you get lost in the fun house, to borrow from author John Barth, that is Key West. Because rest assured, you will get lost in it.

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