DCB And FPC Fans Tackle Favorite Venues For Long Weekend

More than 2,500 miles apart, clients of Southern California-headquartered DCB Performance Boats and members the Florida Powerboat Club headed for two of go-fast boating’s most coveted destinations last weekend. And though Lake Powell in Arizona and Utah and Key West—Florida’s famed city at the end of the road—couldn’t be more different, both groups went for much the same reasons.

The Florida Powerboat Club’s Fall Key West Poker Run was a hit with the small group that participated—and pointed to a successful FPC Key West Poker Run in November. Photos by Stu Jones copyright of the Florida Powerboat Club.

Cancelled events and pent-up demand for speed on the water and the freedom it delivers.

For the DCB group, the Lake Powell Challenge is a favorite event—and one that was scrubbed this year. For the FPC contingent, the four-day Key West jaunt replaced the club’s scrubbed Bahamas Poker Run.

“We only had five or six boats run down, but they were all club members who had wanted to do our Bahamas event,” said Stu Jones, the president of the Florida Powerboat Club. “They were not happy we had to cancel. This was plan B—and it worked out really well for a lot of reasons.

Check out the slideshow above to enjoy more images from last weekend’s Florida Powerboat Club event.

“Key West is back to life,” he continued. “The bars on Duval Street are open, the mask-in-public mandate has been lifted and the nightlife is vibrant. Because we had a small group, we went to Boca Grande Key yesterday and beached for about four hours until everyone had enough sun and headed back. It was just insanely relaxing. The Conch Republic restaurant was full on Saturday night and they did a nice dinner for our group.”

Though Jones and company planned to depart Key West tomorrow, they left this morning to avoid an impending weather system. Jones said the trip made him even more eager for the club’s annual Key West Poker, which is scheduled for November 11-15 and already has 100 boats registered.

“We still have Conch Republic as our headquarters, and we still have the docks in front of it reserved for our sponsors,” he said. “Key West is open.”

Meanwhile out West, 20-something DCB owners created their own three-day weekend on the Colorado River-fed aquatic wonder called Lake Powell. They based their day trips out of Antelope Point Marina in Page, Ariz., and were joined by other go-fast powerboat-brand owners who weren’t taking a cancellation for answer. They were led by the El Cajon, Calif., custom catamaran builder’s Tony Chiaramonte and Jeff Johnston.

DCB’s owners logged three days of good times on Lake Powell last weekend. Photo by Tony Chiaramonte copyright DCB Performance Boats.

Working with Amber McDaniel of Antelope Point, Chiaramonte encouraged DCB owners and other fans of the Lake Powell Challenge to head to Lake Powell for three days of fun last weekend despite the event being scrubbed. Rental houseboats in marina sold out two weeks before the event happened..

“Honestly, it was much more fun to just go boating with all our DCB friends and family than deal with all smoke and mirrors and stuff that comes with any big event,” Chiaramonte said, then chuckled. “And the row of DCBs at the docks looked just like it would during the Lake Powell Challenge.”

But for Chiaramonte and Johnston, the event had a business angle—albeit an enjoyable one—beyond the pleasure-cruise daytrips and the nighttime dock parties. They were showcasing the new DCB M37R Widebody catamaran.

Check out the slideshow above to enjoy more images from last weekend’s DCB outing on Lake Powell.

“We took that boat to the Lake of the Ozarks less than a month ago and it already has 50 hours on it,” said Chiaramonte. “I must have put 500 or 600 miles on it doing demo rides this weekend.

“As my dad used to say, we made lemons out of lemonade,” he added. “We made the most of it.”

DCB And FPC Fans Tackle Favorite Venues For Long Weekend

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