SCOPE Gathers for Lunch Run to Catalina Island

Refusing to be thwarted by ongoing renovation at the Long Beach Downtown Marinas, the fun-loving and highly social Southern California Offshore Powerboat Elite (SCOPE) opted for a more casual Catalina Island “lunch run” for 2012 instead of its annual full-throttle poker run event.

Passing Ship Rock on the way to the Catalina Island Isthmus. Photo by Bob Brown
Passing Ship Rock on the way to the Catalina Island Isthmus. Photo by Bob Brown

“We just couldn’t do our annual poker run justice with the lack of available dock space at the Long Beach Marina,” commented SCOPE spokesperson Wayne Lee. “But our members still wanted a summer offshore outing so we did the next best thing and planned a one-day lunch run to the Isthmus on Catalina. They cater a superb food spread and the weather is always terrific.”

Just to spice up the Sunday, Aug. 5 affair a bit, SCOPE also arranged to provide a helicopter photo and video shoot for those arriving before noon at the island.

“It’s tough to get really good running footage of these boats unless you use a helicopter,” Lee said. “Everybody chipped in to pay for the copter and the photographers, and the club provided all the photos to the members for free.”

About 25 of SCOPE’s finest took advantage of the photo-op. Fortunately the sun peaked through the morning’s marine overcast just in time and the swell running off the west end of the island provided excellent launching pads for some exciting action images.

Editor’s Note: The members of S.C.O.P.E. deeply appreciate the sponsorship support from IMCO, Baca Marine, Pfaff Engines and SAFA1 that made this event possible.

Click photos to enlarge

Bill “Junkyard” Stiener airs out his Cigarette 38 Top Gun. Photo by Bob Brown Jim Dunphy ran his 29 Scarab, Bada Bing, out to the island, some 25-plus miles from Long Beach, Calif. Photo by Bob Brown Kevin Schulte and crew aboard the Cigarette 42X, Hardline. Photo by Bob Brown