An ‘Under-Represented Gem’—LEOPA Thunderfest Opens Registration

In any given year, high-performance powerboat insurance man Devin Wozencraft tackles at least a dozen go-fast boating events in his 30-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran. Wozencraft always is looking for new—or at least new to him—happenings. But more often than not he returns to familiar haunts such as the Lake Erie Offshore Performance Association Thunderfest Poker Run, which starts and finishes on Ohio’s famed Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. The event is among his perennial favorites.

Registration for the July 31 run opened yesterday.

Organizers of the annual LEOPA Thunderfest Poker Run are expecting a strong turnout this year. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

“I am absolutely returning,” said Wozencraft, who will participate in his fourth Thunderfest happening this year. “It is one of the nicest and most under-represented gems in the poker run circuit.”

The organizers are expecting 75 to 80 boats for the poker run, which has five stops on Lake Erie. Most participants arrive Friday for the Saturday run and stay through the weekend. The Village of Put-in-Bay comes alive in the summer and B-Dock—the weekend home for the high-performance crowd—is at its epicenter.

Well-known in performance-boating circles, Todd Fountain, the Michigan-based owner of the 46-foot Tom Cat Skater catamaran, is one of the runs biggest boosters. And that’s not simply because the event is in his “backyard.”

“I like Thunderfest because it attracts a bunch of cool people who, year after year, are extremely excited for this run,” he said. “Plus, Put-in-Bay is a very fun island town with a lot to offer.”

Thunderfest attracts an array of high-performance boating hardware.

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