Photo Essay: Fifth Annual Munyan Run Has Everything But Munyan
When it comes to doling out small or large mechanical problems, high-performance powerboats don’t care who you are. Take the fate of Southwest Florida’s Bill Munyan, the namesake of yesterday’s fifth annual Munyan Run Lunch Run from Sarasota, Fla., to Tampa Bay for lunch at the Hula Bay restaurant. Munyan discovered—at the launch ramp no less—that one of the starters for the engines in his Skater Powerboats 388 catamaran had gone bad.
Chris and Sam Ryder enjoyed their first event as a married couple in Crisis Management, their Skater 368 catamaran. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
“I got to watch everyone leave and go have fun while I put the boat back on the trailer,” he said, then chuckled. “And I heard it was the best one yet. My friend texted me from Hula Bay and he said there must have 175 people and more than 40 boats there. He told me the place was packed.”
But Munyan’s misfortune didn’t’ stop the rest of his friends from making the 120-mile roundtrip run. Michigan’s Bill Grannis and company enjoyed the day in OPA, his 36-foot Skater catamaran. Straight out of New York and recently married, Chris and Sam Ryder tackled in Crisis Management, his Skater 368 cat. Other usual suspect included Joey Gratton Memorial New Year’s Day Fun Run organizer Ryan Beckley and his son, Connor, who were hosted by Cincinnati’s Justin and Johnna Beischel in their Skater 368 dubbed Short Circuit, while Chris and Quinn LaMorte of New Jersey and their well-known 36-foot Skater.
Enjoy more images from today’s Munyan event in the slideshow above.
Late-morning fog grounded speedonthewater.com chief photographer Pete Boden’s helicopter for the shoot. But Boden made the best of it with water-level images—and no one who participated in the run seemed to mind the fog that much.
“It was a little foggy this morning on the way there,” said Chris LaMorte. “But the fogged burned off and the ride back was great.”
Next up for this week’s boating happenings in Southwest Florida is todays fun run around Longboat Key.
Related stories
Four Southwest Florida Events To Cap Final Week Of 2021
Scenes From The Fourth Annual Munyan Run
and then