WaveRunners & Winning Hands - Muskoka’s Must-Do Yamaha Poker Run

I first heard about Yamaha’s plans to host a WaveRunner Customer Appreciation Day about six weeks prior to the actual event day on August 24^th. Social media has a powerful means of moving messages to the market and it was a post directly from Yamaha that caught my attention.

Being a good-hearted soul, I jokingly replied and offered up my services to support the event. I envisioned that the day would be filled with corporate staff and a slew of customers and they would forget all about my offer.

About 10 days before the event, it happened. An evening text message indicated that Yamaha actually had a spot for me. All I had to do was register via their simple online portal. After peeling my excited self from the ceiling, I headed straight to the computer and the registration was completed in minutes. I was in!

I arrived for the scheduled 10:30 a.m. departure and began offering my assistance with anything that was required. The response from the various Yamaha staffers was consistent – ‘We got this bud, you go have a great ride.’ Alrighty then!

Our morning gathering place was Gordon Bay Marine on the north end of Lake Joseph. That would be followed by stops at Port Sandfield Marine, Walker’s Point Marina, and the town of Port Carling. Being a poker run, our 5^th card would be picked up as we gathered back at Gordon Bay at the end of the ride.

It was great to see the commitment from the Yamaha team throughout the entire day. Morning check-in with their friendly staff was a breeze and I was provided with a map of the lakes and our various stops. During the scheduled lunch we would receive our third poker hand card for what was inevitably going to be the winning hand. My winning hand.

The crowd started to build as several enthusiasts arrived by water while others rolled up towing their WaveRunners to the event. Thanks to their top notch organization, shortly after 10:30 Yamaha representatives offered up a few words of encouragement to set the stage for the day, including reminders about safety on the water and near shorelines. And just like that, we were off.

The ride pack totaled roughly 24 WaveRunners with riders of all ages and experience soaking in the exceptional Muskoka scenery. Yamaha indicated that there was ample time on the route and they recommended we each take time to enjoy the Muskoka sights. There truly are some incredible engineering marvels -- although I am not certain any of them could be called 'cottages.' Wow.

Our first leg was roughly a 20 minute run straight down Lake Joseph and into Port Sandfield Marina. The pack moved well together. Our open water speeds were consistently kept under 70 km/h. We arrived to see a Yamaha tent perched on the shoreline with a smiling Yamaha staffer there to check our entry card and hand us our next poker card.

Access was easy, and in single file fashion we each got our second cards tucked securely into storage compartments and off we went. I was grateful when one of the Yamaha team members quickly showed me how to take my FX Cruiser SVHO out of ‘economy’ mode and into my choice of touring or performance. Thank you! Yes, I selected 'performance' with a smile.

We eased under Port Sandfield bridge and into Lake Rosseau with a bit of open water running followed by a number of 9 km/h channels. I have to admit, it is impressive to see this many WaveRunners together and all respecting the rules of the water. As we headed into Port Carling, there was yet another Yamaha tent with yet another friendly Yamaha staff member waiting for us. Of course this was stop #4 (we had not been to stop #3 yet) and of course we all pulled up and collected our cards. I was reminded about ‘the best laid plans of mice and men’…..

Our next passage was through a slow channel that lead us into one of the smallest locks I have ever seen. A little more than 12 WaveRunners fit snugly into the lock, which safely lowered us down into the grand daddy of Muskoka -- Lake Muskoka herself. After about 10 minutes in another speed controlled zone, we moved into a large area of open water. By this time, due to the two lock passages, the pack had split up somewhat and I found myself cruising waters I had never seen with roughly six other riders. With our handy maps provided at the start, we had no issues navigating our way into Walker’s Point Marina where we were met with more friendly and attentive staff. They efficiently fueled our machines and gave us dock space so we could join the rest of the pack for a pizza lunch. Pizza, salad, and an awesome ice cream treat. I felt like a King!

With both our tummies and our fuel tanks filled, we gathered on the water in front of the marina while the drone snapped several shots. Then we began our way back towards Gordon Bay. Our lead rider, who happens to be the GM of Gordon Bay Marine, took us on a glorious tour and a completely different route than our morning ride. The throttles opened up in this segment of the ride – when and only when we were in open water.

We landed back at Gordon Bay just before 3:30 PM. The Yamaha crew had trucks and trailers ready for the machines that needed to be pulled from the water and within 15 minutes we were gathering to get our fifth card. Now it was time to play our hands in the poker game. Sadly, my aforementioned ‘inevitable winning hand’ was nothing other than a dud, although I was very pleased to watch as one of my lunch table friends came out with the winning hand -- earning himself $750 Yamabucks.

The sights, the sounds, and the scenery were fantastic,. This was a glorious way to see the Muskoka Lakes from an incredible perspective. Kudos to Team Yamaha for making this happen. If you ever get the chance. I can't recommend it enough. #news #culture #yamaha