Image above courtesy of Offshore Wench’s Facebook Page.
By Travis Kingdon
This weekend, July 21-22, Lake Michigan will once again host the annual Fun Run organized by Offshore Wench Poker Runs hosted at the Milwaukee Yacht Club.
2017 marks the fifth year for the Offshore Wench Fun Run on the waters of Lake Michigan.
“It’s a more low key and casual event,” said Shannon Radtke, organizer of the run.
Radtke says the run has gotten bigger each year, and this year looks to be no different.
“We’ve got 22 boats registered so far,” said Radtke. “That could shoot up to 50 though.”
“It’s hard to estimate how many boats will actually show up though because boaters will watch the weather up until the day of and make their decision based on that,” she explained.
Last year, the weather didn’t cooperate and boats weren’t able to get on the water. “There was so much fog we couldn’t see our hands in front of our faces,” she said.
The poor weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the participants though, most people stuck around and socialized with each other over food and drink.
Despite the fog, the run still raised $4400 for the Make a Wish Foundation, the charity the run has supported since it’s inception.
100% of proceeds from the raffle and a portion of the registration go to the charity, and Radtke hopes they can top last year’s donation.
In it’s fifth year, Radtke has only made minor changes to the event. This year there will be a dinner for all participants hosted at a Mediterranean restaurant, Casablanca, on Saturday night. Radtke says this will hopefully encourage people to stick around on Saturday night after the run for some socializing before heading out.
The weather for the July 21-22nd weekend looks fantastic so far,the forecast shows temperatures of around 80 degrees and nothing but sun.
Registration costs $75/person and gets you one card hand and a T-shirt. Winner of the run gets a portion of the pot (amount determined by entrants) and a special commemorative shirt.
For more information on this weekend’s run visit Offshore Wench’s website or Facebook page.
