Though it’s only mid-January, high-performance marine industry insurance and finance bon vivant Devin Wozencraft is already thinking hard about which go-fast boating events to tackle this season. Dubbed the Wozencraft World Tour by this reporter several years ago, his annual pilgrimage to happening around country— with his 34-foot Victory catamaran in tow country puts him face to face with current and would-be customers, many of whom he counts as dear friends.
Last year, he tackled some 15 events from the Desert Storm Poker Run in Arizona—where he is a longtime sponsor—to the 1,000 Islands Charity Poker Run in Upstate New York.
The 1,000 Islands affair is Wozencraft’s hands-down favorite event of any given year, and he’s not afraid to say it.
“That one is the pinnacle for me,” he explained. “It is so well-organized, and the organizing team has so many diverse personalities—there’s someone for everyone in that group, for sure. The host-hotel and marina keep everyone in one place, and I liked that. Everything and everyone are right there.”
“And where is else can you go boating around castles and enchanted chateaus—and have lunch in a foreign country?” he added.
Not all of Wozencraft’s favorites are so far-flung and exotic. In fact, he discovered two new-to-him gems last year, the Dam Boat Run on Lake Murray in South Carolina and the Rock The River Cincy Fun Run in Cincinnati.
And he plans to return to both this season.
“Lake Murray was so much bigger than I expected,” he recalled. “It has lots of clean, open water, but there also are more-narrow, protected areas in case the wind comes up. But the main attraction is the people. From organizer Bret Laso and his wife, Alli, to all the participants, I have never met a more hospitable group of folks in my life. There is nothing cliquish about that lake.
“Rock The River Cincy—now that was a humdinger,” he continued, then laughed. “The people are super-cool and the whole event is spectacular. You know, the people at Lake Cumberland call the people from Ohio who come down the ‘Ohio Navy.’ Well, the Ohio Navy is on full display at Rock The River Cincy.”