Once among the top go-fasting events in the country, the Pirates of Lanier Charity Poker Run in North Georgia declined sharply during the years following an accident during the 2016 that claimed four lives. Despite valiant attempts to bring the Lake Lanier happening to its former greatness a comeback didn’t happen. Foul weather all but extinguished last year and the year before.
Zach Martin, a Georgia-based performance enthusiast who owns an MTI 390X catamaran, is on a mission revive the Pirates of Lanier affair, which is set for this weekend. More than 100 powerboat owners have registered for the two-day event based out of the Margaritaville resort. Martin has organized a Friday night “Block Party” that includes high-performance powerboat and exotic automobiles on display, food vendors and entertainment. He has extended the Saturday poker run, and the weekend weather is looking good.
Well-known poker-run fans from MTI 390X cat and MTI-V 50 owner Chuck Stark of South Carolina to high-performance marine insurance and finance powerhouse Devin Wozencraft are heading to the event, as are local Lake Lanier fans Chas and Candace Owens. And those are just a few of the recognizable names who will be there.
So Martin has all the right pieces in place. But what he really has is a great attitude—and the right priority.
“Shoot, I’m nervous as hell,” he said, then chuckled. “There is a lot riding on my shoulders and I can’t physically control it all. So I just have to count on the execution of the plan we have in place.”
Martin paused for a moment, then continued.
“I just want all the boats to return back to the docks safely each day,” he added. “That is my biggest stressor, honestly. The rest is what it is.”
Based on that goal above all others, I’m not just pulling for Zach Martin and the participants in the Pirates of Lanier Charity Poker Run. I am jumping up and down and cheering for them.