Roar at Warwick Cove

Posted 8/27/19

Speedy stop at Warwick Cove The gas dock at Warwick Cove Marina was humming Saturday afternoon, although the cause for all the commotion - about 50 ocean racers - didn't arrive until much later than expected. Stops elsewhere on the bay took longer than

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Roar at Warwick Cove

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The gas dock at Warwick Cove Marina was humming Saturday afternoon, although the cause for all the commotion – about 50 ocean racers – didn’t arrive until much later than expected. Stops elsewhere on the bay took longer than expected. The run between locations (boats were meant to stay within the 65 MPH limit on the bay), however, was fast. Yet this wasn’t a race. Rather, it was the Borden Light Marina poker run that benefited the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts and Rhode Island this year. The skipper and crew are given cards at each of five stops during the day-long run. They then play their hands at the end of the run with the winner taking home $2,500. John Williams, owner of Warwick Cove was an organizer with Walter Collins 24 years ago. In those early days Williams’ marina was one of the few that carried “good” 93-octane fuel. He recalls how captains would pull out test kits to ensure they were getting 93-octane. “It was like a frenzy wine tasting out there with everyone and their gauges,” he said. In the early days Block Island was part of the run, which gave the boats the opportunity to open it up to as fast as they could go. Williams said boats were doing 100 MPH. Ironically, while Williams has lots of gas to sell, none of the boats fueled up Saturday. Williams and his crew handed out cards and just to ensure everyone’s nerves were settled down, tossed the captains and their crews multi-colored stress balls. Williams had a good supply, 1,500 to be exact. He said enough funds were raised to grant three wishes.

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