TowBoatUS San Diego presents the inaugural Paddleboard Poker Run for breast cancer awareness Oct. 7. The company’s 32-foot, pink response vessel will be providing course safety.
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SHELTER ISLAND, Calif., Sept. 28, 2023 – The inaugural Paddleboard Poker Run, where paddlers will hit the water to gather random playing cards to collect their best five-card poker hand for prizes, will be held Saturday, October 7, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Southwestern Yacht Club. Presented by TowBoatUS San Diego and sponsored by Pacific Maritime Group, the event’s goal is to raise awareness and support finding a cure for breast cancer. All funds raised will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

“This spring, my wife’s sister, who is godmother to my girls, was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer,” said TowBoatUS San Diego owner Capt. Robert Butler. “I’ve learned an incredible one out of eight women are stricken with this disease, and I had to act. Our Paddleboard Poker Run will bring the message of breast cancer awareness to the harbor in a way that is fun for our waterfront community and will show we can all play a part in the fight.”

Entry is a minimum $20 donation and includes a raffle ticket for prizes and a pink breast cancer awareness fundraising T-shirt along with a hamburger and hot dog barbecue at the club. Paddleboards, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards or any paddle-powered craft, including rafts, may participate. Paddlers will pick a random playing card at each of eight stations along Shelter Harbor. Long- and short courses are offered to accommodate all paddling abilities. Those without paddling ability may also play a hand with a donation.

Over $10,000 in raffle prizes are offered, including paddle craft, fishing gear, harbor cruise passes, restaurant, boating and sporting goods retailer and gas station gift cards, guided fishing trips and more. Additional sponsors include Kona Kai and Pier 32 marinas, Pearson Marine Fuels, Bali Hai Restaurant, Anglers Choice Fish and Tackle, and Point Loma Sport Fishing.

Click here to register. For more information or to purchase raffle tickets separately, email paddleforcuresd@gmail.com.

Butler has also changed the color of one of his company’s red 34-foot on-water response vessels to pink to help highlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s part of a larger TowBoatUS breast cancer awareness program with six additional towboats around the country going pink for the month of October. All have large QR codes on their boats’ hull sides to encourage donations from boaters while vessels are on patrol.

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Paddleboarders take to Shelter Island Harbor, Oct. 7, 9 a.m.–2 p.m., to bring breast cancer awareness to the water with the inaugural Paddleboard Poker Run. All funds raised to go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Presented by TowBoatUS San Diego, sponsored by @PacificMaritimeGroup and hosted by #SouthwesternYachtClub  https://bit.ly/3PTmlQ6  @nbcf @swycsd #PaddleboardPokerRun #BreastCancerAwarenessFundraiser #TowboatUSSanDiego #ShelterIslandCalifornia #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth #SupportBreastCancerResearch #CommunityFundraisingEvent #PaddleboardForACause #StandUpAgainstBreastCancer #CancerAwarenessCampaign

About TowBoatUS:

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is the nation's leading advocacy, services and safety group for recreational boaters. We are the Boat Owners Auto Club™ and provide our nearly 800,000 members with a wide array of helpful services, including 24-hour on-water towing that gets you safely home when your boat won’t, jump-starts, fuel delivery, and soft ungroundings. The TowBoatUS towing fleet is North America’s largest network of towing ports with more than 300 locations and over 600 red towboats, responding to more than 90,000 requests for assistance each year. The BoatUS App makes it easy to summon water and road assistance 24/7 and can speed response times (BoatUS.com/App). For more information go to BoatUS.com/Towing.