A fleet of kayaks set out from Shell Point Beach the morning of Saturday, June 29, each ship in search of a winning hand of poker. 

A crowd of people took to the water that morning as a part of the Onset Bay Association’s 15th kayak poker run. 

Paddlers traversed the bay, stopping at several points to collect cards. They collected one card from each stop for a total of five. 

Once they reviewed their five cards, they had a chance to swap out as many as they wanted with random cards provided by event organizers. The goal was to make the best hand of five their luck would allow. 

The annual excursion began in 2005, but skipped a few years in the aughts and again during the Covid era, said the event’s 15-time master of ceremonies Patrick Marshall. 

“It’s not a race — take your time paddling,” Marshall instructed the day’s participants. He said they should enjoy the waterside view of Onset, which is “a great view you don’t see on all coastlines in Massachusetts.”

Dan and Cathy Brossi, who rode in a two-seater kayak, enjoyed seeing a part of the water they don’t often venture into — they live on the other side of the bay, they said. 

“We like being out on the water,” said Dan. 

While the couple enjoyed their time in Onset Bay, they weren’t able to translate it into a winning hand, as they ended up with just a pair of jacks between them. 

Lady Luck favored some players more than others. 

“I was really close to a flush, but I flushed out,” said paddler Jackson Gillman. 

On the other end of the spectrum, kayaker Scott Miles managed to put together a straight. 

Miles said he plays a lot of poker, but it was “coincidental” that he ended up with a good hand. 

In the end, it wasn’t Miles’ straight, but a four-of-a-kind that formed the winning hand. Both the first and the second place winner — who had a three-of-a-kind plus a pair — donated their chips back to the Association. 

Whether their luck turned fair or foul, all who attended had the good fortune of a cool, overcast day out on the water.