Planning a sailing trip to Texas--need advice

[bscott]

I am in the planning stages of trailing my from the Denver area to protected sailing on the Texas coast. Hopefully not more than 1,000 miles each way. Lenght of stay, one week. My wife is not a pioneer and has never sailed on the salt and is concerned about big water and pirates.

We would like to do some overnight gunkholing within one day's motorsailing of a marina as our onboard mutiny limit is 2 days.

What is the best time of the year, wind, temps, bugs to make the trip? Any Mac friendly marina suggestions, near by motels, truck/trailer parking? We could stay longer if there were on shore touristy thngs to do/see.

Bob

[pokerrick1]

I personally would wait until the current Hurricane season is over - - - as they seem to be forming one right after the other this year - - - and if yur Admiral even smelled the remnants of one - - - she MIGHT make you sell your Mac, making you Macless The Tx coast is a great sailing spot, but you have to actually have a sailboat.

Rick

[Sleepy]

I was hoping Louis & Jonbill would post answers to this thread.
Corpus Christi,Port Aransas/Rockport/Kemah,Clearlake,Galveston have some decent Marina's. Galveston & Corpus Christi have some touristy things to look at and do.
I am boatless right now and all of my experience is boat camping/fishing in shallow-draft power boats and anything I would suggest could get you into trouble as far as where to go gunk-holing.
Right now we have a bumper crop of mosquitos on the coast from recent heavy rains, It takes a 10-12 mph wind to hold them at bay. Unfortunatley the wind at this time of the year is weak(under 10mph) and variable on the upper coast.
Spring & Fall are the best times to hit the coast here. With a close eye on weather, besides the end of hurricane season in the fall, we have cold fronts which can blow the tides out during the Spring & Fall,Winter.
Summer time is Hot with sun intensity growing the further down the coast you go, shade is a must and it should totally block the sun & UV.(those colored polys tarp will just cook you) However the winds are best during summer(SE tradewinds) until August, with intensity going up the further south you go with the Corpus Christ area having a consistent 15-20 mph winds, that's where most of the windsurfing,dingy,sailboat racing goes on.
If your a nature nut like me and don't care for Marina's or Tourist Traps then there is West Matagorda Bay(Port Lavaca,Port O'Connor,Palacios).
I hope I didn't confuse you!

[Sleepy]

Another option here in Texas are the lakes. Lakes Texoma,Amistad,Travis and the Canyon Lakes. Of course you would need to check out the water levels.
Here are some links.
CC Marina http://www.corpuschristimarina.com/pr/marina.cfm
TPWD. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/
PINS. http://www.nps.gov/pais/
Amistad http://www.nps.gov/amis/
Amistad also has a AFB with a marina & campground so if your retired or active military you got a in.
Unfortunately IKE is heading this way and the mosquitos are still very bad. Went wade fishing early sunday morning at San Luis Pass(southend of Galveston island) and I think they were drinking the Deep Woods Off(25% DEET) for a buzz, thank goodness only the females bite!
I don't know if the CC marina would bar a Mac or not, so I listed their link. They are almost in downtown Corpus Christi, so public transportation is there, the club district is within walking distance and reminds me of Austin,Tx 6th street area. They have the Lexington moored there with the usual assortment of warplanes on deck, there is also a new AAA baseball stadium,and of course there is CCNAS in case you are military.
As to places to stay out of! San Antonio bay area, You cannot anchor for more than 2 days in Mesquite bay which is just south of SA bay, this area is fairly remote and I am sure there is still illegal activities going on there from smuggling to overfishing.

[Divecoz]

Well I imagine this trip has become a mute point for the moment. I spent 3 or 4 months down in the Chock Canyon Lake Area / 3 rivers Texas.
The following are my personal opinions after having spent several months there. The entire area can be pretty depressing. Miles and miles of miles and miles . Dry sandy dusty dirty. . poor I built a Prison over in Kennedy and stayed in 3 rivers . They Flew my wife down and put us up at the Marriott on the River walk in San Antonio. As you see we live outside Chicago. . . . .
It doesnt sound like your wife is the type who will appreciate the fact that Choke Canyon Lake & Park and surrounding areas are in fact invested with Alligators and Javelina and she will if you spend much time down on the lake , see that Choke Canyon Lake has some of the largest Alligator Garfish 4 to 6 footers are very common, in the world. . .The closest town is a dusty whistle stop out of a bad B movie. Its called 3 Rivers I don't suggest the area unless your wife is really happy with down to basics/ nothing. They wanted us to live there and then move to Odessa Texas. My wife told them there wasn't enough money in the world to get us to make the move...........

[Brian]

I've been considering a trip to the coast myself. Here is some information that might be helpful.

Here is a good article on the lower TX coast:

Sailing the Laguna Madre of South Texas:
http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/westi ... Laguna.htm#


I purchased the following two Cruising Guides:

Waterway Guide Southern 2008
http://www.waterwayguide.com/editions.php?area=southern

Campbell's Guide to Cruising Texas
http://www.campbellsguides.com/

I found them both very helpful. A trip up the ICW on the lower coast from Port Isabel to the Colorado River should be a good bet since it has light barge traffic and no locks or bridges to contend with. The upper coast is still dealing with the aftermath of Ike, so I would avoid that area for a while. I will post more after I get my Mac down to the coast.

[Sleepy]

There are locks on both sides of the Colorado river on the ICW, so you may want to pull up short to Palacios instead of the river.
Sailing from south to north is the way to go on the ICW here in texas, Most of the blue water sailors sail the gulf down the coast and the ICW back for an easier trip.

[macgeek299]

My wife and I like sailing the Gulf Coast ICW from Matagorda Harbor (http://www.matagordaharbor.com/) down to Matagorda Bay then north to Serendipity Bay Resort (http://www.campingfriend.com/serendipitybayresort/). Matagorda Bay has some interesting anchorages and we have enjoyed several trips there. - Jim

[bscott]

Thanks to all--some excellent info to ponder. Out trip looks like next spring. Prayers to all who suffered Ike's rath.

Bob

[JonBill]

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... f=4&t=4351

Check out this url which hopefully will take you to a thead further down the list below this one. See the next to last post on the second page which has more links to my favorite sailing area in Texas.

Also one piece of advice is to stay away from Galveston bay area. Too much destruction and suffering there now. It's far too soon to visit. However there are many more places to visit in this great state of Texas so go anywhere but Galveston area.

Kind Regards,
JonBill

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Hi Bob,

If or when you and the wife travel down here to the Gulf Coast with the boat, I think you guys will have a great time vacationing, sight seeing, etc.

I would suggest renting a "transient slip", keep the boat in the water, and store the trailer for the time vacationing. (A dealer locally has a large storage lot). There are some very nice Marina choices -- water, elect., club houses, shopping, and many conveniences around here. Transients are welcome.

Hope you guys can make the trip next Spring -- I, JonBill, and others welcome youall.

Happy Sailing !

[bscott]

Thanks Louis,Jonbill--glad to hear your made it OK

Bob

[BigRed1]

I realize this was an old post but I had to say I love sailing lake Amistad. I've done two trips down there with my Mac 22 launching from Diablo boat ramp. Even with low water there is lots of lake. I camp at night in little coves just tied between boulders on rock walls. The so called danger of being near the border are overblown. Always felt safe and have done lots of fishing on mexican side without issue. This is a hidden gem of a place. I think it strange so many who live in Texas have never even been there.