By design, the Mac 26S is easily trailered, and our Dodge Grand Caravan had no trouble towing it from Grapevine down to Lake Travis (both in Texas). When researching marinas, I was delighted to find that Emerald Point welcomed us with open arms because our home marina (Scott’s Landing) is also part of the Safe Harbor marina chain. The management treated us like family, launched our boat, said we were welcome to overnight in the courtesy slips near their ship’s store, and overall went out of their way to see make us comfortable. Really nice folks.
We arrived shortly after noon on Wednesday and were on the water by about 3:30. We sailed the eastern portion of the lake starting from Emerald Point, past Hudson Harbor, past lots of obviously very expensive homes, cruised by the dam, past Hippie Hollow Park (too cold for nude sunbathing for those who are familiar with the place), and docked at Wentz Park to cook dinner, with plans to spend the night.
It was a very nice evening, a bit on the cool side, but the wind was gentle and we enjoyed a dinner of grilled steak and roasted corn. A bit later, a friendly Ranger paid us a visit to let us know we were docked at a public pier. He had no problem with it given we were the only ones there but he did advise that we set sail early the next morning, and wished us a pleasant evening.
We eventually settled in to sleep, but the wind shifted and picked up a bit, and the waves lapping against the boat were keeping me awake. In retrospect, I should have tried mooring the boat in the lee of the dock, but decided instead to take the marina manager up on her earlier offer and motor back to Emerald Point. From this experience I learned that setting out on an unfamiliar lake at night is not exactly a great idea. Lake Travis is tricky to begin with (shallow in places one might not think) and water levels were unusually low. I struck bottom twice on the way back to Emerald Point, but Jo slept most of the time and decided to stay below the rest, which was probably for the best. Fortunately, the Mac 26 is designed to take such things in stride, and after about 45 minutes or so of anxious and chilly motoring, we pulled into a nice calm slip at the Emerald Point ship’s store.
The next morning we had a breakfast of croissants and coffee, then set out to explore a little further west, setting our sights on the Sundancer Grill in the Hurst Creek Arm of the Colorado River. Between our late start and having to tack frequently, it was around 1 o’clock when we pulled in at the guest dock. The Sundancer has a great view of the marina and the lake, and the burgers and fries were excellent as was the service. We will definitely go back if we do Lake Travis again.
Leaving the marina, again we ran into trouble, trouble being the bottom. Leaving the dock, I allowed the boat to drift toward the shore and somehow managed to get the centerboard stuck hard. I think that by trying to use the outboard motor to back out that I managed to break the haul-up cable for the centerboard, but I can’t say for sure when that happened. Again, heading out of the Hurst Creek Arm, I mis-read the buoys and dragged the centerboard and rudder, breaking the rudder hold-down cable that I had replaced that morning (thus the late start). My rookie mistakes notwithstanding, I did congratulate myself for buying a boat that would tolerate such miscalculations.
The wind was at our back most of the return trip to Emerald Point, and after tying off at the ship’s store we decided it might be best to cut the sailing portion of our trip short. The weather was cool and dreary, and rain was in the forecast, so plans to have guests onboard were set aside for another trip. Again, the good folks at Emerald Point Marina were available and happy to assist and got Excitable Boy back on the trailer before the rain got beyond a light drizzle.
The observant reader will wonder how we managed to get the boat on the trailer with the centerboard haul-up cable broken. My solution was to drop a loop of rope off the bow with one end port and the other starboard and work it back, using it to swing the centerboard up sufficiently to get it on the trailer. Once on, the trailer kept it securely in the up position.
We decided to spend a few days with our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson (they live in southwest Austin), and the management at Emerald Point graciously allowed us to leave the boat in their parking lot during that time.
Saturday morning we had planned to meet with my sister and brother-in-law for brunch, but it took longer than we had anticipated to unlade and de-rig the boat, so we had to settle for a quick rendezvous at a gas station. Jo and I grabbed lunch at a sushi bar and headed back to Grapevine. The trip home was uneventful, and we had Excitable Boy back in the water at Scott’s Landing the next morning.
Much was learned during this outing. For one, I have rigged the rudder pull-down line so a section will give before breaking the cable. Another is that a well-sheltered anchorage is key to a peaceful night’s sleep. Finally, I believe it would be wise to take a little more time studying the nature of the lake we are visiting and maybe a little less researching the restaurants! All in all, I’m glad the replacement cables were only $61 (thank you Blue Water Yachts!), so even with the trip shortened, we had a great time and are already planning our next lake camping trip.
My lovely wife, Jo
Shoreline from the middle of the lake
Homes of the rich, some famous, I'm sure!
Mansfield Dam
Sunset from Wentz Park
Ribeyes and corn on the Magma
