Lake Travis, Texas Sailing Recommendations?

[SeacretSailor]

Can anyone suggest/recommend any good marinas on Lake Travis in Austin? I live in Houston and am looking for a marina with overnight transient slips with power, showers, restaurants & other niceties, for the family. They're willing to go sailing on an overnight trip, but don't want to rough it during the night!Kevin B.

 

[Honeyman]

Only real suggestions...

are Lakeway Marina and Resort and possibly Hurst Harbor. Only 2 areas with any kind of facilities close to what you want. I left the area over 2 1/2 years ago, so hopefully local residents will chime in for you. I sailed Travis for over 14 years and typically, it was too easy to sail back to my marina (Marshall Ford) and sleep in the slip with A/C running. No restaurant or "transient slips" there. Tons of great restaurants in the area, but only a few on the water. Lake Travis is WAY low right now, with most boat ramps closed, so I'd do some calling around. Try Google w/"Texas Sailing Academy" and give them a call, they are based out of Lakeway Marina and Resort and should be a good source of information.

 

[Honeyman]

OK...

so it's early in the morning and I just flew in from 2 weeks in Scotland ( boy are my arms tired!!! ;D ) , and I can't sleep, so I went back in and did a Google for you. Here's 2 websites. <http:www.briarcliffmarina.com> , and the one below for Texas Sailing. Briarcliff is a lot more of a drive than they let on, and I'm not sure where you could launch your boat. Restaurant is new to me. Best of luck.

 

[Monty Miller]

Central Texas Drought

Honeyman's suggestions are good. Most of the marinas here are primative in terms of ammenities and I'm not aware of any that cater to transients. This is the time of year we normally start sailing alot. The 100 degree days are over and the winds pick up. Not this year. We went out a couple of weeks ago and hit zero twice on the depth finder. I found it too difficult to anticipate the water depth due to the drought so we are now dock sailors. The lake is 2 feet above the lowest level that we have seen here before. If you decide to come make sure there is a place that you can actually launch and your rig can handle it. Low water means some of the ramps are very steep. See the link for lake conditions. Good luck and please do a rain dance for us.

 

[Steve22058]

LAKE TRAVIS

Travis is about 40' below its level same time last year and I would guess about 55' below what it was on Thanksgiving 2004. Having said that, there is still much water in the lake but you have to sail with care & a depthfinder & chart. ALL public launching ramps are closed! I am at Lake Travis Marina and we still have a ramp but no amenities like you're looking for. We do have toilets, and a shower as well as water & electricity at the slips. I do not know if they want to handle a transient. Their phone number is 512-266-9266, ask for Liz. Yacht Harbor Marina has a public restaurant at the edge of their parking lot but I think their ramp no longer reaches the water. Gotta run! If you wanna chat about options, you can fome me at 512-912-1035 around 5 - 7pm today.Steve Labans/v Ebb Tide II - MacGregor 22Lake Travis Mariner - Slip A3Hudson Bend, TexasStageWorks@austin.rr.com

 

[JeffC21331]

All info you have so far is right on

Kevin,I live right on Lake Travis. All the public ramps are closed. No way to launch unless you have access to the very few private ramps that are still in. In addition, the lake is so low that most of the good coves to anchor in are just not there any longer. The only restaurant you can still get to by water is Lakehouse Cafe in Briarcliff Marina. They are only open Thurs - Sun. If you have a boat that can fit into a 10 x 24 open slip, there is parking for the restaurant, but it is extremely tight to navigate in the marina area. My neighborhood marina usually has a few transient slips, but no electricity in those. Right now they are not accessible. If you are not familiar with sailing on Lake Travis, I would not suggest it now anyway, as it can be dangerous to the unfamiliar. The water can literally go from 100 feet to 3 or 4 feet before you can react as there are lots of sheer cliffs in certain areas. If you go out at night, light up you sails when you hear one of the many offshore power boats coming. The lake is narrow in places, and you will want to be seen in plenty of time.