Sailing the gulf

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Jun 1, 2004
243
Hunter 26 Lake Pueblo Colorado
Hi we live in Colorado and are thinking of trailering down to the Texas gulf for some sailing/fun. There will be two boats, a Hunter 26 and a Catalina 25, and we are looking to leave around late March for approx 2 weeks. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where to put in etc. Our original plan was to put in around padre Island sail along the gulf and come back along the ICW but we are not tied to anything and are basically Just looking to get some early sailing in and maybe get a head start on our 05 sailing season.
 
C

Clayton

Houston / Galveston

Charisma, We went down to Kemah / Clear Lake area a couple of years ago for bareboat certification and loved it. Plenty to see and do with good marinas very close by. One word of caution though, watch the weather as we were out in Galveston bay and a squall came through and whipped the bay up in to 8 foot rollers. Not too bad except Galveston Bay averages somewhere near 12 feet deep outside the ship channel. If you are looking for challenging sailing, head the 30 or so miles down to Galveston. The Houston Ship Channel, the ICW, the Galveston Ship Channel, and the Bolivar Roads Ferry all cross each other within 2 miles of each other. Keep the VHF on high and remember the tonnage rule - TONNAGE RULES! It was a great trip and we had a blast. Galveston Bay is nice as it is fairly protected and there is plenty to see. E-mail me at svwalkabout at comcast dot net if you want more info. (I spelled it out to try and foil the spammers). Are you going to the boat show this weekend in Denver? Maybe we could meet up there and share some pics. Regards, Clayton S/V Walkabout Hunter 26.5
 
Jun 7, 2004
334
Coronado 35 Lake Grapevine, TX
Texas ICW

My wife and I sailed down the ICW in our O'Day 25 and back a little over a year ago. It was a great trip. She wasn't ready to go out into the Gulf, but the ICW was very interesting. We put in at Corpus Christi city marina, and sailed down Anchor Marina in Port Isabel. Both marinas are very inexpensive, with CC City Marina being nicer, and Anchor Marina being less expensive (I think we paid $10 a night for Anchor Marina). We were fortunate to have fair winds both ways and only had to motor about 30 miles total, but normally, you would want to do as you plan - go south in the gulf, and back north using the ICW, as the prevailing winds are from the southeast. Make sure to bring binoculars, there are some amazing wildlife to see along the ICW.
 
M

matt

fun but be careful

I was based around Corpus Christie for three weeks on my Catalina 22 I trailered down there late in 2004. Had a blast. I would suggest the anchor point marina for a base as well as your put in. Good restaurants and cheap floating docks. That is on the other side of the ICW in Port Aransas. The ICW is poorly marked and I saw a few groundings in Corpus Bay. There is not much to see going south from here, but going north there is better sailing, or at least deeper water. In the Laguna Madre the average depth is 1 foot, and there is a lot of oil rig remains. I had great weather and sailing. Most of the outerbanks are parkland and holding is sand. The gulf can get scarry pretty quickly and the ICW is very poorly marked. I have sailed around cape cod most of my life and was not used to a lot of channel markers being dragged by barges. You should have a chart enabled GPS new charts and VHF. Let me know if you need any company matt breakin wind
 
H

Herb Parsons

Different Experience

Hmmm, my experience was quite different. We navigated south down the ICW, and found it well makred and accurate for the most part. The "Anchor Marina" I mentioned wasn't in Port Aransas, but was at the other end of the trip, in Port Isabel at the southern tip of Texas. We did have one grounding in the ICW, and it was in an area that my Blue Chart in my GPS said should have been deep enough. However, this was right after Erika hit last year (it dropped to tropical storm strenght right before it hit Port Isabel), and I suspect there was some new shoaling. Other than that one incident, the ICW was 10' or greater all the way south. And, although there few cities or marinas, the wildlife sceneral was great. We also were escorted by dolphin pods several times going each direction.
 
C

Charisma

Thanks

Thanks for all the great info Guys, much appreciated. It sounds as though the Bay will be the place at least for this trip. Clayton, I do have a chart enabled GPS and will be taking it with us. Did yo get my e-mail? Matt will you be making it to the show this weekend?
 
M

matt

boat show

yep, I was at the show on sunday, sorry I did not get the message sooner. Mabe we could have met up. matt
 
Dec 5, 2004
121
- - San Leon, TX
More info on Galveston

Avoid Kemah MArina, it is a MASSIVE traffic jam most of the year on all weekends. Shoot for Watergate, Waterford, or Liberty Point Marinas on the south side...or better still the Seabrook Boatyard MArina on the north side. Seabrook MArina is right at the mouth of Clear Lake, so you are minutes from the Bay. Clear LAke is about 18-20miles up the bay from Galveston Island and so a nice sail, you can pull in at Offats Bayou or pull in right downtown on the Strand. Galveston Bay is really four bays, Trinity, East, Galveston proper, and West Bay. Lots of porpoise the closer you get to the Texas City Dike (between Clear LAke and Galveston. email me if you wish and let me know if you need more info when you get close to coming, I live and sail on Galveston Bay, very near Clear Lake. didereaux(takethisout)(at)email(this to dot)com We moved down here from Denver several years ago. g'Luk A suggestion for a really nice short trip is take the ICW down to Matagorda Bay to Palacious and back, just a day down each way.
 
Jun 1, 2004
243
Hunter 26 Lake Pueblo Colorado
Local knowledge

Thanks for the info, Didereaux I tried e-mailing you but it just bounces back. I have a lot of Questions we are looking for some local knowledge. We are planning to sail the last two weeks of March. We would like to know where would be a good place to put in and hopefully be able to leave the trailers there, What charts should we get, Good places to anchor for a night, places to avoid, What are the daytime temps etc. and of course any relevent info you think would be helpful. Thanks for your help in advance Chris & Debbie Sammons sv Charisma
 
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