My friend is wanting to go from the Mississippi river to Brownsville via the ICW. Any areas to be concerned with? Anyone make this trip recently? Thanks in advance for all input......
Texas ICW
- Thread starter frank balcer
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Frank,
there are many areas to be concerned with but very passible. just have to monitor your mile board and listen to VHF. Few fuel stops along the way Be happy to make some notes for ya to pass along over lunch or a glass of tea.
Dick has my number if ya wanna call.
there are many areas to be concerned with but very passible. just have to monitor your mile board and listen to VHF. Few fuel stops along the way Be happy to make some notes for ya to pass along over lunch or a glass of tea.
Dick has my number if ya wanna call.
Where is he coming from, Frank?.. Something to watch this year is the river level.. The Atchafalaya is really high right now and as the snow melts up north, it is gonna get higher and faster.. Getting interesting right now in the Morgan City area with currents in the 4-5 kt range for some of the constricted pieces of the river and the ICW. Chuck can probably comment on that one !.. We were moving a small houseboat north a couple of weekends ago and at times we were making only 2 mph upstream.. Folks here are starting to accumulate sandbags already in anticipation of the expected high water.
A Nice Trip
With only a couple of worries. Fuel stops are somewhat limited, and the farther south you get, even moreso. Plan accordingly, and I would recommend having some fuel on deck. Four years ago, I couldn't find fuel in Morgan City. If I had needed 10,000 gallons it would have been peachy, but couldn't find a nozzle anywhere capable for the small quantity I needed. When you get south of the Corpus area, and particularly south of Baffin Bay, STAY in the ICW. All the water down there is very skinny, and I doubt seriously that the charts have been updated and corrected since the hurricanes of the past few years.
Baffin Bay has tons of large rocks in it, but if your careful, you can get in and anchor up for a night or two.The run from Baffin Bay to Port Mansfield is about 70 miles, and is should be done non-stop. Just no place to stop. Port Mansfield is a quaint little town, and a good place to spend a day. Fuel available there, and a very limited amount of supplies and provisions. From there down to Port Isbell is another run that should be done non stop, due to very shallow water. It is very pretty and in many places very desolute. Get yourself some good charts, as current as possible. Head on out and enjoy yourself.
With only a couple of worries. Fuel stops are somewhat limited, and the farther south you get, even moreso. Plan accordingly, and I would recommend having some fuel on deck. Four years ago, I couldn't find fuel in Morgan City. If I had needed 10,000 gallons it would have been peachy, but couldn't find a nozzle anywhere capable for the small quantity I needed. When you get south of the Corpus area, and particularly south of Baffin Bay, STAY in the ICW. All the water down there is very skinny, and I doubt seriously that the charts have been updated and corrected since the hurricanes of the past few years.
Baffin Bay has tons of large rocks in it, but if your careful, you can get in and anchor up for a night or two.The run from Baffin Bay to Port Mansfield is about 70 miles, and is should be done non-stop. Just no place to stop. Port Mansfield is a quaint little town, and a good place to spend a day. Fuel available there, and a very limited amount of supplies and provisions. From there down to Port Isbell is another run that should be done non stop, due to very shallow water. It is very pretty and in many places very desolute. Get yourself some good charts, as current as possible. Head on out and enjoy yourself.
Easy- for our first "long" trip this summer, we were thinking of going to South Padre. I notice it's about 100 miles from Port aransas(where we will be docked) to Port Mansfield(the first opportunity to get back into the ICW). Is this an OK route to take on the outside? I was hoping to sail that 100 miles.
Thanks all for the advice. I got my friend hooked up with Chuck Creel and after talking to Chuck he decided to cancell the trip Westward.
says
My friend says after talking to a few folks that have made the trip that way, that due to long stretches were no fuel is available and skinny water he's thinking he will just go East. He made the trip last summer offshore to help deliver a Mason 44 to Galveston and just thought he might like to do an ICW tour.....
My friend says after talking to a few folks that have made the trip that way, that due to long stretches were no fuel is available and skinny water he's thinking he will just go East. He made the trip last summer offshore to help deliver a Mason 44 to Galveston and just thought he might like to do an ICW tour.....
Going offshore
Hermit, that can be a very nice trip offshore. Roughly a 24 hour run. But be advised to watch the weather, and check out the gulf loop currents. Sometimes they run just offshore down south, and with a touch of N in the winds, it can get pretty choppy. Usually not any really big seas, but some three and four footers that are basically square. I would do it in a heartbeat, with a decent looking weather window. For me it would be preferable to going down inside. Not many oil rigs out there these days, and some pretty water. Be sure to take a couple of feather, or maybe squid jigs with you and troll while you sail. Nothing better than a real fresh dorado or spanish.
Hermit, that can be a very nice trip offshore. Roughly a 24 hour run. But be advised to watch the weather, and check out the gulf loop currents. Sometimes they run just offshore down south, and with a touch of N in the winds, it can get pretty choppy. Usually not any really big seas, but some three and four footers that are basically square. I would do it in a heartbeat, with a decent looking weather window. For me it would be preferable to going down inside. Not many oil rigs out there these days, and some pretty water. Be sure to take a couple of feather, or maybe squid jigs with you and troll while you sail. Nothing better than a real fresh dorado or spanish.
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