Saialing from pcb,fl to galveston

[doug45]

Ok got my maps for my voyage if I am correct can I not stay in the gulf in the safety farway and make it to galveston instead of taking the ditch???

[roverhi]

Don't know why anyone with a sailboat would stay in the ditch. With a little time to ensure favorable winds going outside is so much more fun and relaxing and probably faster.

[Nicor]

You do not want to take the 'ditch'.
It would be faster outside of the 'ditch'.

[belizesailor]

The oil patch is a crowded and busy place, with plenty of unlit hazards. Do you have RADAR?

[smj]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Don't know why anyone with a sailboat would stay in the ditch. With a little time to ensure favorable winds going outside is so much more fun and relaxing and probably faster.

Nothing relaxing about sailing offshore of Louisiana

[doug45]

no radar with me, but chartplotter and some experience and hopefully luck!!

[Nicor]

Originally Posted by doug45

no radar with me, but chartplotter and some experience and hopefully luck!!

I changed my mind, you need to take the 'ditch'.
Just too many rigs offshore of Grand Island extending to west and more than likely east also. But never went east.
Been through there numerous times and it is like doing one of those path finding puzzles.

Don't remember how far offshore the rigs extended.

You say you have charts, find them on the charts.
No idea how far offshore you would have to go to miss the majority of them.

[belizesailor]

No RADAR would also send me down the ditch. Ive sailed past many unlit obstructions in the oil patch at night.

Also, there is LOTS of commercial traffic (including siesmic research vessels...dragging 5nm of gear!). If you are dancing around them in foul weather/dark, RADAR is a big increase in your safety margin.

I wouldnt rely on "luck" in the oil patch.

[jpstevens]

No need s to follow fairways. Once you are about 50mi offshore there are few rigs. Check the weather for Northers, and it can be a nice trip.

[Captndave1]

Sailed a Wellington 47 straight across from Tampa Bay to Galveston in 4 days to the hour. only saw 5 or 6 oil platforms and they were all just off Texas coast.

[Sailmonkey]

Pensacola?

You’re starting already on the northern shore of the Gulf.

The only way that it’s comfortable (for me at least ) to sail that direction is to bear straight out to at least 300’-500’ of water (better yet to the edge of the shelf). Once out, then head west.

The problem comes in the shallower water, wellheads (literally wellheads, a caisson with valves atop sticking out of 50’ of water). Mooring bouys, workboats both fast and slow, Moored barges, platform groups attached by elevated catwalks, etc.....

It’s doable, but would not be my cup of tea (I’ve done it). For the section of coast between the Mississippi and Sabine pass, the ditch is a more relaxing albeit slower experience.

[Christopherlour]

The weather window is the issue. Northern winds cause the shallow Gulf of Mexico to really create large waves similar to the Great Lakes. I have seen returning shrimp boats line up at the jetties when the wind goes up to 40 knots from Morning to afternoon.

[fahtcha]

You can find a map of structures in Federal waters on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management web site. They do the leasing. You will find that platforms exist well over 100 miles offshore of the Mississippi River delta, with a greater density of platforms and more unlit ones the closer to shore you get.

[KadeyKrogen38]

Rigs extend from the Mississippi delta all the way to Galveston almost 250 miles

This time of year can be especially nasty with poor visibility as well as storm conditions. No radar and known risks. Take the ditch and enjoy instead of being constantly on the watch in dangerous conditions.

Been there done that in Late Fall and Winter. Worst experience I have ever encountered.

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

When I did it the opposite way I got well offshore to avoid all the shallow rigs. As I see it there is no reason to get close to the shallow rigs off of LA. It is the weather you need to be concerned about; the GOM becomes a washing machine very quickly.