Gulf of Mexico in June/July

[ClassicalBGP]

I saw the thread on the Gulf in February, and thought about posting there, yet did not want to highjack the thread.
I currently live in AZ, and have only sailed in lakes. However, I am a Gulf Coast native (just north of Gulfport / Biloxi area). I have been in the gulf for fishing, trips to Ship Island, Cat Island etc… in my younger years, however always on power boats. Both mine and the wife’s family still live in the Gulf Coast area and we go back to visit in the summers. I was thinking of towing my 24’ American back during the summer visit and spending a few days sailing the barrier islands. It would be my first “open water” sailing. This trip would be either June or July, 2017 and be mainly off the MS coast. Thoughts? Sailing conditions? Weather/wind? Points of interest? Any help would be great.

[belizesailor]

MS Sound is a great little cruising ground. All the way from from the Rigolets to Pensacola. You can run inside the barrier islands or outside from pass to pass.

Summer of course brings possible Tropical weather, more squalls (esp at night), and warmer temps...other wise OK. Just keep a close eye on the weather. Near coastal u can get weather on NOAA VHF WX channels.

[tkeithlu]

Summer spaces out the fronts, giving you more time to play and plenty of time to seek shelter. It doesn't sound like you're talking about multi-day stuff or going far enough off shore to mess with the oil rigs in any case. Come enjoy yourself.

Summer Gulf of Mexico is just about the opposite of Winter North Atlantic.

[ClassicalBGP]

Thanks for the info. I was thinking an overnight maybe off one of the islands. Just to get the experience. But, sounds like it's a much better time to go than February.

[jimbunyard]

Bring bug spray, or if (like me) you detest the stuff, expect to learn to anchor creatively and strategically...

[Seeking Solace]

Originally Posted by jimbunyard

Bring bug spray, or if (like me) you detest the stuff, expect to learn to anchor creatively and strategically...

This was exactly what I was going to say. If you don't like the smell of bug spray skin so soft helps with mosquitoes. Net the hatches, it's too hot and muggy to keep anything closed, even at night. Much better than in fall or spring as far as weather goes. Just don't take for granted that you can outrun anything.

[ClassicalBGP]

Skin so soft, have not used that since I lived in MS. While in AZ, the bugs are not bad, but we do have some, I have begun using a thermacell. Works great here, might not be something for a long term cruiser, but for a weekend I might give it a try.
However, I haven’t heard anything disheartening to keep me away. My Mariner draws less than three (3) feet of water, so I think that is a plus for once. I plan on visiting Ship Island, after that, simply sailing. I would like to spend a night or two on the hook off an island. Just for the experience outside of a lake. As far as equipment goes, I do have a chart plotter/ gps/ sonar, that I have the lake charts for, I intend on loading the coastal maps before I go. However, no radar or AIS attached. I am debating between a dingy or life raft, leaning towards a dingy after reading the recent threads posted here. I will be buying an EPIRB before the trip. I do have a mounted VHF in the cabin. I guess this should be another thread, but just looking to see if there is something I need that I am overlooking.

[tuffr2]

There will be periods where you can set your watch by when the thunder storms crop up. Usually between 2:00pm and 3:00pm. Usually these last 15 - 60 minutes then it gets nice again.

[ClassicalBGP]

While, I know it all depends on the weather (for that day), in general are these afternoon storms, something that I need to have the boat back on the trailer for, or something to ride out. How much protection can one except from the barrier islands?

[tuffr2]

It is difficult to go say...75% of the time it is a straight down, no wind, hard downpour. 15% of the time there is a mild wind. 10% of the time it would be stormy.

Again these downpours last 15 - 60 minutes leaning more toward the 15 minute downpours.

I have a friend that does not fish in the summer. He says he gets tired of getting rained on in his little center console boat with no shelter. If you have shelter the rain should not bother you.

In the summer 2:00pm is the very hottest time of day. The water evaporates in the gulf causing it to rain about then. I have seen radar showing rain ending...but after awhile I decided the rain area was developing to the west of me and raining where I was. It rained that day several hours which was odd.

Maybe someone else will be able to tell their odds and if you can ride then out.

IMHO you can ride out 'most' of the rain periods.

[jimbunyard]

Not to scare you but the picture below is just before the Gulfport/Pensacola race in June of I think 1997. We had just put the outboard below. Not to worry though, we started and finished the race with no mishaps, starting with a 12-15 west wind that resulted probably from a large thunderstorm that often develops just onshore as a result of land heating and the temperature differential of still relatively cool water in the early summer. Midway through the race, in the middle of the night, the wind suddenly died, and we had the presence of mind to recognize that this usually signals a 180 (or near) degree windshift and we pulled the spinnaker down just in time, before the wind shifted into the northeast at about 20. Kinda sucked cause that was pretty much exactly the direction we were headed.

The point being that the weather is unpredictable on the sound, but with some experience, it is very safe. One of the best things is one can almost always find a lee, and for the most part the storms only last an hour or so.
But they can be fierce, the strongest (measured) I've been through was 64 knots, but that only lasted 15 minutes. What's really nice is when an onshore t'storm induces a really good 15-20 knot onshore sailing breeze in the afternoon, (which keeps the bugs away, often into the evening) and then you get a really spectacular sunset...I can't count the times I've started out a miserable looking day, windsurfing, fishing or sailing, and it ending up just fantastic.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by jimbunyard

Not to scare you but the picture below is just before the Gulfport/Pensacola race in June of I think 1997. ...

Crewed in the Gulfport/Pensacola years ago...we got squalls to 50 knots, but a water spout like that...wow...not much you can do about that one. Several boats look really close, how did they fare?

Actually did the whole series of regattas that year starting in NOLA and ending in Pensacola...great fun.

[tfrank]

My boat is in Gulfport. Great cruising grounds. We especially like anchoring off Horn Isle. A bimini top or an awning would be great. It can get pretty hot when the wind dies. We also enjoy sailing from Gulfport to Bay St Louis and spending the night in the marina. Great restaurants, shopping and bar hopping.

[ClassicalBGP]

I have seen water spouts before, but nothing like that. WOW Thank you for the picture. Sounds like to keep an eye on the weather and be ready to run. Yet, it appears that Ship Island is about 10-12 miles out and my boat is not the fastest. I have a 6 hp Johnson on it now, but I am going to try to upgrade to a 9.9 Honda before the trip. I carry two anchors, but do not have a sea anchor (lake sailing you know). Suggestions?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by ClassicalBGP

I have seen water spouts before, but nothing like that. WOW Thank you for the picture. Sounds like to keep an eye on the weather and be ready to run. Yet, it appears that Ship Island is about 10-12 miles out and my boat is not the fastest. I have a 6 hp Johnson on it now, but I am going to try to upgrade to a 9.9 Honda before the trip. I carry two anchors, but do not have a sea anchor (lake sailing you know). Suggestions?

Sea anchor is for well offshore use. Not something you would normally use in a near coastal sound.

Keep VHF scanning NOAA channels. Some recieve severve weather signal issued by NOAA. NOAA will issue alerts for known/reported severe weather.