Is Texas a good place to cruise/liveaboard?

[DMF Sailing]

Now that ^ right there is Cruisers Forum at its best.

Very much appreciate this reply, and all the others.

[gottoaz]

Three months into Port A municipal marina I would say it is friendly, welcoming, informal, secure, and comfortable. The only thing not mentioned so far is that fishing seems tobe very popular and very good.

[Mickeyrouse]

Originally Posted by DMF Sailing

Hi Folks,



I guess you go around them to get to Lousiana and Fla.

I overlooked this in my previous diatribe. Texas is fairly isolated from the rest of the cruising world, because to get here you have to really want to. The obstacle: Louisiana.

If sailing offshore from the Pelican State, you have to get past the Mississippi Delta. After adding up to 100 miles to your course depending on weather and required draft, the west-bound sailor is at Head of Passes and the focus of some of the heaviest shipping traffic in North America. After clearing that, one is now in the heart of incredibly dense oil production platforms, even in the designated shipping fairway. Immediately crossing into Texas waters, one encounters the no. 4 by tonnage Sabine-Neches waterway, only to be followed by No. 2 Houston-Galveston. For the offshore sailor, heading west usually means a beat to weather for the three or four days from New Orleans unless sailing on a frontal passage.

Obviously the alternative is the GIWW, called by us locals the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) or more poetically, the Ditch. Remember the comment about shipping in the Ditch I made earlier? It spills over into Louisiana quite vigorously. To compare to the East Coast Waterway: we’ve sailed the full Norfolk-Miami distance twice, seeing maybe two tows total. In the Texas section of the ICW, it is not uncommon to encounter one every ten minutes. And big dudes at that.

The biggest obstacle Louisiana presents though is simply the lack of amenities. The entire distance from New Orleans to Orange is about 280 miles. For daylight cruisers like us, that is often a five day run. Once past West End or Seabrook on Lake Ponchartrain there is only ONE fuel opportunity, Shell Morgan at Intracoastal City. The next fuel dock is in Galveston.
Municipal Tie-ups on the ICW are available only at Houma and Morgan City, with much off-the-track stops at Cypremort, Lake Charles, and Sabine Pass. Decent anchorages are rare, and we have stopped more than once literally on the edge of the ICW, 30 yards or so out of the channel with the keel in the mud, the loud big dudes serenading us.
No wonder out-of-state hail ports on transoms are rare.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by gottoaz

Three months into Port A municipal marina I would say it is friendly, welcoming, informal, secure, and comfortable. The only thing not mentioned so far is that fishing seems tobe very popular and very good.

Yes, good inshore and offshore fishing in Texas. The rigs make great habitat for big fish.

And second Port A being an good port of call. Ive sailed there in many a Harvest Moon Regatta.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

Don’t forget that down south they have wonderful poisonous snakes in large quantities that don’t exist up north:-)

And dont forget the gators! Especially along the TX/LA border there are lots of them...and they get BIG!

I was doing some engine work in Orange TX one day and stuck my head over the transom to check the exhaust output...came nose to nose with a big old gator (~12' !). Scared the crap out of both of us. He rear up and bellowed at me, then took off.

When I was a kid I used to swim in waters full of snakes and gators and never gave it a second thought...as an adult, no way!!

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

And dont forget the gators! Especially along the TX/LA border there are lots of them...and they get BIG!

I was doing some engine work in Orange TX one day and stuck my head over the transom to check the exhaust output...came nose to nose with a big old gator (~12' !). Scared the crap out of both of us. He rear up and bellowed at me, then took off.

When I was a kid I used to swim in waters full of snakes and gators and never gave it a second thought...as an adult, no way!!

OK, gators that bellow... that's new.

Belize, in that same light, when I was a kid I thought nothing about playing in the waves near the seals on the Cape, not the least bit concerned with the thought that a white shark could be right there.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by Mickeyrouse

I overlooked this in my previous diatribe. Texas is fairly isolated from the rest of the cruising world, because to get here you have to really want to. The obstacle: Louisiana.

If sailing offshore from the Pelican State, you have to get past the Mississippi Delta. After adding up to 100 miles to your course depending on weather and required draft, the west-bound sailor is at Head of Passes and the focus of some of the heaviest shipping traffic in North America. After clearing that, one is now in the heart of incredibly dense oil production platforms, even in the designated shipping fairway. Immediately crossing into Texas waters, one encounters the no. 4 by tonnage Sabine-Neches waterway, only to be followed by No. 2 Houston-Galveston. For the offshore sailor, heading west usually means a beat to weather for the three or four days from New Orleans unless sailing on a frontal passage.

Obviously the alternative is the GIWW, called by us locals the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) or more poetically, the Ditch. Remember the comment about shipping in the Ditch I made earlier? It spills over into Louisiana quite vigorously. To compare to the East Coast Waterway: we’ve sailed the full Norfolk-Miami distance twice, seeing maybe two tows total. In the Texas section of the ICW, it is not uncommon to encounter one every ten minutes. And big dudes at that.

The biggest obstacle Louisiana presents though is simply the lack of amenities. The entire distance from New Orleans to Orange is about 280 miles. For daylight cruisers like us, that is often a five day run. Once past West End or Seabrook on Lake Ponchartrain there is only ONE fuel opportunity, Shell Morgan at Intracoastal City. The next fuel dock is in Galveston.
Municipal Tie-ups on the ICW are available only at Houma and Morgan City, with much off-the-track stops at Cypremort, Lake Charles, and Sabine Pass. Decent anchorages are rare, and we have stopped more than once literally on the edge of the ICW, 30 yards or so out of the channel with the keel in the mud, the loud big dudes serenading us.
No wonder out-of-state hail ports on transoms are rare.

Yeah, I'm beginning to grasp the notion that if you're living on the Texas coast, you're not cruising east along the Gulf Coast to Florida whenever you feel like it just for the fun of it.

Thanks for the detailed description.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by DMF Sailing

OK, gators that bellow... that's new.



Belize, in that same light, when I was a kid I thought nothing about playing in the waves near the seals on the Cape, not the least bit concerned with the thought that a white shark could be right there.

....and then they made "Jaws"! [emoji1787]

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

....and then they made "Jaws"! [emoji1787]

And now at the small boat launch ramp in Provincetown Harbor they have this

[tbodine88]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

I windsurfed in CC decades ago. I think it gets decent reliable winds at certain times of the year and that is why we went. Our car was pulled over by Border Patrol for "inspection" and they were absolutely douchebags about it. I suspect boats may have similar issues down there.

The border patrol generally hassel the land bound. You may be hassled by texas parks and wildlife or the sheriff

[TooCoys]

Originally Posted by HighTemp

The Texas Gulf Coast offers a lot.

A lot of humidity.
A lot of heat.
A lot of commercial traffic.
A lot of dirty water.
A lot of dirty beaches.
A lot of stressed fisheries.
A lot of shallow water.
A lot of "it all looks the same".

I'd say stop in Florida, or continue on to Mexico.

[C420sailor]

I lived in Corpus Christi for a while, on Padre Island. Beaches are dirt but I didn’t mind them. Weather sucks in the winter...low ceilings and poor visibility. They get some solid breeze otherwise, though...

Bike rides were vicious.

[bstreep]

Originally Posted by TooCoys

A lot of humidity.
A lot of heat.
A lot of commercial traffic.
A lot of dirty water.
A lot of dirty beaches.
A lot of stressed fisheries.
A lot of shallow water.
A lot of "it all looks the same".

I'd say stop in Florida, or continue on to Mexico.

That's 'cause you are in Seabrook... MOVE!

[Mickeyrouse]

Originally Posted by C420sailor

I lived in Corpus Christi for a while, on Padre Island. Beaches are dirt but I didn’t mind them. Weather sucks in the winter...low ceilings and poor visibility. They get some solid breeze otherwise, though...

Bike rides were vicious.

At a mean wind velocity of 12 kts., Corpus supposedly has the highest average wind of any city in the US.

[conchaway]

Don't believe the naysayers. Texas is a wonderful place!
Florida is way too crowded.
Everyone should go to Texas, or California, or someplace.