[Rhodes22-list] Sailing Today

[Jim White]

    Bill:
  It starts to get really nice here around late October to mid November, and continues untill late March...Temperatures drop to the 70's and 80's (with the occassional cold front..), winds turn more northerly, and the usual gusty southeast wind drops.
   
  I use a couple of techincal sites to give me an idea of the actual mechanics of the waters and winds (temp, current W/S, dir. etc):
   
  http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bro/   (Local Brownsville NWS)
   
  http://lighthouse.tamucc.edu/stnlist/:active:tcoon:  (TAMU Data Platforms)
   
  The TCOON page is a collection of real time data stations around Texas and provides oceanographic data like W/S, Air & Water temp, currents etc. I use it a lot to give me up to date info
   
  For sailing, one of the best sites is:
   
  http://www.sailtexas.com/
   
  There's lots of good links on that page too...
   
  IMHO best sailing in Texas is on Corpus Christi Bay...it's deep and big. Pretty good yacht club there too. Galveston offers good sailing too, but more shallows / shoals and large vessel traffic. Our own embayment, the lower Laguna Madre is beautiful and fun to sail, though shallow (averages <3' deep). The R22 is a duck on water here. There are a number of treacherous spots, spoil banks and shallows, but I generally stick to the deeper, south end. The water is very clear, and tropical here, the other bays tend to be muddy.
   
  The best sailing in Texas then is in the bays and lagoons behind the barrier Island, which stretches from here to past Houston. It breaks the SSE winds, and offers generally friendly sailing. The open Gulf is a blast too, although like any open, large body of water - it can be unpredictable. I've taken Menagerie +5 miles offshore to the closer oil rigs to fish on nice days, although due to the fact that the GOM is a restricted basin, the wave periods are closer together than larger bodies such as the Atlantic and Pacific, which means a 4' sea will beat the crap out of you whereas in the larger oceans, with longer wave periods it's a much friendlier thing......
   
  I know Herb has a good bit of coastal experience here too, and he probably has some insight on favorite spots.....
   
  We Texans are a friendly bunch, and as always, I leave an open invitation to you (and any others who might ever venture here) to come go sail with Menagerie and I. We'll define Texas hospitality for ya :-)
   
  Cheers and Happy New Year....
   
  jw

Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
  Jim,

When does it start to get comfortable down there? When does it end?

Where should I look to learn more about the waters?

If you could pick one spot in South Texas to sail, where would it be?

Bill Effros



Jim White wrote:

>Gave Menagerie a thorough bath last evening, and checked the rigging, engine and cabin...thought I might take a sunset cruise as the wind was just about perfect <12 knots, bay smooth as glass, noone else out. Oh yea, and the air temp was about 80...
> 
> Alas, I dawdled too much, and choose to stay and enjoy a beverage or two....
> 
> Going to bail after lunch today and sail till after dark, carbon copy day. Might fish for awhile too, speckled trout have been on a feeding frenzy along with redfish.
> 
> I love South Texas in the winter. Makes up for the hellish summer. Selective amnesia, every summer I swear I'm going to move, go somewhere more temperate...each winter, I forget about it...
> 
> jw
>
>
>Jim White
>Le Menagerie
>www.lemenagerie.blogspot.com
> 
>---------------------------------
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