Texas Sailing?

[Rick Johnson]

OK, I'm to the point of moving my C34 to Texas but would like some feed-back from anyone who has an opinion (yeah, I know....).  I live in Austin, TX and have considered putting the boat at Lake Travis (about 30 miles long and reasonably deep).  It has fresh water and no hurricanes, but I really hate being surrounded by drunken power-boaters and we seem to have more than our share.  Corpus Christi seems inexpensive, nice town with a bay and an ocean, but it's 3 hours away and has a hurricane once in a while.  Insurance is cheaper at the lake and slips are cheaper at Corpus.  Anyone have any experience in these areas or want to share their thoughts?

[sail4dale]

Sailed with a friend on Canyon Lake just out of San Antonio.  Great sail and with the slips at the yacht club it ws a "breeze".

Saw a Cat 36 out sailing so I guess it has a few decent size boats on it.  It is a year round faclility too.

[Jeff McKinney]

Rick,

Drunken powerboaters can be trained to avoid you. Go talk to the supply ssection at Ft. Sam Houston about a used 50 Cal. machine gun. The foredeck on a 34 is big enough, and you won't need more than a few rounds across the bow to get their full atttention.  

I've also sailed Canyon Lake. It's nice as long as the water does not dip too low. It tends to get shallow in a hurry and the usable area goes way down. One thing: you do have to watch out for swimming deer.

[Stu Jackson]

                                                                 Rick                                        

I believe that this is another: "Your boat - your choice."

My "opinion" is prefaced by a short history.

Our 1981 C22, "Enfin" ("FAST" in French) bought in 1983 served us well on Clear Lake (California).  Big lake, small boat, great sailing, learned to anchor and take care of ourselves.  Did a lot of dumb things, but  survived.  Learned. Winter C22 sailing on San Francisco Bay.  Sailed The Bay and The Delta.

Another 1981, a C25, FK/SR, "Capricorn Two" in 1987.   Thought about bringing it to the lake to be a "big boat" at twice the volume of "Enfin."  For may reasons, kept her on The Bay, very glad we did.   Almost 12 years of great sailing.  1992 trip to Halfmoon Bay 18 miles south, Monterey 51 miles south overnight on the Ocean and back.  Learned boat systems more.

"Aquavite" joined our family in 1998, at Cory's insistence.  Big boat systems, inboard engine, electrical stuff - learned a whole lot more.

We've sailed lakes, Bays and Oceans on different boats.

Point is: the choice still is yours as to where you go.  Only you can decide.

There are a**holes out there no matter where you go.  There always will be, and not all of them are in powerboats.  We have the great fortune to have dock mates with powerboats who are great "sailors" and responsible, caring adults.

If you are concerned at this stage, even before bringing your boat back to Texas, about anybody or anything interrupting your enjoyment, then you should factor that into your selection of where to sail your C34.  It can be a big [HUGE] boat on a small lake or a (still!) big boat on the Gulf.

If the a**holes are in your head now, why not avoid them if, as you describe, they're in droves for one of your choices?  If they "upset" you now, why go there or even consider it at all?

If, however, proximity is important, that should work for the lake option.  The size of the C34 could keep things quiet inside.

Your boat - your choice.

Didn't someone say that all boats are compromises?  

[Ron Hill]

Rick : You'll just be moving in, so I'd recommend something local until you get to know the area.  

Don't think Fort Sam has seen a M2 HB 50cal in many a year.  They might be able to supply you with a bunch of used needles.  

[Rick Johnson]

Stu, what happened to your pearls of wisdom????

I'm thinking a Ma Duece is out of place on a C34, but I have a 1/2 scale 9 Pounder that needs to be mounted in case of pirates....

[Stu Jackson]

Rick

For some reason this 'board is a little strange when it comes to typing long stories.  Once I do a spell check, when I restart typing it jumps all over the place, comes up with weird menus and dialog boxes, and many times loses what I've written. (I can't type watching the screen, but I can type pretty fast.)  It's annoying.  Yesterday I was almost finished and it all disappeared!  So, what's up there is the third try.  I did it on a word processing program.  If I use Word Perfect, the paste has to be edited because of the carriage returns.  If I use Word, it needs to be reedited because of spacing between words.  Oh well, hope the message got through.  Enjoy the power boaters, wherever you go.

[Jeff McKinney]

Ron,

Go talk to the NCOIC of the MPs. I'll bet he could find an M2 & a can of ammo for ya. If not, a 12 gauge pump with deer slugs would work just as well.

One across the bow, the next one at the waterline. Works every time.  

[Jeff McKinney]

Rick,

Wher did you get the 9 pounder?

[Rick Johnson]

South Bend Replicas in Indiana, they do very nice work!  Full size or scale

[vriceflyer]

I have sailed a 22 and a 23 on our local lake years ago. Too confining for us now. We sailed our Peterson 34 and our Morgan 32 for years on the gulf.  Mostly on Galveston Bay.  We had a 4 1/2 hour one way drive to Houston's Clear Lake area where we kept the boats. We finally tired of the trip twice with two boats at different times.  However, we must be slow learners for we are currently looking for a Catalina 34 or 36.  It has been four years since we sold our Morgan.  For the last 4 years we have cruised and enjoyed our Sea Ray 27.  But I yearn to sail one more time.  If we buy one we will keep it 4 1/2 hours away in either Houston or New Orleans.

Vince M/V "WILD RICE"

[Norris Johnson]

Rick,
The best kept sailing secret on the Texas Coast is Palacios, Texas. Yes, we have had two hurricanes in the past 40 years. The last one was two yrs ago. The strongest winds were 100 mph. Most of the damaged was caused by folks tying there boats too close to the finger piers.

Matagorda Bay is huge with no traffic other than a shrimp boat or two. The average depth is ~9ft and you are about 4 hrs sailing time from the Gulf Of Mexico. Your can sail with prevailing SE wind for 3 hrs and never tack if you please. My C34 is kept at Serendipity Marina in Palacios. There are slips available for 145 @ month. No, I do not have any interest in Palacios or Serendipity, other than I keep my boat there. Serendipity has floating piers, but they are 20 yrs old.