Relocating to Texas, July 2019

[jclester]

Wife and I are moving to Texas, Corpus Christi or Houston/Galveston areas.

May wait 6-12 months before buying a boat to shop for the "right" boat and marina. But would like to get everyone's opinion of which area(s) in Texas they enjoy.

Thanks

[jmorrison146]

Stationed in Corpus Christi twice and loved it. Corpus Christi Bay is big, shallow, and protected by the barrier islands. You get great breezes without the accompanying sea state.

[leboyd]

what kind of sailing do you want? Galveston Bay (which is “Houston” sailing) is shallow, muddy, ugly and boring (my personal opinion). “Galveston” is Gulf and icw Sailing. Corpus is prettier.

But what kind of on-land life do you want? That would change everything because their completely different from each other.

[jclester]

Thank you both for the quick replies.

I was beginning to think Galveston wasn't what we're looking for because of the bay (water) and it looked like a lot of hazards. If we did go there we'd be further north towards Houston but...........

I'm not a sailor but................plan on taking it easy the first year (or until we're ready) and then start getting out of the bays and sailing (motoring) the ICW and eventually GC to Florida.

I'm 66 and in pretty good health other than a few run ins with cancer. However, my wife is not doing very well and is limited. She has Parkinson's and I expect to make some modifications to the boat to accommodate her.

Because of her condition I expect we'll be spending much/most of our time in the marina until I KNOW that I can handle the boat single handed.

Which brings me to my second question, ideas on best boat (32-40) and rigging to sail solo?

Corpus Christi was our first choice but Houston, the "city", looked like it had more to offer. But to be honest, we're not moving there for the city life. We've got enough of that out here in CA. We live in Orange County.

Thank you,

Jeff

[jmorrison146]

Had a ton of fun, live aboard on a Jeanneau 36i. Easily single handed.

[jclester]

Originally Posted by jmorrison146

Had a ton of fun, live aboard on a Jeanneau 36i. Easily single handed.

Thanks, I'll check them out

[YachtBroker]

The Corpus, Rockport and Port aransas areas are all nice and I used to live down there and the sailing is good. But there’s not much else there and there’s not much in the way of repair facilities.

The area where I’m in now is Kemah (also called the Clear Lake area) which is 35 miles from Houston and approximately halfway between Houston and Galveston is the the third largest concentration of boats in the US. Either way when you come to shop for a boat you need to come up to clear Lake.

The Kemah Seabrook area still has a smaller town feel but you have all the medical facilities you could want in Houston as well as all the boating facilities you need here locally.

[texasnielsen]

Shhhh.... trying to keep Kemah /Clearlake as TX’s worst kept secret!!!
Personally don’t care for Galveston. To smelly when the wind is blowing the wrong direction. Nice people, great cost of living but the refineries can sometimes be less than enjoyable from an odor perspective. Then again moving from southern CA you may not notice a difference in air quality. Not a zing. IMO the LA area’s air is not as nice is all . Drove up from Baja Sur last November and the color of the air approaching CA was saddening. Of course that’s partly due to MX open burning but you asked about TX.

Corpus is beautiful. Kemah is as nice. As others have asked, what do you to experienced “on the water” versus coastal living? Good luck with your decision.

[John L. Cwierz]

Please, yacht broker from Kemah, tell me about prices for a 37 ft. boat as far as marinas and else. Monthly or yearly, I am quite interested to know how are things now, in contrast to how I left them some time ago. Thanks, John

[Scaramanga F25]

A very shoal draft will be best. -3 feet with board up in those areas.

[Cpt Mark]

Any boat can be made for easy singlehanding or easier I should say. The bigger the boat the more comfort you may have but more windage which if it's tight in the marina might pose an issue. Do yourself a favor and start ay away from wood boats and any of the leaky teakys. Those are the Taiwanese boats with teak decks. Get an all fiberglass boat. The maintenance is ridiculously low in comparison.

[belizesailor]

Ive spent a lot of time in Galveston and like it. Its a cool town. Not the most scenic coastal area, but there are marinas & sailing there. If you want a very different sailing experience while there then volunteer on the ELISSA...a barque rigged ship built in 1877...way cool...I was ELISSA crew for a year or so.

There is also a big medical center in Galveston which might be of use to your wife.

Houston per se is not my favorite as cities go.

If you want a good compromise look in Clear Lake/Kemah...thats where most of Houston goes to sail anyway. Much more appealling area to me than Houston proper and its one of the largest concentrations of recrearional vessels in the USA.

Also check out the Harvest Moon Regatta.

[KadeyKrogen38]

Waterford Harbor in the Clear Lake area is probably the nicest and most protected marina on the Texas Coast. They welcome live aboards. Floating docks, great maintenance, gym, great pool and jacuzzi, sauna, and a restaurant. Not a single damaged boat during hurricane IKE. Check out there web page: waterfordharbormarina.com You are far enough away from the big city of Houston, but as someone said, near the one of the greatest medical centers in the world. Lots of things to do if you want to drive up, 30 minutes to the city. Lots of quality marine services are available in the Clear Lake, Kemah, Seabrook areas.

I disagree with the posting of 3 ft. Galveston Bay is shallow, average depth is 10 ft. but it is a level bottom, so stay away from the shore and the spoil areas and there is lots this big bay for sailing. I regularly sail on a boat that draws 6.6 ft and there are no issues unless there has been a strong North wind blowing. A Norther blows the water our of the bay, so for a few days each winter, boats cannot get out of the marinas to get to the bay.

Little Yacht Sales is also located at Waterford and is a very good, professional brokerage firm.

There are practically no marinas in Galveston, very few and not really great for living aboard. In Corpus Christi, the municipal marina, T-heads are nice, but docks are locked 24 x 7, making having visitors a hassle, needless to say they are locked up due to crime issues prevalent.

Port Aransas has a ok marina, but suffered major damage due to Hurricane Harvey. Very small town with very small town issues. Lack of marine services, major grocery stores, hospitals, etc. About the same story for the marinas in Freeport.

[jclester]

Originally Posted by YachtBroker

The Corpus, Rockport and Port aransas areas are all nice and I used to live down there and the sailing is good. But there’s not much else there and there’s not much in the way of repair facilities.

The area where I’m in now is Kemah (also called the Clear Lake area) which is 35 miles from Houston and approximately halfway between Houston and Galveston is the the third largest concentration of boats in the US. Either way when you come to shop for a boat you need to come up to clear Lake.

The Kemah Seabrook area still has a smaller town feel but you have all the medical facilities you could want in Houston as well as all the boating facilities you need here locally.

Thanks for the feedback. When I referred to Galveston/Houston I was thinking the entire inlet. Good to know that the "locals" see it differently :-) I guess for me it might be similar to the difference between Long Beach and Marina Del Rey. I was seriously looking at the area you mentioned.

Thanks again and any additional information is appreciated.

Jeff

[Tim francis]

I’m from Port Aransas. I’d recommend moving there. The only other place in Texas I’d consider if I were you is south padre island. Port Mansfield is my favorite port in Texas. It’s really quiet but easy to get to by sailboat. Do not go north to Galveston. You will want to check out island moorings. City marina isn’t that great. Corpus Christi has everything you could possibly ever need for boat repairs supplies.