Used to live in Texas and have cruised most of the coast. The Texas coast is certainly not the most picturesque of places -- muddy
water and heavily industrialized -- not a lot to offer a cruising yacht. And, in general it is a bit of hike between the limited number of good anchorages/destinations. Galveston is one of the better options. The Kemah/Seabrook/Clear Lake area is one of the largest concentrations of boats on the planet, but not because it is a great cruising ground. I think it has more to do with proximity to
Houston and NASA. It is an enjoyable venue, but most people just sail on the, very crowded, bay.
I've sailed a lot out of
Kemah, Corpus Christi (another enjoyable venue), Port Aransas, etc. Each has their own appeal, but really good surrounding cruising ground is not one of them. If you plan to mostly day sail and then socialize on the
dock they all are certainly good venues, but if you want to
cruise while you are there then there are much better options.
Iv'e also cruised most of the coast east of Texas and it is certainly more appealing. In fact I really enjoy it there (at least I did pre-Katrina...haven't cruised it since). Lots of great destinations within a day sail of each other. For example, from just east of
New Orleans all the way to
Pensacola there is quite a good mini-cruising ground:
Mississippi Sound, Mobile Bay,
Pensacola Bay...good sailing, good
food, good
music, good
anchorages, islands, several very active yacht clubs....
Maybe check flights into NOLA, Mobile, Pensacola and consider something along this section of the Gulf Coast.
it sucks.
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