Mobile Bay to Texas Coast - Rockport or Corpus Christi

[threepointfix]

Greetings, I was wondering if anyone has made the SAIL to the Texas coast from Mobile Bay ? If so, would you share details ? number of days.... sail plan.... what to expect .... time of year you made the sail..

ALSO.... anyone made the SAIL from the Texas coast back to Mobile Bay ?
If so, would you share details ? number of days.... sail plan.... what to expect .... time of year you made the sail..

Cheers,
s/v Anne Bonny

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, threepointfix.

[Tony B]

Originally Posted by threepointfix

Greetings, I was wondering if anyone has made the SAIL to the Texas coast from Mobile Bay ? If so, would you share details ? number of days.... sail plan.... what to expect .... time of year you made the sail..

ALSO.... anyone made the SAIL from the Texas coast back to Mobile Bay ?
If so, would you share details ? number of days.... sail plan.... what to expect .... time of year you made the sail..

Cheers,
s/v Anne Bonny

I have gone from Mobile Bay to Galveston Bay in Tx. several times. Trip should take between 4 to 5 days. Add another day if heading down to Rockport/Corpus area. I have done it in May and June. The dominate winds will probably be from the south or west. In the northern Gulf at this time of year you can expect anything from 12-15 kts down to flat calm. Once you start getting close to the southern texas coast the winds are rarely calm. Usually 15 to 25 kts from the S to SW. Great sailing in that area. The wind down there is almost like a pipeline that races up the coast but doesnt extend very far out.
The only noteworthy part of the trip is when you make your turn around the mouth of the Ms. River. You will probably enter an area called the LOOP - Louisiana Offshore Oil Port. This is where overseas tankers offload their oil to this port in the gulf so as not to have to go up the Ms. It consists of a platform and lots of buoys. This area is potentially hazardous and so when you enter this area they will contact you by radio. Have at least 3 working radios on board. These folks are nice to deal with. They control the tanker trafficand they will ask you several pertinant questions.
They will monitor you very closely on RADAR and get you through this with the greatest of ease. Rule No. 1: ANSWER THE RADIO!!!!!!. If you dont, you will be very sorry. They will instruct you every inch of the way and inform you of where all the traffic is and tell you which frequencies to monitor. Nothing to worry about at all. Just answer the radio and like I said, 3 radios would be better. Handhelds are graet for this.
Have a safe trip

[EBB3]

Keep in mind that corpus christi and rockport are very different from each other! Both have their benefits for sure, but I would come on down to Corpus, yes I live here. Rockport will give you a small town feel with great fishing. Corpus quite frankly has more to do, with beaches, kiteboarding, wakeboarding parks, a bigger city to explore and more luxuries. just my two cents

[Sailorman375]

This time of year there are many Northerns that come through. Best time to do that run is early spring.

[Tony B]

Originally Posted by EBB3

Keep in mind that corpus christi and rockport are very different from each other! ....... Rockport will give you a small town feel with great fishing. Corpus quite frankly has more to do, ......

Good point. I was only thinking of the sailing and the 'getting to' aspect of the trip. If all you want to do is go fishing everyday, then Rockport is OK. Other than that it is a very boring place. Corpus has much more to offer. The advantage of Rockport is that it is only 30 minutes by car to Corpus. The advantage of Corpus is that it is only 30 minutes to Rockport. I lived in Rockport for about 10 months. Like it much much better outside the Houston area on Galveston Bay. My advice is to drive on down for a few days and check both places out.

[Target9000]

We made it from Ingram's Bayou to Point Cadet Marina in Biloxi in one day's worth of sailing (all during daylight hours) in a slow old boat. Could have easily stopped at one of the islands instead if we felt like it.

[Tony B]

BTW, my estimate of 4-5 days to Galveston Bay and 5 to 7 days to Corpus was based on open Gulf and not on the ICW.

[threepointfix]

I was thinking about heading down in the Fall of 2013; any problems do it that time of year ?

[RTB]

If you are doing the ditch, we just did the reverse trip (less about 125 miles to Rockport). We left Kemah nov. 15, and are waiting weather here in Port St. Joe, Fl., for the crossing to Clearwater (150 miles). It was a nice trip until now. Check our blog and click on the map (current position). It shows all of our stops along your route, if doing the ditch.

Ralph
Sunset 3 | sailing away with R & B

[Tony B]

Originally Posted by threepointfix

I was thinking about heading down in the Fall of 2013; any problems do it that time of year ?

That time of year, starting in September, cold fronts start coming in. They may not feel cold, but they will be very windy and rough. With luck, you might be able to dodge them. Dont trust your NOAA weather radio. They are usually pretty good at what is going to happen but really suck on the 'when'. When in the middle of all hell breaking loose you can turn on your weather channels on the VHF and in a very monotone voice you will hear "winds - calm, seas-calm". Just make sure everything is secured.
As an alternative, you can always take the ICW. Scenic trip through Al, and Ms. Not much to see in La. gets better again in Tx. Overall, a very worthwhile trip if you have the time.

[bstreep]

Try and time your trip west between northers, and you'll have a great trip. We are in Port Aransas, which is the entry point from the Gulf for both Rockport and Corpus Christi. We spent 4 years in Corpus Christi, and are now in Port A. Very different places. Rockport is not a great spot for sailors.

[belizesailor]

Be very careful out there in the "oil patch". The wells, supply boats, crew boats, research vessels, get pretty thick in the waters off of LA an TX. It can be a very dangerous place.

I've sailed close past unlit rigs and cut-off pipes in the middle of the night. Watching a 6 feet tall piece of 12" pipe blow by you in the dark will certainly wake you up!

The weather in the Gulf can get very nasty, so chose your weather very carefully. Apr-May are historically the most settled months. See Pilot Charts for long-term average data, but remember the long term averages tend to smooth out the short-term spikes -- the weather can get nasty in the Gulf any time so pay close attention to forecasts.

Also, look at up-to-date current data. I've run into the Gulf Loop Current about 150nm south of Mobile before (this is unusual, but it happens).

Sailing just inside the safety fairways for ships will keep you out of the oil rig forest, but of course watch out for traffic.

[sartorst]

What everyone else said. And i would add this, Dont get caught in the ICW at night those barges can take the entire channel buoy to buoy( with a crosswind)they are very professional and will bring it up to let you past but it is hard to understand what you are seeing!

[EBB3]

Also pay extra close attention around Freeport, there are many rigs out there and some of them have been abandoned, causing their lights to go out. If you can go through this area during the day it would be best. Also watch out for shrimping boats around Port O'Conner, as they tend to run with their lights off at night.....what idiots