Hello everyone. I'm a newbie, looking forward to retirement and would like to get some input about living aboard a 30'er in the Gulf, on the hook, moving about from LA to Fla and Puerto Rico/US Virgin Is. Thanks

There seem to be a few doing it, beware of the heat an mosquitos

Hi Nomad, I lived on/in the Gulf for three years in the 80's. I have no idea how it would be now. Back then I stayed in marinas and on the hook when I had too. Sailed/motored mostly in the ICW from there to Galveston. There are lots of oyster bars and low water in-between and went aground a few times when I was careless. No GPS back then, just Loran. I went on the outside occasionally but was more interesting on the ICW. There you can meet new people and experience being in new surrounding. You will be motoring most of the time on the ICW. The wind is predominantly out of the SE, the way I was going. Tacking on the ICW is not a lot of fun and somewhat dangerous. There are many tugs moving along both ways. There were many nice marinas and anchorages along the way. Met homeowners along the way that let me tie up right to their docks for weeks at a time just to listen to my tall tales. So, the answer to your question is....Yes!!!

Hi Again, couldn't post all I wanted before. Just wants to say as the previous post said; Plan for the mosquitoes; they are very bad from Galveston to Florida. If you like the beaches then once you get to Destin Fl. you will have the best from there on. Not much to see from Texas to Florida on the outside except oil rigs. Trust me that some are not lit a night and there a place that pipes are just sticking up out of the water with no lights. That was in the 80's, who knows now. If you go out there you need radar and GPS. OK, go have fun.