Is Texas a good place to cruise/liveaboard?

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by DMF Sailing

OP here. Lots of great answers, and I appreciate them all.

So far "little snow" and "lonely anchorages" are the two things that appeal to me most. I stay away from crowds.


df

PS: Montanan, if Montana were on the coast I'd move there at the drop of a hat.

(Pictured: one's a crowd; sNOw thank you!)

Come for our summer; and leave the heat, humidity and hurricanes of Texas then depart back to the south in winter.

The four seasons of Montana: June, July, August and Winter.

You can find solitude and you will not have need for air conditioning. And unlike the gulf coast, there are mountains to view from your boat. Not keen about flatlands can never get a sense of my bearings.

Nota bene: Bring or purchase bear spray.

Images below: Steinbeck quote & view of the downtown of my home town of Polson on Flathead Lake [the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi].

All the best from The Last Best Place, a.k.a 406 Country and The Big Sky.

Dan

P.S. Beautiful sunny day today, high will be 66 F. But tomorrow, will be very windy and some new snow, but mostly falling in the mountains not likely to accumulate in the valley. Those Mission Mountains steeply rise about 6,000 feet from the valley [a bit more than four times the height of the Empire State Building] and are just a few miles from town and the range forms the east side of Flathead Lake. Water temperature presently a balmy 42 F.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Come for our summer; and leave the heat, humidity and hurricanes of Texas then depart back to the south in winter.

The four seasons of Montana: June, July, August and Winter.

You can find solitude and you will not have need for air conditioning. And unlike the gulf coast, there are mountains to view from your boat. Not keen about flatlands can never get a sense of my bearings.

Nota bene: Bring or purchase bear spray.

Images below: Steinbeck quote & view of the downtown of my home town of Polson on Flathead Lake [the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi].

All the best from The Last Best Place, a.k.a 406 Country and The Big Sky.

Dan

P.S. Beautiful sunny day today, high will be 66 F. But tomorrow, will be very windy and some new snow, but mostly falling in the mountains not likely to accumulate in the valley. Those Mission Mountains steeply rise about 6,000 feet from the valley and are just a few miles from town and form the east side of Flathead Lake. Water temperature presently a balmy 42 F.

Thank you for this. Question: Am I delivering my IP 349 to the Montanan lakes each summer in this scenario, or do I keep her under wraps in Corpus Cristi and get me something like a Catalina 25 for the Big Sky?

BTW, here in Mass., where it snowed yesterday, we have about 90 days of reliably warm weather, including July and August, and halves of June and September. Not good enough!

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by DMF Sailing

Thank you for this. Question: Am I delivering my IP 349 to the Montanan lakes each summer in this scenario, or do I keep her under wraps in Corpus Cristi and get me something like a Catalina 25 for the Big Sky?

BTW, here in Mass., where it snowed yesterday, we have about 90 days of reliably warm weather, including July and August, and halves of June and September. Not good enough!

25 to 35 feet in length is customary for the marinas of Flathead Lake. One can camp on some of the islands and the State Parks if you wish to have time off the boat, or simply anchor in the coves of the 185 miles of shoreline.

A smaller, lightweight, trailerable boat for accessing the remote alpine lakes is the norm. For example, our smallest sailboat is an 18 foot Hobie Tandem Island Adventure great for the lakes in Glacier National Park and in the Swan valley. Our largest boat has been used by a friend for more than a year in the Caribbean; we keep our midsized boat in a marina in Polson for the three plus month season of sailing.

As to "reliable", uhmm, well as the saying goes if you don't like the weather in Montana, just wait twenty minutes.

The aerial view of the south end of Flathead Lake, with Polson, on the lower left shoreline being the largest town by far on the lake, this is looking north across the 28 miles length of the lake towards Glacier National Park which mountains visible 60 miles away.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by Montanan

25 to 35 feet in length is customary for the marinas of Flathead Lake. One can camp on some of the islands and the State Parks if you wish to have time off the boat, or simply anchor in the coves of the 185 miles of shoreline.

A smaller, lightweight, trailerable boat for accessing the remote alpine lakes is the norm. For example, our smallest sailboat is an 18 foot Hobie Tandem Island Adventure great for the lakes in Glacier National Park and in the Swan valley. Our largest boat has been used by a friend for more than a year in the Caribbean; we keep our midsized boat in a marina in Polson for the three plus month season of sailing.

As to "reliable", uhmm, well as the saying goes if you don't like the weather in Montana, just wait twenty minutes.

The aerial view of the south end of Flathead Lake, with Polson, on the lower left shoreline being the largest town by far on the lake, this is looking north across the 28 miles length of the lake towards Glacier National Park which mountains visible 60 miles away.

That, Montana, was a 5-star post.

OK, so let's say I want to have a place to keep my Montana boat. I'm thinking very small cottage-type house with a little land. I'm now downgrading the Montana boat to a weekender-daysailer. Heck, I could even go Macgregor. Though I sailed an O'Day 23 in the Keys a few years ago that worked as a weekend cruiser. (Keep in mind that I grew up on a cruising Bristol 22 Caravel that sailed if not oceans then a very large gulf; I don't need a lot of boat to have fun).

So what am I paying for my little Montana home? And maybe when I grow too old to cruise, I sell the Texas-based IP349 and move to the Last Best Place to live out my days in clean air and grass-fed beef.

[Sand crab]

Fun fact: Flathead Lake is the largest lake west of the Mississippi. It's a tad bigger than Tahoe and has very clear water, scuba is popular there!
Real estate in the good places in Montana can be pricey but that's true of anywhere. The speed limits 80 so you can get there quick!

[Montanan]

Sailing on the lakes in Glacier National Park, one finds solitude and beauty.

And the drive through the park on the Going to the Sun Road is spectacular.

No trailers or large R.V.s allowed on that narrow winding road.

And yes the water is very clear.

[DomPerignon]

It certainly looks like a good place covid wise.
If they don’t let up with all that covid propaganda crap in the north I’m off to Texas very soon.
I will give them another 3 or 4 months up here in New England .

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Phantom Jim

Texas does not seem to have a roving group of cruisers moving from anchorage to anchorage as we have seen in the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Maine, and etc. There will be flotilla and gatherings sponsored by clubs and other organizations but no groups of individual boats. These are an event that does its thing and all go back to their respective marinas. There are no mooring fields in Texas that we are aware of.



Apart from the Offat's Bayou anchorage in Galveston, we have only had a handful of instances where a boat anchored where we were anchored. All of these instances were late in the evening and the boats departed early the next morning. It appeared that staying a few days in a particular anchorage here is not commonly done.



Our assumption is that conditions are not conducive to live aboard at anchor/mooring ball existence, therefore the facilities to serve these boats have not developed. This may be the case for the entire Gulf Coast through Pensacola.

True, Texas does not have a bunch of roving cruisers, mostly just weekend warriors. People cruise Texas because thats where they are...I cant imagine anyone going to Texas to cruise.

By contrast as you get further E to Mississippi Sound, it is a good cruising ground, great sailing in semi-protected waters all the way from the LA border to Alabama...then the Mobile Bay area aint bad either. You still dont see the clusters of cruisers, but there are ports/anchorages/marinas at regular intervals all along this coast and more convenient Gulf access.

Then there is then Florida Pan Handle (Red Neck Riviera) which has some enjoyable places too, like Pensacola and Port St Joe.

[sailjumanji]

The downside to Texas coast, is there are not a lot of anchorages. And if you want to sail in the Gulf, to come ashore you have to choose one of the jetties/channels - which can be spaced pretty far apart. The bays are pretty wide open, and so you better know the weather as your anchorage might become a lee shore in a sudden storm. We are in Port Aransas, and nearby Corpus Christi is a nice bay, and there are a few anchorages. Ditto for nearby Rockport. But heading south from here, its a long haul in the Gulf to Port Mansfield or Port Isabel. If you take ICW route, there are few deep places to get off and anchor. Same thing for heading north/east. You have to go thru a deep bay to get out of the ICW. Aransas, Matagorda, Galveston bay. Three bays in 150 nm. Cruising "grounds" are fairly limited.

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Then there is then Florida Pan Handle (Red Neck Riviera) which has some enjoyable places too, like Pensacola and Port St Joe.

We enjoyed stopover at Port St Joe on our trek to the Bahamas, but my understanding the marina there is still shut down after the hurricane. Pensacola - like Palafox marina in Old Towne - got hammered last year by a hurricane, and probably won't reopen for a couple of years. Unless someone else has knowledge better than 2021 Skipper Bob publication.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by DMF Sailing

OP here. Lots of great answers, and I appreciate them all.



So far "little snow" and "lonely anchorages" are the two things that appeal to me most. I stay away from crowds.



Though "need A.C." and "no facilities" isn't a promising combo.



Seems like those southeasterlies mentioned by Cayuse are going to pose a similar problem for heading down the Mexican coast toward Cancun, etc.



Does anyone know that coast?



df



PS: Montanan, if Montana were on the coast I'd move there at the drop of a hat.



(Pictured: one's a crowd; sNOw thank you!)

Re facilities. I think you may have gotten the wrong impression. There are actually some large full service marinas near the Texas coast. For example in Clear Lake/Kemah area, is one of the largest concentrations of recreational vessels on the planet. But, facilites for cruising the coast are few and far between...and there are some very remote sections of coast with effectively nothing for facilities. Some of the smaller marinas along the coast are pretty rustic affairs not well suited to larger sailing vessels, mostly small power boat marinas.

The upside to such a concentration in Clear Lake/Kemah is that there is also every boat related service you can imagine.

For just pure living aboard in a marina, the Clear Lake/Kemah area would be a pleasant option. Several big marinas (like 1,000 slips big!) to choose from. Loads of bars/resturants, etc. Galvenston would not be a bad option either. Or...Port Aransas, or Rockport. Ive spent multiple days aboard in all those places and enjoyed them all. So, there are some good to excellent liveaboard marina options. However, there is nowhere I know of in Texas where living aboard at anchor/mooring is really a feasible/appealing option, and it just not a great cruising coast.

Re the Mexican E GOM coast..similarities to the Texas coast, but amplified. Like the TX coast it is industrialized oil patch coast interspersed w mostly undeveloped coast line...and LONG stretches of it. The only place I know of with any recreational vessel facilities is Veracruz. In fact it is the only viable stop for recreational vessels on this entire coast that I know of, all other ports to my knowledge are purely commercial. This is why almost all cruisers skip this coast and just cut across the GOM to either Isla Mujeres or Florida depending upon their intended destination.

This changes somewhat once you get to the E coast of the Yucatan. Isla Mujeres is the most common arrival/departure port, but Cozumel is also a viable option. There are a few other possibilites on this coast for marinas/anchorages too, before getting into Belizean waters.

Re Winds. Playing cold fronts is key to making transits of this area (Texas to Mexico/Florida or vice versa). The key is to take advantage of the wind shifts they induce while avoiding their bad affects on the GOM (a notoriously nasty bit of water).

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

We enjoyed stopover at Port St Joe on our trek to the Bahamas, but my understanding the marina there is still shut down after the hurricane. Pensacola - like Palafox marina in Old Towne - got hammered last year by a hurricane, and probably won't reopen for a couple of years. Unless someone else has knowledge better than 2021 Skipper Bob publication.

Yes, hurricanes are a constant fact of life along the N Gulf Coast.

Ive spent a signficant amount of time all along the GOM coast, almost every mile of it from Texas to Florida, but that was years ago, and I dont know current status of facilites there.

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Re the Mexican E GOM coast..similarities to the Texas coast, but amplified. Like the TX coast it is industrialized oil patch coast interspersed w mostly undeveloped coast line...and LONG stretches of it. The only place I know of with any recreational vessel facilities is Veracruz. In fact it is the only viable stop for recreational vessels on this entire coast that I know of, all other ports to my knowledge are purely commercial. This is why almost all cruisers skip this coast and just cut across the GOM to either Isla Mujeres or Florida depending upon their intended destination.

This changes somewhat once you get to the E coast of the Yucatan. Isla Mujeres is the most common arrival/departure port, but Cozumel is also a viable option. There are a few other possibilites on this coast for marinas/anchorages too, before getting into Belizean waters.

Excellent post regarding the marinas and facilities in the Kemah/Seabrook/Clear Lake area.

Re: Mexico, either Galveston Bay Cruising Association (GBCA) or Lakewood Yacht Club - both in Seabrook - used to organize a "race" from Galveston to Veracruz. They stopped it probably ten years ago, due to security concerns in Veracruz. Too bad.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

Excellent post regarding the marinas and facilities in the Kemah/Seabrook/Clear Lake area.

Re: Mexico, either Galveston Bay Cruising Association (GBCA) or Lakewood Yacht Club - both in Seabrook - used to organize a "race" from Galveston to Veracruz. They stopped it probably ten years ago, due to security concerns in Veracruz. Too bad.

There also used to be a similar race from Tampa Bay to Veracruz, but I dont know its current status.

Lakewood, IIRC, are also the organizers of the Harvest Moon Regatta...great fun!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by DMF Sailing

Hi Folks,

Recently, I read about how Corpus Christi is a great place to live aboard. Looks really inexpensive compared to New England.

I'm an experienced cruiser who likes to gunkhole around, trying to decide where I'm going to live aboard when I cut loose in a year or two.

I have a few places in mind, including my home cruising grounds here in New England.

Who's cruised/lived aboard in Texas? Looking for informed opinions.

Any snags?

A glance at the NOAA 11300 and its subsidiaries suggests that there are lots of places a keel boat with a not-too-deep draft can go along that coast, to say nothing of access to Central and South America.

Looks like the oil derricks are more of a problem north and east of Galveston. I guess you go around them to get to Lousiana and Fla.

What are the ports like? How do people relate to cruisers? Are those bays really as cool and sailexplorable as they look on charts?

I'm looking for anecdotes, thread drift, recipes, supercilious put-downs, and expressions of frustration that the poll doesn't match the OP.

And anything else lighthearted. Even Kiel puns.

(And yes, that line in choice 3 was a bumper sticker I saw in Houston during the 1972 oil crisis. I'm not looking for a U.S. politics argument, but i accept that this may devolve into one.)

More responses to some of your questions.

Re New England. Yes, Texas in general is less expensive than NE. Another bonus is minimal tides/tidal currents/rocks...all of which NE has in abundance. But man, if you are used to cruising NE, then the TX coast will be a big disappointment. Ive had the pleasure of doing some sailing in NE (Maine, New Hampshire, Mass...). It is one of the best places on the planet to spend Summer...awesome! Texas by contrast is one of the worst places to spend Summer.

Texans are generally a friendly bunch whether you are a cruiser or not.

Re bays, yes, with a shaol draft boat you can explore the bays behind the barrier islands. It is not really very scenic: brown water, low lying sand/mud islands with scrubby growth, brownish mud/sand beaches, lots of debri on the unmaintained beaches (some of which is interesting: Ive found messages in bottles, televisions, NOAA current tracking devices, wrecked boats, huge oil field tanks...). There is however, since there is almost no human precense, quite a bit of wildlife. The big highlight is bird watching. These islands lie along major bird migration flyways so you can spot lots of species here. Ashore there are jack rabbits (impressive speed!, coyotes, etc. The water gets clearer and thus the bays & beaches prettier down toward S Padre Island.

A pro is world class BBQ (which is hard to find in NE) and fresh GOM seafood! (different than NE seafood...you wont find lobsta rolls in Texas!).