2016 Texas 200

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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby GreenLake » Sat Jun 18, 2016 12:48 pm

TIM WEBB wrote:John, are you ever going to have an "uneventful TX 200"? Not even sure there is such a thing? Glad you made it through A-OK, and please tell me you were wearing a PFD? Had you been knocked OB by a boom to the head rather than swept overboard by a wave, we might not be having this discussion right now ... <8~O

I think his 2013 Tx200 was relatively "uneventful"...
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby Swashbuckley » Sat Jun 18, 2016 6:47 pm

Well done John! Another TX200 in the log.
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby jeadstx » Sun Jun 19, 2016 1:29 am

We finished.Light wind on the last day making it a long day. I heard that 29 of the original 57 boats finished. Of the finishers, only 18 boats made it to all 5 camps, my boat was one of the 18.

Good event. A lot of hard sailing this year. I will right up a better report in the next few days.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby TIM WEBB » Sun Jun 19, 2016 1:22 pm

Congrats John!
Tim Webb
1979 DS2 10099 The Red Witch
(I used to be Her "staff", in the way dogs have owners and cats have staff, but alas no longer ... <pout>)
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby TIM WEBB » Sun Jun 19, 2016 1:22 pm

Congrats John!
Tim Webb
1979 DS2 10099 The Red Witch
(I used to be Her "staff", in the way dogs have owners and cats have staff, but alas no longer ... <pout>)
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby K.C. Walker » Sun Jun 19, 2016 4:22 pm

John,

It sounds like quite the adventure! I'm glad you made it through the whole event. Well done!
KC Walker, DS 1 #7002
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby jeadstx » Wed Jun 22, 2016 12:11 am

Thank you to those following me on this event.

Here is an account of the trip:

This year’s Texas 200 was a rough one the first four days. My crew this year was Steve Simpson who has crewed for me racing my Day Sailer II and has crewed on another Day Sailer II in several races. I can truthfully say that Steve is the second best crew that has sailed with me on the Texas 200, being edged out as best crew from the 2013 event. I sailed a Mariner again this year, Steve and I went out sailing at least once a week for 2 months to become familiar with the boat and know how she handles. It was good practice and paid off on the event.
We left for Port Isabel on Friday June 10th. On the way south we had a trailer bearing burn out while in San Antonio. Steve used his cell phone to locate someone who could repair it. A trailer builder agreed to do the work and we pulled in to their facility at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon. Thirty minutes later we were on our way. We got a break on that one.
We got to Port Isabel about 11:30 after missing our exit. We suspected we had gone too far when saw the check point for the Mexican border ahead. A quick U turn and we got headed in the right direction. On the SPOT track it looked like we bounced off Mexico.
Saturday we finagled a slip at our very booked up motel and got the boat in the water. We prepared the boat both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night there was a big dinner get together and party afterwards. Sunday I drove the Jeep and trailer to the end point while Steve continued to get the boat ready. By Sunday evening the boat was ready.

Monday, June 13th, first day of sailing. Fifty-seven boats left Port Isabel that morning. My crew and I had decided to sail with the other Mariner on the outside route in the Gulf of Mexico. The wind was stronger than predicted and more from the south. We had to tack under the bridge to get through, it was some tight tacking. Four boats altogether went the outside route. On the way to the Port Isabel Jetties we lost the split ring on the fiddle block (end of CB trunk near cam cleat) for the mainsheet, we repaired on the water and went outside the jetties to join the other Mariner, a Compact 16 was behind us. We headed north and the swells immediately caused Steve to get very sick. He re-decorated the port side of the boat, Steve was sick the whole way. The swells out in the Gulf were 6 to 8 feet high, with chop on top of that. When we got into the Gulf we dropped the jib, the winds were now about 20 knots and gusty. I was at the helm all the way to the Port Mansfield Jetties. We entered the opening to the jetties without problem, but there were really big waves hitting us from astern. We had just surfed down a large wave when we got hit by a second with a wind gust causing the boat to start to capsize to port. We were on port tack. The port rail went under water while Steve got to the high side. Another wave swept me out of the boat. When I surfaced, I fully expected to see the boat on its’ side, but found it was upright. It was not safe to try to board with the boat bouncing wildly. At one point the stern was a foot above my head. I decided since it was only about a hundred yards or so to the rocks that I would swim over there as it was safer than being near the boat. Steve took over the sailing (although still sick) and kept the boat off the rocks. He saw me in the water when I first came out and knew my head was above water and that I was swimming for the jetty rocks. He got control of the boat, kept it from crashing into the rocks and took the boat on to camp. Steve later told me that his first thought was “John, why did you leave the boat”. Steve told me it was then he knew he was skipper and it was his responsibility to save the boat, and he did a very fine job of it. The practice paid off. The other Mariner came by when I was nearly to shore and through cushions at me which impaired my swimming, I had to let them go to safely swim to the rocks. While I was climbing up the rocks, someone who had driven out there from Port Isabel on an excursion saw me and helped me off the rocks, he and his buddy gave me a ride to camp. I was prepared to walk however. The boat and Steve were secure at camp when I arrived. We both had a good nights’ sleep.

Tuesday June 14th, second day of sailing. Steve slept a little late and we were one of the last boats to leave. Just before we were ready to leave, a Sea Pearl 21 trimaran left the beach, unfortunately the crew was not aboard. One of the crew jumped in the water to swim to the boat, but the boat was faster. He returned to shore and a boat that was already underway retrieved his and his friend’s boat.
We needed help pushing off from shore. The crew of the Sea Pearl helped us while they waited for their boat. Pushing off the beach was complicated by the fact the centerboard had dropped and we didn’t notice right away. We soon got underway and headed down the channel toward Port Mansfield where we would turn to starboard and head up the Laguna Madre to the land cut and then Camp 2 at Hap’s Cut. As we sailed up the channel we saw a pelican flying towards us, not all that unusual. This particular bird decided to land on my mast head however, or more correctly on my wind vane. We couldn’t get him to leave, yelling and blowing the air horn all proved to be worthless. In the meantime he was using his feet to re-design the wind vane. When he finally left it had a 90 degree bend in it. I guess we were fortunate he didn’t drop anything on us.
Strong winds on that day were again blowing. We had a single reef in the main and were flying the jib. The wind and the waves in those bays really make it hard to stay on course with some of the larger waves causing the boat to surf on them. Once in the land cut we passed the two row boats doing the event. One was a single rower, the other was a doubles team. They both made it to the end. Before getting to Camp 2 the other Mariner passed us.
We got into camp at Hap’s Cut around 4 or 5pm. We had sailed about 42 miles that day. Hap’s Cut may be the muddiest place on earth. Why use such a camp? Simple, it can accommodate a large number of boats and keep them safely out of the shipping channel. Nobody really likes the place. Steve got off the boat to set the anchor. Somebody was holding the bow until he could get off. Steve sank 2 feet in the mud, I’m heavier and knew I sink deeper so I stayed on the boat, besides I’ve experienced Hap’s Cut more than once. Within 5 minutes Steve declared he never wanted to see Hap’s Cut again in this lifetime or the next. He only unloaded his tent, 2 bottles of water and half a bag of beef jerky for dinner.
We were told that 33 boats had made it to Camp 1 at the Port Mansfield Jetties, the rest were in Port Mansfield, with at least 6 pulling out of the event. At Camp 2 there were still about 30+ boats at camp plus some who skipped the camp and found another place. We were having carnage this year.

Wednesday June 15th, third day of sailing. This was to be a short 23 mile sail. We got our best start, Steve really wanted to leave Hap’s Cut. We had a fairly good sail up to Camp 3, although the winds were once again 20 knots plus. When we got to the area of where Camp 3 was we noticed the boats ahead of us passing it up with one of the boats ahead suggesting on the VHF to do so. I got on the VHF and told them this was the camp and it was a good anchorage. The boats ahead of us sailed on, we turned into the beach. A couple boats followed us in. The third boat came to where we anchored and suggested we were about a half mile further south than we were supposed to be. Soon most of the boats behind us came into the anchorage.
A Cortez 16 came in with a bent mast. A catamaran had a leaking hull. The boat with the bent mast dropped their mast and managed to straighten it with the help of other sailors. They sailed with reduced sail for the rest of the event and are one of the boats that finished.
The sandy bottom of this anchorage found many swimming and socializing. The rowers came in, but left after a couple hours to take advantage of day light since we got to camp between noon to 1pm. Steve was swimming a lot, it wasn’t Hap’s Cut. We had a good nights’ sleep and had a rest from the strong winds of the last 3 days.
The count for the boats that made it to Camp 3 was 24. We don’t know how many passed the camp.

Thursday June 16th, fourth day of sailing. Once again we were one of the last boats to leave. Many had left early to stop at Doc’s, Snoopy’s, and Marker 37 (a small store at marker 37) just before Corpus Christi Bay for food and to replenish ice. We weren’t carrying ice, so we didn’t plan to stop. We sailed on by and headed into Corpus Christi Bay. Winds again were in the 20 knot range. We crossed the bay without any problems.
We made it through Stingray Hole only bumping bottom once lightly and got out into the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. Because Stingray Hole is a very winding channel we released the jib sheets to slow us to go through the channel. When we got into the ship channel, the wind had shifted to the ESE. The jib had wrapped on the forestay. Steve went forward to release it so we could sail into the wind better. We started to drift into oncoming ships, so I started the motor and got the boat out of the channel until Steve could free the jib. Once freed we headed for the ferries which run 24 hours a day at the highway crossing. We managed to get to the ferries on one tack. The ferries waited on one side until we passed through their area. We then turned up Lydia Ann Channel and headed for Camp 4.
We finally saw Camp 4 and the boats gathered there. We beached the boat and set the anchor ashore. This was an oyster shell beach with a sandy bottom. Steve enjoyed another swim. Soon other boats of the fleet started to arrive. The catamaran with the leaking hull came in with a worse leak which they tried to repair during the night. A Striker 18 trimaran came in with a borrowed mainsail, theirs had ripped in half.
The count was 29 boats at Camp 4. The Cortez 16 with the mast damage made it in.

Friday June 17th, fifth day of sailing. This was going to be about a 45 mile sail. Once again we were one of the last boats to leave. We assisted the leaking catamaran crew in finding a ramp where they could pull out, the leak had gotten too bad to continue on. They planned to sail to the town of Fulton just north of Rockport to pull out. They were very disappointed that the event ended early for them.
We headed out into the bay and headed for Camp 5. The winds were about 8 knots and it was a long sail to camp through 3 major oyster reefs. Expecting the winds to increase like the previous days, we kept the one reef in the main. Also didn’t want to go fast through the reefs. We got lucky with the reefs this year and passed through at high tide, no major bumping. The Cortez 16 followed us through the reefs.
Once through the reefs we headed for South Pass and on to Camp 5. Once through the pass, we had a little problem finding the camp. This was a camp we had never used before. We finally spotted the camp and headed for it. Another shell beach with a deep slope along the shore. We beached the boat, a half dozen boats came in after us. Official count for this camp was 27 boats.

Saturday June 18th, last day of sailing. We were the last boat to leave camp. It was about 30 miles to the finish. The winds were light, lightest of the week coming out of the SE. The earliest boat to leave was at 4:15am.
I had planned to take the boat through Saluria Bayou, but went a bit too far to the west to make the channel through the bayou (I hadn’t been able to update my GPS with the new waypoints due to a connection problem prior to leaving). Our option now was to go through Port O’Conner channel and deal with the boat traffic. The wind was starting to switch to the east. As we entered the ICW for Port O’Conner we saw an alligator’s head near the shore. This was the first alligator I have encountered on the Texas 200. I got a picture before it disappeared.
We entered the ICW and as we got close to Port O’Conner the boat traffic increased a lot. A few powerboats slowed down, most went by at high speed. A few would slow down until they were right beside us, then power up producing a big wake. Finally though we made it out of the jetties and into open water again in Matagorda Bay and headed to the finish. With the light wind we felt the heat more. About half way to the finish the wind shifted to right on our nose, then died altogether. It was time to start the motor like all the boats ahead of us were doing. We motored for about a half hour until the wind freshened. The wind was now out of the NE. We then went back under sail. Finally the beach was in sight.
We beached the boat. Those that were already there came to congratulate us on our finish. The shrimp boil was under way and we headed for cold drinks and shrimp with potatoes, sausage, and corn on the cob.
After the meal I got a ride to the Jeep/trailer to retrieve the boat. The other Mariner had the tongue of their trailer break when they loaded the boat. We loaded the boat on the trailer right off the beach. We de-rigged, secured the boat and headed for a motel in Port Lavaca for the night.
The official count of boats at the finish was 28. Of the 28 finishers, only 18 had made all 5 camps. We were one of the 18.

Sunday June 19th, heading home. We got up in the morning to find it was raining. What luck, we missed the rain by a day.
On the way home we found that the trailer had a partially broken spring causing the tire to rub on rivets on the fender and creating tire damage. We found a tire place and had the fender removed. It was a slow drive home watching that the tire did not rub on the boat hull. The drive was a bit more tiring because the AC in the Jeep had gone out. I had the AC repaired a week before we left and it wasn’t cheap. No AC going home was no fun. All the same we made it home safely. It was a good trip.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby K.C. Walker » Wed Jun 22, 2016 9:21 am

Hey John,

This is me hitting the like button! Thanks for the write up. That is definitely adventure sailing.
KC Walker, DS 1 #7002
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby jeadstx » Wed Jun 22, 2016 1:06 pm

Glad you enjoyed it.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
jeadstx
 
Posts: 1216
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:10 am
Location: Dripping Springs, Tx

Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby GreenLake » Wed Jun 22, 2016 1:36 pm

K.C. Walker wrote:Hey John,

This is me hitting the like button! Thanks for the write up. That is definitely adventure sailing.

+1
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby redrover » Wed Jun 22, 2016 2:32 pm

That sounds like a blast!
If you're not wet ... you're not sailing hard enough
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby TIM WEBB » Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:12 pm

Great writeup John!

Man, you're getting a lot of flak on the TX200 FB page for going outside. Any regrets?
Tim Webb
1979 DS2 10099 The Red Witch
(I used to be Her "staff", in the way dogs have owners and cats have staff, but alas no longer ... <pout>)
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby jeadstx » Thu Jun 23, 2016 2:26 am

Tim, I know I have been getting a lot of flak on FB about going on the outside route, but I have some supporters as well. There was a lot of carnage on the inside route as well. The head of the Tx200 committee has told those giving me all the flak to stop it. He was in the other Mariner out there in the Gulf. Apparently my Mariner is an unsuitable boat type for the Gulf, but the other Mariner is well suited, figure that one out. Many other sailors had worse problems than I did, with worse results and they are not getting the comments that I'm drawing. Today I read that a crew on one boat had severe leg lacerations, but haven't heard what caused it.

This year's event is being referred to as "The Year Of Carnage". Two boats never started, 6 boats pulled out at the end of the first day, lots of boats suffered damage on the way, some repaired and went on, some pulled out. It was assumed Steve and I would pull out after our mishap, but we didn't.

Do I regret taking the outside route, not really. I had really thought we would take the inside route, but Steve wanted to go outside. Last year went well outside and we were with a group this time instead of a single boat like last year, so I told Steve we could go the outside route. After Steve's seasickness, I think he regrets going outside. Would I do it again, maybe if the conditions are better. I actually enjoy the inside route more, more boats to see. This year the inside route tore up a great many boats. We were on the water, inside or outside both have their dangers, both can cause unexpected problems. I had a well prepared crew, it paid off. I met the crews of several boats where the boat's skipper was the only one who really could handle the boat in an emergency, the crew was there to enjoy the ride, a dangerous situation.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
jeadstx
 
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Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:10 am
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby GreenLake » Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:28 am

jeadstx wrote: I met the crews of several boats where the boat's skipper was the only one who really could handle the boat in an emergency, the crew was there to enjoy the ride, a dangerous situation.


That.

Handling waves at the entry to a harbor / inlet is something that few of us have real practice in, given the way we mostly sail our boats. They can be deceptive, especially, as they appear more benign when viewed from offshore.

Kudos to your crew for being able to rally and take over.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: 2016 Texas 200

Postby jeadstx » Mon Dec 12, 2016 3:24 am

The article I wrote for the 2016 Texas 200 can be found at http://www.texas200.com/2016/2016-accou ... Alesch.pdf

There is also an article in the last issue of Small Craft Advisor.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
jeadstx
 
Posts: 1216
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:10 am
Location: Dripping Springs, Tx

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