DaySailer.org Forum

It's that time of the year again when I go to sail up the Texas coast. This years' Texas 200 has about 65 boats registered. I think this is the biggest fleet we've had.

We start sailing on Monday June 13th leaving out of Port Isabel. We will sail for 6 days this year and camp for 5 nights. Our first camp will be at the Port Mansfield Jetties, 2nd camp at a place called Hap's Cut in the ICW about 37 miles north of Port Mansfield, 3rd camp will at a stretch of beach about 15 miles south of Corpus Christi, 4th camp is at an oyster shell beach called the Quarentine Shore about 10 miles north of Port Aransas, and our last nights camp will another oyster shell beach at a place called Hidden Pass (12 to 15 miles SE of Port O'Conner). This will be the first time we've camped at Hidden Pass. I will be sailing my O'Day Mariner again this year.

If anyone is curious about our route, there are downloadable charts at http://www.texas200.com I will be carrying a SPOT again this year and the address for tracking our progress will be:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... 74Tohdackr

The SPOT tracking map will only show what we have done during a 24 hour period. It will show our course and speed. Sometimes the tracker turns off, so there might be gaps if I don't notice right away. I have found it usually happens during tricky navigation so I end up with no record of it.

I will try to report on the trip when I can get connections. There are areas of the Texas coast where cell phone reception is non-existent, mainly south of Corpus Christi. Last year my tablet died.

John

I'll be watching your progress, John.
Have a safe trip.

John,

Do you need to carry all your gear, provisions, water, etc...on the boat with you or is it transported to the campsite each day for you? Any access to top off ice, water, etc...?

You wish Shag - it's pack it or lack it. Unlike the FL 120, there are few if any reprovisioning stops on the TX 200, especially in the first couple of daze. The only transport provided is to get your towing rig to the finish. The rest is up to you ... ;-P

Have a great sail John, and we'll be following you on the tracker. Can't wait to read your writeup when it's all said and done!

Thanks Tim. Didn't ever finish writing my article last year, may still try to finish it. I do plan to write one for this year. Data should start showing up on the SPOT tracker on Friday as we head to Port Isabel.

As to your questions Shagbark, I'll try to answer a few. It is recommended to be able to carry all gear and provisions for the entire trip. However there are a couple places along the way to re-supply with water and ice. Port Mansfield has supplies available. Port Mansfield is where the first night's camp is at although the camp is officially at the Port Mansfield Jetties about 6 miles east of Port Mansfield on the barrier islands at the opening going into the Gulf. On day 1 we have a choice of routes. We can take the inside route which follows a channel of the ICW in the South Laguna Madre and goes to Port Mansfield. Some of the boats will camp there rather than come out to the jetties. The other option is to take the Gulf (wind and weather permitting) route and sail a couple miles offshore up to the jetties. I've taken both routes. The area between Port Isabel and Port Mansfield is about 42 miles of no civilization. It is the area that crosses the King Ranch (a very big ranch).

Re-supply is pretty much non-existent from Port Mansfield to Corpus Christi. Just before the Kennedy causeway near Corpus Christi and a couple miles before Corpus Christi Bay there is a place many have stopped at called Marker 37 (oddly enough it is at buoy 37 as well). There are docks to tie up to there. They have ice and water. There are also two restaurants there, Snoopy's and Doc's if one is so inclined. A ramp with a small store are on the other side of the causeway. Some years we camp at Padre Island Yacht Club and club members will take folks to the store. PIYC is near Marker 37. The next re-supply is at Port Aransas, but you have to get into the harbor, dock and walk a mile or so to a store. Corpus Christi area is about mid way. The rest of the trip, re-supply is a little sparse unless you follow the ICW channel which may get you near a coastal town. At Corpus Christi bay routes begin to vary more than just taking the ICW channel. Boats with deeper draft have to pretty much stick to the rather boring ICW channels and play with barge traffic. Boats that can handle skinny water like the Day Sailer can try the navigational challenge routes (that's the way I take), no re-supply along those routes. On the last day there is Port O'Conner where you can stop, but it is so close to the finish that few stop unless they really need to.

One thing we do is to drive our vehicles and trailers to the finish at Magnolia Beach on the day before sailing starts. The Tx200 committee has a safe parking area for the vehicles. We meet at the parking area, at a store there and the Tx200 club buy the skippers (or whoever drove the vehicle and trailer) lunch. We then get on a chartered bus for the ride back to Port Isabel. At the end of the event we hitch a ride over to the parking area to get the cars/trailers. We can retrieve boats at the ramp or right off the beach. We then have a big shrimp boil.

It is a good trip, a long sail, and mostly on the same tack. The barge captains are friendly to the sailboats, but care is still taken not to get in their path. You definitely know your boat by the end of it. any other questions, please ask. There have been a few other boats from this forum that have sailed the event. The Texas 200 is always the 2nd full week of June each year.

John

The fleet is assembling down here in Port Isabel. Small boats of many types and description. Every bit of available dock space is being used, some boats doubling up in slips. It is quite a sight.

John

I always get vicarious pleasure out of your Texas 200 reports and write ups! Have a great sail! I'll be checking in on your tracking progress.

jeadstx wrote:The fleet is assembling down here in Port Isabel. Small boats of many types and description. Every bit of available dock space is being used, some boats doubling up in slips. It is quite a sight.

I can believe it. Have a good sail!

Fair winds John!

Thanks for the well wishes. It was vehicle and trailer moving today to the finish point. 59 skippers boarded the bus, that means 59 trailers headed to the finish to park until Saturday. We're back at Port Isabel now, start sailing about 6:30 am. Looks like we're headed into the Gulf for the first day's sail. We will be on the inside the rest of the trip. This might be my last update until we get close to Corpus Christi. Monday evening will probably be a 50/50 chance of getting a connection.

John

Looks like you guys have great VMG so far today!

Just spoke with John. He is in good spirits and sailing on. He asked me to post an update. Day 1 he went the outside route from PI to the jetties. His crew was seasick the entire distance. Brutal. Entering the jetties in a breaking surf, John performed a man overboard drill and his crew performed flawlessly. All are safe and unharmed including the boat. I will let John expand further on this adventure. Day 2 was strong winds and choppy seas. Luckily his crew had recovered from his seasickness. John says his GPS and SPOT are working intermittently and causing the bad tracking. The sailing is great. Day 3 started with a stuck in the mud centerboard, assistance required to get off the beach (mud bank). High winds and choppy seas. Fun. Pics I have seen look awesome. John made camp 3 early. Another boat came in with a bent mast. John suffered a failed windvane. Apparently the model he installed was not Pelican proof. I am laughing to hard to explain. John will have to fill in the details. He said he will try to contact from camp 4 tomorrow. Sail on John.

Finally got a signal. As Swashbuckley mentioned, we had a near capsize on Monday coming through the Port Mansfield Jetties. I got swept out of the boat and when I came to the surface, I fully expected to see the boat on it's side, but it was upright. The water was too choppy to attempt to reboard , so I swam about a 100 yards to the jetty rocks. My crew, although seasick was able to get the boat to camp about a mile away. I hitched a ride to camp. Winds every day have been 20+ knots. Tuesday a pelican landed on my mast head a mangled the wind .vane. Camp 2 is a place called Hap's Cut and it has nasty deep mud, but is a safe anchorage where boats won't get hit by barges.

We have made it to camp 4. I'm having some GPS problems, track may drop out from time to time. Other than that all is well.

John

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

Yes, I was wearing a PFD. I'll write about it in more detail when I get back on regular keyboard.

Today's winds were 5 - 10 knots, light after first four days. We left Port Isabel with 57 boats, count at camp tonight was 27. Heavy winds have damaged many boats or just overwhelmed their crews. Boats that were better prepared have repaired damage at camps. It has been a rough year. Wind forecast for tomorrow is light.

John