Sailing the Laguna Madre of South Texas |
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Sailing the Laguna Madre of South Texas |
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One of my favorite sailing areas, and the region that I have sailed most often, is the lower Laguna Madre, a long, narrow salt water bay running about half the length of Texas' considerable Gulf Coast. The Laguna is the southernmost portion of the Intracoastal Waterway which ends at Brownsville, having begun thousands of miles to the north in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Laguna Madre is protected from the seas of the Gulf of Mexico over it's entire length by Padre Island, a barrier island that is home to large numbers of exotic wildlife, including the endangered Sandhill crane and Ridley sea turtle. The rich waters of the Laguna Madre support redfish, shrimp, speckled trout, flounder, conches, blue crab and flocks of the majestic brown pelican. There are two major wildlife sanctuaries on the Laguna. This area is the southern terminus of the central waterfowl flyway. Besides the year around bird watching, one can observe coyotes, white-tailed deer, bob cats, roseate spoonbills and jack rabbits all along the Texas coast. Pods of inquisitive dolphin are often seen swimming in the waters of the Laguna Madre near the breaks in the island opening to the Gulf.
For the adventurer, there are 5 centuries of shipwrecks off Padre Island and, of course, numerous rumors of gold and treasure. In fact, for the past year and a half an archeological team from the Texas Historical Commission has been hard at work excavating the wreck of the Belle, one of LaSalle's ships lost in Mategorda Bay near Corpus Christi. The Belle was lost in a storm as she was exploring the shallow waters of the bay. A cofferdam has been erected around the wreck and excavations are carried out on the floor of the bay. Within the last few months two magnificent canons have been recovered, as well as coins, pottery, weapons and a couple of skeletons of unfortunate crew members. The public is welcome to sail up and tour the excavation site.
The waters of the Laguna tend to be rather shallow outside of the dredged Intracoastal channel. For this reason, full keel boats do not sail the Laguna, except in the major bays of Port Isabel and Corpus Christi. However any centerboard boat would have no trouble sailing nearly all of the Laguna Madre. My present boat, a West Wight Potter, draws only 6" with the board up and 3' down. There are only two breaks in Padre Island over it's 133 mile stretch from Brownsville to Corpus Christi, one at Port Isabel and the other at Port Mansfield. Because of this lack of access to the Gulf of Mexico and because of the marshes and sand dunes on the mainland, the only places to provision over this 133 mile stretch are Ports Isabel and Mansfield, and Port Mansfield is only 40 miles north of Port Isabel. The prevailing winds are SE to SSE, so sailing north is usually a pleasant reach. In fact, except for side excursions up the many inlets and coves, you can set your sails and sail north with rarely a sail or course adjustment. Of course, this means that coming back south is the "uphill" route. Since the bay narrows down to 50-60 yds. in some spots, sailing back to Port Isabel can be lots of work. Once you get north of the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge, where the Intracoastal Canal narrows, the best strategy is to continue north and either put in at Port Mansfield, a one day trip from Pt. Isabel, or continue to Corpus, a 3-4 day trip. If you have shuttled your trailer to one of these ports, then you will not be faced with the tedious uphill trip. If you insist on sailing back to Pt. Isabel, motoring through the most narrow portions of the Intracoastal will make life a bit more pleasant.
Camping on the sands of Padre Island is usually pleasant, with the quiet waters of the Laguna Madre on one side and the breaking surf of the Gulf of Mexico on the other. A major consideration is the swarming mosquito population in the warmer months. In the worst months, anchoring off the island, but well clear of the ship channel, will usually save you from these pests. One can spend the day exploring the dunes and beach combing for shells and flotsam or fishing for supper in the bay or in the surf. Swimming in the shallow bay or in the cool waters of the Gulf helps pass the time during the heat of the day. Although temperatures can reach the upper 90's or even 100 in the summer, the sea breeze cools things off adequately for pleasant sleeping at night.
Excluding only the very end of Florida, this area is the southern most point of the US. If you're trailering your boat into Texas from a neighboring state, once you hit the Texas border, you still have anywhere from 400 to 800 miles to reach Port Isabel, depending upon where you enter Texas. It's out of the way, but certainly a small boat sailor's paradise. The first time that you experience the thrill of sailing amongst a group of dolphin, which are venting all beside your boat and swimming along side just below the surface, you'll never regret the long drive.
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