Boating around Corpus... (San Antonio, Austin, Rockport: rental, houses, to buy)

[CptnRn]

I'm surprised when people talk about what there is to do around Corpus, how seldom boating is mentioned. Personally I perfer sailboats, but all of the following also holds true for power boats, although you probably need to budget more for maintenance of the engines on a powerboat.

Seriously people, on of the HUGE advantages of living around Corpus has to be the access you have to bays and estuaries. If you enjoy fishing, great, its an added plus, but there are so many other reasons to get into boating besides fishing. I have enjoyed boating and sailing, as my primary outdoor recreational activity in Texas for 32 years. And rarely ever held a fishing pole during all of that time.

Thanks to boating we have been able to share unique experiences on the water with so many of our friends. Whether it is just a day out on the water, or an evening BBQ on the boat at the marina watching the fireworks on 4th of July, they have all been special times. We loved to sail or motor out to isolated coves for the weekend. Spending a night on a boat is so much more comfortable then camping on a beach (very little sand), and fresh water tankage on the boat allowes one to rinse the saltwater off after swims. The breezes available out on the water make the temperatures so much more tolerable then on shore and no sand blowing into your food. We spent lots of time swimming and floating around the boat, taking a dip anytime someone needed to cool off. And enjoyed countless hours of beautiful sunsets on the water.

Sleeping on a boat is also far more comfortable then sleeping on a beach. The berths usually have cushions on them and the boats out on the water usually have better breezes that make sleeping on board so much more comfortable. Being on the water also gives you more privacy and distance from other campers. Most boats have ice boxes, stoves and toilets already built in, all the comforts of home.

There have been so many memorable occasions when we sighted wildlife, such as the dolphins that often accompanied us as we sailed across the bay. Here is a description of one afternoon's sail a few years ago.

Last year we had one of the most remarkable 5 hour afternoon sails. It is rare when you can sail directly from Rockport to Port Aransas, because Port A is normally to windward of Rockport. The first half of the trip is in Aransas Bay, so you can tack all you want , but the second half is in the busily traveled ICW ship channel. It is so narrow, tacking any considerable distance up it is not desireable. The prevailing wind direction coming off of the gulf was usually around 170 degrees. I calculated that anytime the winds were within 30 degrees of East or West, we would be able to sail all the way to and back from Port A, without using an engine.

This was one of those days, the wind was slightly south of East, blowing a study 15 knots with only an occasional gust. The day seemed perfect. The sun was shining, the water was sparkling, the dolphins were jumping. Mystic charged along, just barely maintaining a beat going south on the ICW, she occasionally threw up spray that sparkled like jewels in the late afternoon sunlight. The bays, flats full of sea birds rolled past, you could hear the birds over the sound of the wind. We sailed into crossroads and made a couple of loops around it enjoying the numerous dolphin pods that were surfacing and jumping. Sailing back on a beam reach we made a couple of swings by a friends boat anchored in the Lydia Ann Channel, then continued back up the ICW to Rockport. We were really charging along now, much faster with less heeling, but charging along at maxiumum hull spead. Once the sails were trimmed, we didn't have to touch them, just ease the helm to windward in the puffs and leeward in the lull's.

It was a day of sailing that I will dream about on my death bed. Such a feeling of oneness with the wind, the sea, the sun and the salt spray.

Many people assume they cannot afford to get involved in boating. Its really not that expensive if you compare it to what people spend on many other sports.

There is a mistaken idea that boating is expensive. It isn't necessarily so if you are willing to buy an older boat and spend some time learning how to upgrade and maintain it yourself.

You can buy an older used sailboat in poor but usable condition for $10,000 to $20,000, sometimes less, and fix it up while you use it. Budget $100/month in fresh water, $200/month in saltwater for maintenance, most of that will go to an annual haul out to clean and repaint the hull in Saltwater, less often in fresh water. Fiberglass hulls don't wear out or depreciate much if you fix them up and keep them in decent condition. Chances are you could sell one after using it for years for close to the same cost as when you bought it, or more if it needed work when you bought it.

There are numerous communities along the Texas coast where you can rent a boat slip for less then $200 a month. That is less then it costs to rent at freshwater marinas around Austin or San Antonio or any other inland City in Texas. Many have club houses and showers available for the marina customers use. Another nice thing about a boat is you can move it to a new location if you decide you don't like the marina culture where you are.



I bought this 28' sailboat in 1990 for $13,000 and sold it in 2007 for $8,600. So it cost me $4,400 to use it for 17 years, $258 per year. Not including maintenance or slip rental. Slip rental was about $125 a month, on Lake Travis, when I bought it and went up to $275 by the time I sold it. I had this boat at Rockport for 3 years, the slip rental there was less then in Austin. Marina's along the coast are usually cheaper and have more amenities.