any cruisers know the houston - clearlake area? how is
it for sailing? are there many boats and good sailing
opportunities in the area?...thanx....

I grew up Houston sailing in Clear Lake and Galveston Bay.

Clear Lake is shallow and suitable for dinghys and small one designs of less
than 4' draft. There is a county park with a launching ramp that you can use
as a base. Everything from car top sailboards to 22' trailerable
centerboarders can be found in that park.

Galveston Bay is a large protected body of water. It is generally shallow-
10-12' average which makes for some steep chop when the wind builds. There
are active fleets of one designs and cruising class boats. The winter NOOD
is often (maybe always for all I know) held there, so it is definitely a big
racing community.

Winds are generally pretty good except for the dog days of summer.

Most marinas are in the Clear Lake entrance channel or on the southern
perimiter of Clear Lake. There are thousands of slips in Clear Lake.

Cruising is a bit challenged due to the limited anchorages in the bay. But
there are a half dozen or more decent spots that are a half day sailing from
Clear Lake- Offats Bayou being my favorite.

If you are specifically interested in cruising, go to Texas Mariners
Cruising Association's website www.tmca.nu and surf around. Then join TMCA
and attend their new members orientation meeting next spring. You will meet
cruisers and get the local lowdown.

David

"~^ beancounter ~^" wrote in message
ups.com...
any cruisers know the houston - clearlake area? how is
it for sailing? are there many boats and good sailing
opportunities in the area?...thanx....

I agree with what David has told you. - I think there are more slips
and sailboats in this area than in any other region in the country, and
there are lots of choices. Another advantage of this area is that it is
usually warm enough to sail through most of the Fall, Winter and Spring
months. (But hot as h.... in the Summer.) If you are interested in blue
water sailing, you can get to Galveston, and on to the Gulf, in about
five hours, depending on your particular vessel. You would motor or sail
down the Houston-Galveston ship channel. In Galveston, you have choices
of docking at several marinas, in addition to anchoring in Offats or
other areas.

What kind of boat do you have or want, and what kind of sailing are you
interested in?

Jim

~^ beancounter ~^ wrote:

any cruisers know the houston - clearlake area? how is
it for sailing? are there many boats and good sailing
opportunities in the area?...thanx....

Jim...I may start a 5-8 month contract position at a
govt contractor located at the space center...not far from
the clearlake area...i would look to get a ericson 32, 35 or
38 (1985-1990) to live on while working...Then move it
once the contract is compleated ...

NASA is almost at the water's edge on the North side of Clear Lake.
There are lots of marinas on that side, as well as the South. Start
here for info: http://www.clearlakearea.com/

Here is where I stay, on the South side:
http://www.southshoreharbourmarina.com/

Keith...wow...thanx for the links...there l@@ks to be a lot
of sailing activity there....Looks good....Do you know if the
"USAA sailing center" affliated w/the USAA bank / financial
institution?

thanx again for the info !!.......

~^ beancounter ~^ wrote:

Jim...I may start a 5-8 month contract position at a
govt contractor located at the space center...not far from
the clearlake area...i would look to get a ericson 32, 35 or
38 (1985-1990) to live on while working...Then move it
once the contract is compleated ...




It's a good time to come to this area. (I worked for NASA for 11 years.)

As a suggestion, you might want to contact some of the sailboat charter
companies (such as Sackets) to check out their boats that are for sale,
or to charter one or two. There are lots of boats for sale and lots of
people trying to sell them. - I would begin by checking
"yachtworld.com" for their Houston-Kemah area listings.

Jim

cool...thanx Jim for the tips...i will keep them
in mind.....