I got the chance to do something I have been dreaming about for some time. I got to cruise the intercoastal waterway. As a kid I always wanted to head down the ditch just to see what was there. Well I got that chance. My father in law was cruising with a friend of the family on his 38 foot sail boat. They started at Port Isabel, but my Father in law was only going with him for a week. Jim, the boat owner was on his way to the Florida Keys. Anyway, the plan was for them to get to Galveston and I was going to put my boat in the water at Port Aransas and run the boat there to get him, stay the night on the sailboat, and then head back the next day. Of course life got in the way and he wound up in Freeport. Jim had to get into Houston for work and his girlfriend came to get him. My brother in law and I put my boat in the water south of Sea Drift, east of Port O Conner and headed to Freeport. You should have seen the look on the faces of the people in Charlie’s Fish Camp on the ICW when we paid for parking. They asked where we were going fishing. I told then the story and they laughed. They said it would take forever. They started to believe me when I fired up the hot rod Sea Ray. We took off roaring down the ICW with lots of fisherman on boats and docks looking at us. Matagorda Bay was really rough and it took over an hour to get across, but once we got back in calm water we were cruising. We averaged about 34 MPH, got 3.2 to 3.6 MPG and got to see some pretty cool stuff. I went thru my first locks at Matagorda, my first pontoon bridge and got to use my VHF radio for a real purpose!! We pulled up to the Freeport Municipal marina 5 and a half hours and 100 miles later. We would have been there quicker, but commercial traffic has right of way in locks and pontoon bridges. Plus Matagorda Bay was time consuming. At Freeport the Texas Mariners Cruising Association was having their Spring Fling. I thought “Oh boy, a stuffy yacht club with every one named Muffyâ€. That was NOT the case at all. These old people with sailboats and big cruisers partied!! And they liked the loud little Sea Ray. At the dock I had a 38 footer on one side and a 45 on the other. That makes 21 foot look real small but they were welcoming none the less. They took me to get fuel at a corner store in my fuel jugs instead of at the marina, some old lady was pushing apple cinnamon shots made with Ever clear, and they had a band that played till 0100!! What a blast. We drank like crazy and then crashed on the sail boat. The next morning we fired up the Sea Ray and headed home. Coming back we made it in 3 and a half hours. I am here to tell you, cruising is FUN and everyone should do it. I never thought I would use my boat to go over 200 miles on the water at one time. The trip was as much fun as the destination!! Everyone should do something like this, but be warned; you will want to do it again.
Long Cruise in my boat 200 plus miles!!
- Thread starter Red Horse
- Start date
Devilman
Well-known member
Red Horse said:
Canal really have that much stuff in it? I wouldn't figure it be much different than what you'd see in a river. No way would I try & go that distance in mine, its fairly economical for a jet but still, lol... Wouldn't mind running it for a few hours distance though.
So what else you see along the way? Pretty uninhabited open country type setting or... ?
Devilman said:
I went in late May and the sea weed was thick in the bay and the near where the bay and the ditch met. PLus, near the rivers and creeks there were lots of sticks and floating things. As long as you have about 50 miles of range you could do it but I would make sure it was a sea weed free time of year without heavy rain for a few weeks. I have 150 mile range on my boat, but still took 2 6 gallon cas cans.
There are some alligators, plenty of birds and lots of open country. There were also porpoise along the way. The big tugs were neat and some were really big. After every turn there was something different to see or at least I thought so. The small boat channel after the west matagorda lock was cool, the pontoon bridges, some of the old docks, boats and houses. Just plain cool.
I am sure I will do this again. The only part with a low free board boat will be the Matagorda Bay crossing. That was 30 plus miles of getting wet. Waves were about 2 foot and the wind was strong. I could always cut the waves for you so you can follow!.
Michael Swindoll
New member
That sounds cool as $h1t...... I love them long rides can't beat them clap.gif
Knotty Girl
New member
Patchman said:
X2 jump.gif