The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Texas 200

Sailing the Texas Coast on a Couple of Other People’s Boats

by Paul S. Howard (Sandbar Boats)

Sandbarboats at the helm of Will's trimaran (I still don't know its name).

In past years I’ve participated in the Texas 200 in a number of watercraft ranging from a homemade Mayfly 14 that I built in two months to a Catalina 22 with full cabin, electric fans, motor, and more.  This year I decided rather last-minute that my little 12’ long Fred Shell Swifty 12 was not ideal for the trip ahead of me. She sails well, but is really low on freeboard and storage.

Two weeks prior to departure she sank at Magnolia Beach while we slept in our tents. This was due to taking on water through the centerboard and over the transom as waves lapped at her throughout the night. I’m not saying she wouldn’t have made it, but I was looking for a little less stress this time around. Fortunately, some lovely friends from the Renegade Northbounders were happy to have me as crew on their boars. All I needed to do was find my way down to Port Isabel with my kit.

The plan evolved over the next two weeks as such: I would “hitchhike” my way to Port Isabel by meeting up with Buddy Simons at his house in Spring. We then proceeded down to Lesa and Lannis Morris’s house in Rosenberg where we picked up Dana and towed the lovely S/V Remedy for the long trip down to the southernmost harbor in America….Port Isabel. The drive was long, but the company was top-notch. We talked about sailing, food, fixing things, breaking things and all the topics that a couple of experienced conversationalists could think of to pass the time. Before we knew it we were pulling up the the marina to drop off the boat.

Figure 1: Buddy Simons prepping the gin pole for stepping the mast.

Work immediately began with prepping Remedy for her launch, helping Bob Rambo get Sandpiper’s motor running, parking vehicles and trailers, and getting to our rental houses for the evening.  It was a long hot day that was rewarded by a nice dinner in town...if we could find a restaurant that wasn’t too packed. After a few failed attempts to even find parking, we arrived at Dirty Al’s for seafood, cold beers, and other fare.