Departure Date: 0800 6/17/2023
Potrero area, TX: 26°50’32.5″N 97°27’59.0″W
Destination – Port Aransas, TX: 27°50’26.4″N 97°03’42.1″W
Distance 68nm
Long spoil island channel opening to Corpus Christi Bay at the end.
After a restful night we departed at sunrise after a hearty breakfast. With a mild breeze at our back, we motor sailed until the wind picked up and cruised gently until we reached Baffin Bay. With the engine off and were averaging 5 knots in the growing breeze. There was a small craft warning forecast for the afternoon, so we ran under full jib and left the main packed away. Soon winds increased to 20 knots with gusts in the 30s and the mild run became a roller coaster in the steep short frequency waves that built in the shallow Corpus Christi Bay. The stern would sway as she caught a wave and tear on at 6+ knots in the gusts settling in the trough long enough just to catch the next wave and continue on.
I had planned the course to lead us to the Corpus Ship Channel cruising straight on the intracoastal following the cans on starboard “G49” to “G45” and then “R44” to port but after that all I saw was a shallow bank to port with birds clearly perched on dry sand and the island to starboard as expected. However I also noticed a ripple of breaking water between both. Now, in my experience if you see breaking water it means there’s most likely some very shallow obstruction underneath those short waves. I figured that the sand had shifted and blocked the way.
With the wind coming from starboard and nearing a lee shore full of birds, my fist thought was to turn around but the narrow channel provided no room to maneuver. Options were limited, so I turned hard to port which set me on course to run over a shallow area of approximately 3′ deep in an attempt to ‘bounce’ the boat using the stiff wind heeling the boat and the steep 2′ waves to the adjoining ship channel just north of the shallows. Zephyr turned, we tightly pulled in the jib, she heeled hard over on her side, we turned on the engine and gunned it while the steep short frequency waves and 20+kt winds bounced her over the sandy bottom.
A sphincter tightening few minutes of action but, to my relief and amazement it worked. She came through clean and now found ourselves on the deep channel staring at a very large tanker less than 50 meters away in a parallel course heading into port. I’m sure that someone on that vessel has a video of a small sailboat bouncing over the shallows in a rather spectacular display of phenomenal luck and poor seamanship.
After that short terrifying event, we turned and headed towards Port Aransas. I give credit to Rene for not loosing her cool while I kept encouraging her to bring in the jib and to the build quality of the Cape Dory. Quality build is one of the many reasons I purchased Zephyr. This was a learning moment for me, for both my ability – I need to plan better – and the ability of the boat – it’s a tough and forgiving vessel. I think any other boat would not have made it, or if it did would have been damaged.
We arrived at the Port Aransas Municipal Marina and docked for the evening. Unfortunately the office closes at 5 so we did not have bathrooms or showers available. After a long day and a daunting Texas heat wave, we decided to attempt to get a room in a hotel. What I later realized was that this was Father’s Day weekend and apparently everyone in Texas had the bright idea of spending it in Port Aransas. With the temperature hitting a balmy 110°F and the untenable situation of sleeping in a hot boat, we pulled all strings and found a hotel 3 miles away with an overly expensive room available.
The hotel was 3 miles away and there was no way we would walk that in 110°F – we’d die. We spent an hour attempting to get an Uber/Lyft to no avail. It was fortunate that while sitting under a palm tree, next to the marina breakwater discussing what to do, a gentleman walks over and asks us if we need a ride. That’s how we met Manny. He had driven from Midland, TX to spend his weekend fishing with grand kids and kindly offered to take us to the hotel. We learn later that the city only allows local taxi services to operate – no Uber/Lyft are available.
The next day was spent checking out from an overpriced hotel and heading back to the marina to clean and organize, do a pump out, load ice, purchase gloves and find a closer and less expensive hotel. We found Captain’s Quaters Inn just 1/4 mile away from the dock, the oppressive heat and humidity still made it miserable to walk anywhere. We trudged from the docks to our new room where we showered and then headed out for dinner at a local restaurant. We found Castaways a short walk from the hotel and sat to gorge on fried mozzarella sticks, burgers and beers. Replenished, we were ready for the next leg of our journey.
Port Aransas, Texas – Municipal Marina
Docking facilities at the Port Aransas Municipal Marina were comfortable and improving. The dock hands were friendly and very helpful and, although the facilities are currently (6/2023) under construction, the temporary showers and bathrooms are well kept and clean. They had numerous transient slips available while we were there.