Presented by Freeport Marina

From the Rio Grande to the Florida

Panhandle to the Keys

Drought is over!

In February, rains from far south on the Texas coast to New Orleans brought that area of the coast flash flood warnings for the first time in many months. Two-day rain totals of four inches were not uncommon in some areas, leaving water standing in spots that had been bone dry for quite some time. Coupled with generally mild temperatures, a feeling of spring seemed to have arrived early. Area streams rose quickly to above normal levels, flushing accumulated silt and debris into the Gulf. The immediate impact will be one of off-color water and floating objects mariners will need to keep a sharp eye out for. But a more long-term result will be a needed influx of fresh water to temper salinities in bays and tidal rivers and bayous and low water at docks. Additionally, boat ramps will be alleviated—at least short-term. Coastal fish species, birds and wildlife, plants and residents who love boats and the water will all head into the coming months with a new sense of well-being.

New websites provide ocean 

and coastal data and information

The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS)—a regional entity of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)—has a new website to provide mariners with better and easier access to marine-related data. The GCCOS website (gcoos.tamu.edu) includes seven-day oceanographic and meteorological conditions and forecasts, providing “a one-stop information source for boat operators and fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico.” There are also nautical charts, marine hazard warnings and habitat maps showing essential fish habitat and marine protected areas.

Florida adopts new 

seasons for gag grouper

On February 8^th , the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted to change their management of gag grouper in state waters to nine nautical miles from the Gulf coast. The changes they wish to adopt will result in state regulations mirroring those in federal waters, setting a recreational open season from July 1^st through October 31^st, and lowering the minimum size for commercial gag catches from 24 inches to 22 inches total length. The Commission also authorized an executive order opening gag grouper season in state waters off Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla and Franklin Counties—including Apalachicola Bay and Indian Pass—during April, May and June, closing the harvest in those waters during the July-to-October season. Gag grouper has seen the season closed in Gulf of Mexico state waters in Florida since November 16^th of 2011. FWC believes these changes will allow populations to rebuild while considering the needs of anglers.

Allocating Red Snapper

March is the transition month on the Gulf Coast, between our normally mild winter and the joy of another spring. January and February saw warmer than normal days, with near record highs in February pushing into the upper 60’s in daytime hours, with mid-50’s at night. February also saw more rainfall than we had been getting in the past year, and if not a drought breaker on the Texas coast, it will be very close. This is often the time of year when boat owners begin moving their vessels into the yards to make ready for another season on the water, and if sunshine returns to help paint dry, conditions should be much better than those years when a brisk and cool wind howled, blowing dirt and sand onto surfaces not yet cured and into grease being packed around bearings. Because fuel prices are still running abnormally high, yard space may be plentiful, as some owners may not be so eager to ready their craft for the first real trip to the fuel dock.

Many boats on the Gulf Coast are considered fishing boats first, cruising craft second and the news is not so good for anglers eager to wet a line. Red snapper have traditionally been the go-to species for both recreational and for-hire fishermen in Gulf waters, but at the last Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council meeting in early February, the position was taken that even if red snapper stocks are truly judged to be fully “rebuilt” in the year 2032, as NOAA Fisheries scientists now predict, the catch limits will likely be held to 12-15 million pounds, with only 7 million pounds going to the recreational sector. This would result in the “open” season for red snapper in the Gulf being roughly 60 days for recreational fishermen. Of course, this is a little better than the 40-day season previously expected for 2012, but still far less than what fishermen were hoping for. One of the half dozen or so items on the NOAA Fisheries Regional Saltwater Recreational Fishing Action Agenda for 2012 is that there is a demand from both recreational and commercial fishermen for an increase in snapper catch limits and longer seasons. Even the data collected by NOAA Fisheries—which most fishermen consider incomplete and suspect—shows snapper populations on a strong rebound. But in a classic “damned if you do …” scenario, that agency says that the snapper caught last season by recreational anglers were larger in average than in past years, resulting in the quota being exceeded by several million pounds. The 2012 season will be the shortest since seasonal limits were placed upon red snapper, as a “payback” for the previous years’ perceived overage.

Most fishermen and many biologists—even Dr. Bob Shipp of the Gulf Council—feel something is wrong when the fishery is judged to be rebounding, yet the season keeps getting shorter. Conversely, Dr. Roy Crabtree, NOAA Fisheries point man on the Gulf Council, feels recreational fishermen are already getting too many fishing days, and is adamantly opposed to adding to the recreational quota or the total allowable quota between recreational and commercial catches.

Slow times on the Texas coast

February is Winter on the Gulf Coast, the month when the coldest days of a mostly-mild winter will occur. In the tag end of 2011, we saw cold weather arrive a bit earlier than normal with light freezes in December as well as a couple of nights with a freeze that was not so light, even mid-way down the Texas coast. With the cool weather and often windy

conditions, those of us spoiled by the temperatures throughout most of the rest of the year will not find it that pleasant to be on the water this month. This is usually no big deal, as boating chores and maintenance must be done sometime, and better now than when warm Spring breezes beckon. Boat yards start to get booked up in February for bottom work, so wise boat owners should plan ahead. We often go a couple of years between having to do a full bottom job, so sometimes a quick haul to change zincs, check and clean props, and pressure wash the hull thoroughly will get the old girl in shape for another season.

There is a recent change in Texas firearms laws: House Bill 25, which became effective September 1, 2011, allows boat operators to carry a handgun on their boat without requiring a concealed carry license, although the weapon must be hidden from view. Prior to this bill, handguns on boats were a subject not mentioned in state handgun regulations.

The State of Texas has also announced the opening of its 34^th state paddling trail, the second in the Seguin, Texas area, on a scenic stretch of the Guadalupe River.

Louisiana artificial reef projects

Construction has begun on a new 4-acre artificial reef in Lake Pontchartrain at permitted sites between the Interstate 10 and Louisiana State Road 11 bridges. The reef will be built using materials recycled from rebuilding the IH-10 twin Span Bridges damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and will be known as “The Dudley and Kim Vandenborre Reef,” after the man (a well-known fishing guide on Lake Pontchartrain) who suggested the idea to the State and Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) of Louisiana. Dudley and Kim’s Reef will be phase two of a three-phase reef project. Phase one – the South Shore Reef – was completed earlier this year, and phase three will be a reef system built around the soon-to-be-completed St. Tammany Fishing Pier. This project will be the first of its kind in Louisiana, and will be built by NASDI, LLC.

U.S. Coast Guard eases TWIC 

requirement for thousand of mariners

Section 809 of the USCG Re-Authorization Act of 2010 allows the Coast Guard to be exempt from holding a Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) as well as those operating vessels not required to have a Vessel Security Plan, or who are not actively sailing on their Merchant Mariner documents. This action will affect an estimated 60,000 mariners, including those with Operator of Uninspected Vessel (6-pack) credentials.

January is boat show month; there is an amazing variety of vessels to see!

New year, new horizons

It’s now the 12th year beyond the turn of the century, and we know that technology did not crash when the calendar flipped from 1999 to 2000. In spite of some prognostications regarding climate change, we are experiencing some pretty cold weather earlier in the year than normal on the Gulf Coast, and although the times, “they are indeed a’changin,’” nothing dramatically terrible has happened recently—at least when this was written.

Have your own boat show!

January is boat show month on the western Gulf Coast, especially in Texas, but those who want to look at boats in a less crowded setting can do so just about any time at the large number of marinas along the coast. While some marina areas might be reserved for “boat owners, crew and guests only,” most marinas have “public” areas where at least some vessels can be viewed; usually a stop at the marina office to ask permission from management will result in access to the docks—especially if you express interest in the facilities and represent yourself (correctly, of course) as a boat owner or prospective owner. Many of the boats in any marina might actually be for sale, and a call to a broker is also a good way to get a tour. Even in winter there will be dedicated boat owners on their vessels who are usually more than happy to discuss their boats (or even boats other than their own) with visitors. Typically, these folks will probably provide a more honest opinion than a commissioned salesperson might. Personally, I have spent a lot of time talking to folks on the docks when my original intention for that day was to get serious boat work done, which afforded me some enjoyable conversations; I have made some new friends by doing so.

Home grown boats

The Gulf Coast does not have a strong boat-building tradition like Florida and the rest of the East Coast, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t local vessels worthy of study, attention and ownership. For sea-kindly lines and salty tradition, the Gulf shrimp boat is in a class by itself. From bay shrimpers designed to pull nets in shallow areas to the big offshore “slabs” which often spend weeks on the open Gulf, these commercial vessels are built on designs proven to handle the conditions of the Gulf. They run from a short, close-spaced chop much of the time to downright nasty weather with considerable winds. Every now and then, I come across a former commercial boat that’s been converted into a long-range yacht that does just fine. In recreational boats, more of those designed for inshore use come from Gulf craftsmen than from the big-water versions. Texas waters have contributed the shallow water “scooter,” which is a flat-bottomed barge with an open deck. Modern versions usually have the engines mounted on jack plates and incorporate a tunnel and/or prop pocket to allow the boat to come up on a plane and run in inches of water. The Lafitte skiff from Louisiana can be found mounted with butterfly nets or trawls as well as in a layout for recreational fishing, but will always have the graceful fantail originally designed for pulling nets out of the water without tangling them in the prop. Many net boats from the Gulf coast of Florida will have an outboard mounted in an engine well-forward of the transom, also to keep nets out of the prop. But this design will allow fishermen to work the stern better and does some good things to the boats’ handling as well. Louisiana also gave us the “mud boat,” with a non-traditional “outboard” running an air-cooled engine with an extremely long shaft that can be tilted so that it just barely touches the water—or mud—to propel the boat. These are used by commercial crabbers and duck hunters alike. Though they’re not yachts in the strictest sense, they are honest and sturdy vessels all.

Boat parades: good times, good boats, good places.

Christmas Boat Parades

While the middle of winter is not an especially prime time for boating on the Western Gulf Coast, it does present some interesting opportunities. Activities such as holiday boat parades give dedicated boat owners a chance to extend their season to the tail end of the year if they choose to participate, while providing spectators a few options as well. The parades are among the most social of boating activities, giving families and friends who might not have much interest in a hot summer day offshore, a chance to join in the preparation—with a warm cabin or other refuge from cool winds or rain that are usually very close at hand. The same is usually true of riding in the parades themselves, although crews on smaller open boats have less chance to duck inside the saloon and warm up when they feel the need.
My fondest memories of the Clear Lake Boat Parade, which is arguably the largest on the Texas coast, were of watching with friends and my young son from the dock area of the Regatta Inn Restaurant, strategically located on the channel where Clear Lake prepares to enter Galveston Bay, near the end of the parade route. A rather randomly chartered course led me to that very coveted spot to watch the brightly lit boats go by. A lovely young lady who worked in PR for the Clear Lake Hilton Hotel thought I looked lonely at their bar and introduced me to Bob Hall, the former owner of a couple of Clear Lake marinas and a strong boating enthusiast. Bob seemed to know everyone in the local business and boating communities, and one in particular he introduced me to was Larry King, owner of the Regatta and a former mayor of Seabrook, one of the many small communities bordering the lake. Larry became a close friend and always invited me and my son to view the boat parade and the 4th of July fireworks show from his dock area, and gifted us with a parking pass to get past the temporary roadblocks put up to keep non-customers some distance down the road.
Another local resident that Bob introduced me to was Red Adair, the famous oil-well firefighter and avid boating enthusiast. Sadly, Bob Hall, Larry King and Red Adair have all gone on to dock at that Big Marina in the sky where we all hope to tie up one day. When I think of boat parades, I think of those guys, of good times, good boats and good places.

Save-the-Blue

A great website to further emphasize the importance of offshore oil production platforms, save-the-blue.org, offers visitors a chance to watch live views from two camera feeds from a platform out in the Gulf. Visitors to the site may also join Save-the-Blue or simply donate to the cause.

Important Rigs to Reef legislation and continued drought causing more problems for Texas boating and fishing.

San Bernard River mouth sanding up again

Back in 2009, a $2.4 million dredging project opened the mouth of the San Bernard River, between Freeport and Matagorda, Texas, off the ICW. But after only two and a half years the dredged area seems to be well on its way to filling in again. After dredging, the Gulf outlet of the river was 160 feet wide and 13 feet deep, but lately at low tide the width is about half that and the depth could be down to 6 or 7 feet in some spots to just inches in others. The 2009 dredging took a long time to arrange and was aided in the final stages by the support of Congressman Ron Paul of Lake Jackson, Texas. Congressman Paul has a vacation home on the river and is very aware of the problems the closing of the mouth has caused. The majority of locals believe the problem stems from the jetties at the original outlet of the Brazos River, just to the east, and the cutting of a diversion canal to form the “New Brazos” outlet between the two. The result: more beach erosion that has caused the San Bernard River to sand in. The dredging was expected to keep the mouth open for 6 to 12 years but the record-breaking Texas drought has reduced the river flow and kept it from being able to flush the sand out naturally. Keeping the river open is important to the ecological and economic welfare of the area, and gives those who boat there an outlet to the open Gulf. But another dredging project will be difficult to arrange, especially after the changes to the way in which Congress can fund such relatively small projects were implemented.

Rigs to reefs legislation introduced
by Senator Vitter of Louisiana

It’s no secret that oil production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico are an important artificial habitat system, providing needed protected sanctuary for many stressed species such as red snapper. In October of 2010, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management changed the way oil rigs are managed. In the past, a rig that was no longer producing could be left in place as long as the company that owned it still held the lease on that area of the Gulf bottom. They were required to be removed within five years after the lease had expired. This left many older rigs in place as prime fish habitat for decades. The new regulations stipulate that rigs must be removed within five years after production ceases, regardless of lease status. This is a response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster which seems to have prompted some politicians to move against all Gulf drilling. Even though these rigs support a multi-million dollar fishing and diving industry—besides providing a fish habitat that is badly needed—there are now 3,500 non-producing rigs in the Gulf that must be plugged in preparation for their removal date. To remove the platforms, the legs are “cut” with explosives, and  any marine life in the area is normally killed or, at the very least, displaced.
Senator David Vitter’s (R. Louisiana) Rigs to Reefs Habitat Protection Act of 2011, if put into place, would not allow platforms to be removed until an assessment is conducted to determine if coral formations or other protected species of marine life exist. It would identify any fish species with recreational or commercial value, halting immediate removal until potential damage to the ecosystem can be evaluated. Companies would be exempt from the requirement to remove platforms as long as the owners committed to converting it to a reef. This would require the removal of the top decks, maintaining an anode system and navigation aids such as lights and horns, and paying into a Reef Maintenance Fund for upkeep of the rigs which would be available without fiscal year limitations. They would not be subject to other appropriations, either. Conservation and fishermen’s groups, including the Coastal Conservation Association, are applauding and supporting this legislation.

Texan vessel operators required to take boating education while waterways remain closed along the Mississippi Gulf.

Texas expands mandatory boating education

Texas has legislated mandatory boating education classes be taken starting this September 1st. The law applies to anyone born on or after September 1st, 1993 who wishes to operate a vessel with more than 15 horsepower of propulsion or a wind-driven vessel that is over 14 feet in length. A legislative report by the state’s Advisory Panel on Boating Safety said that drowning is the primary cause of boating deaths nationwide. Out of 543 boating fatalities in 2009, 385 of the victims were not wearing lifejackets. Rough water or hazardous weather conditions were also cited as contributing factors.

Another Texas artificial reef

Yet another artificial reef has been built seven nautical miles offshore from Port Mansfield, Texas. This puts it within the nine nautical mile limit of Texas offshore waters, and therefore will fall under the more liberal Texas state limits for red snapper. (Most state’s territorial boundaries extend offshore three miles, to the “Cannon Ball Line.” For historical reasons, Texas and Florida’s claims in the Gulf of Mexico are three marine leagues, which is about nine miles.) This includes no closed season, plus more liberal bag and possession limits. Other recent “reefs” in that area were made from de-commissioned ships sunk in strategic locations, but this one will be constructed of more than 4,000 concrete culverts that will be added to 800 others, along with a sunken tugboat. In partnership with Coastal Conservation Association, the reef is expected to attract fish such as red snapper and offer a recreational fishing and diving destination relatively close to shore. Since the Port Mansfield area is known for its short run to deep water and has natural rock formations as close as five miles from the jetties, the new reefing efforts should attract fish activity in a fairly short amount of time.

Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Canal closed

The Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) Canal was constructed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers in 1985 to provide large commercial vessels a shorter route to the Gulf from the inner harbor of New Orleans. It connects to the Industrial Canal from the Mississippi River to Lake Ponchartrain, and runs 76 miles to the Gulf through Breton Sound. In retrospect, the MR-GO was not as good an idea as it may have first appeared to be. Large ships still preferred traveling the Mississippi to the Gulf through Southwest Pass, and ecological damage to the fragile freshwater marshes and cypress swamps below New Orleans was severe. Hurricane Katrina sealed the death sentence for the MR-GO when the storm literally rode up the canal into New Orleans. It is now dammed up and closed completely, even to small boat traffic. Fishermen heading for the Chandeleur Islands or Venice as a jumping off point for offshore adventures preferred the straight shot down the canal because there was less of a chance of encountering large ships in a confined channel. But most now agree, the canal did more harm than good.

Record-breaking drought in Texas;
Louisiana sees some rain

Beautiful artisan swamper boats now re-crafted into aluminum skiffs, are the main form of travel for fishermen making their living in the Atchafalaya basin.

The Texas summer made it into the record books with a disastrous lack of rainfall and consecutive days of triple digit heat…weather for making sure your marine air conditioning is working well. It’s also weather for restricting time on the water to only early or late in the day. But on a positive note, the lack of rainfall means clear water in the bays and coastal streams. Rivers like the Brazos, San Bernard and Colorado are running clear while brisk onshore winds have kept tides high, flushing salty green water farther upstream than is usual this time of year. (Something about clear water just makes boating more pleasant, don’t you think?)
With the Feds now declaring disaster areas due to severe drought, we’re hoping for a turn-around in the weather come September. Fall is always a good time for boating and fishing since there is less traffic on the water, temperatures are usually milder and the weather in general is more settled. Dry conditions have brought about “burn bans” in virtually the whole state so onshore campers have had to do without a fire at night. Even beach parties in areas where fires are normally permitted have had to forgo a roaring bonfire, but on the upside there have been very few mosquitoes requiring the need of a smoky fire to keep them away.
Although I have lost a truck, a treasured boat and a house—along with countless smaller items to storms over the years—I continue to reside on the Texas coast. I was among those hoping for Tropical Storm Don to bring some needed rain to our parched landscape. (Not so much the 42 inches in 24 hours TS Claudette dropped on the Chocolate Bayou area above Galveston in 1979, but more like the 30 minutes of heavy rain, thunder and lightning the Freeport area received the day after TS Don slipped ashore in South Texas). Even Brownsville, close to the point of landfall, received almost no rain. As I write this, another storm is brewing that could enter the Gulf, and what might be the season’s first hurricane seems aimed at Florida. Either one may have made an impact by the time you read this column.
While Texas saw the hottest and driest June and July on record, Louisiana had its wettest July. I was in New Orleans when the drought there broke. Some areas of town saw 11 inches of rain in one afternoon but most received around 5 inches. Since then, Baton Rouge has returned to the normal summer pattern of thunderstorms: two nearly every afternoon. Southern Louisiana is largely wetlands in normal weather which makes boating as much a necessity as it is a recreational pastime. One of my favorite stretches of road is the long bridge over the Atchafalaya River Basin. I never tire of gazing at the Henderson Swamp and the various bayous, “lakes”, the Whiskey Bay Pilot Channel and the River itself. I always marvel at the sheer volume of water in this relatively small area and have crossed the lower basin and the Atchafalaya by boat along the ICW. That’s even better. Either route makes me wonder about the fortitude of the early explorers and settlers in this area. The water was no doubt an endless source of food and means of transportation, but conversely, a constant threat due to flooding.
The entire Gulf Coast economy is still reeling from 2011’s red snapper fishing season, the shortest on record: 48 days. The methods used by National Marine Fisheries Service to estimate snapper catches make it seem likely that if nothing is done, next year’s season will be even shorter, and the following year might see no snapper fishing at all. The National Association of Charterboat Operators, of which I am a board member, is urging NMFS to conduct a full snapper population assessment survey for 2012, as most fishermen believe the population is much healthier than current data would indicate. As one of the most popular recreational and commercial species in the Gulf, reduced snapper fishing opportunities hurt so many: recreational fishermen, charter boats, commercial fishermen, those that the fishermen buy their boats from, fishing tackle suppliers and fuel suppliers. Not to mention the coastal hotels and restaurants, marinas and boatyards, grocery stores, bait camps and just about every other sector of coastal businesses out there. Many charterboat operators have already been forced out of business due to tightening regulations, high fuel costs and the generally poor economy. While fishing was impossible last year, BP helped many in Louisiana and the areas east of the Mississippi River by employing them in the spill cleanup. But since BP was the cause of the poor fishing in the first place, this hardly balances things out.

With weather worries subsiding, the Gulf Coast is

once again attracting cruisers and fishermen.

The summer of 2011 saw continuing drought conditions along the Gulf Coast, with storms that could have brought much needed moisture, absent except for some parts of South Texas and a bit in Louisiana. The flooding along the lower Mississippi River was not as serious as it was expected to be and wildfires in Texas were not a problem along the coast, although inland areas were hard hit. By mid-summer, periods of light coastal winds coupled with blue skies and clear water were calling boat owners to the coast, as both inshore and offshore cruising and fishing heated up. The only drawback was the days of record setting high temperatures.

Corpus Christi Receives Accolades as Top Boating Spot

The U.S. Recreational Boating Industry announced its ratings of the top ten states for boating in June 2011. Three Gulf States were high on the list with Florida #1, Texas #2, and Louisiana #5. Texas was given credit for $812 million in boating related sales, to Florida’s $1.1 billion and Louisiana’s $360 million. Corpus Christi was listed as the Texas Hotspot, giving boat operators access to over 300 square miles of water to explore and boasting a new marina as a base for sailing, fishing, cruising and other watersports.

Texas Declares War On Zebra Mussels

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department has asked state boat operators to declare war on invasive Zebra Mussels, according to Inland Fisheries Regional Director, Brian Van Zee. Zebra Mussels were first documented in Lake Texoma in 2009, and could threaten everything from fishing to basic water supplies if allowed to spread. The message TPWD wants to get across is that anyone who has boated in Lake Texoma or is from out of state should thoroughly “clean, drain, and dry” their vessel before re-launching in other state waters. This means mariners should clean all vegetation, mud, algae and other debris from the hull and trailer before leaving the boat ramp area; drain all water from the boat, live well, etc., and dry the boat and equipment for 7 to 10 days before going back in another lake, especially during the period of May through October, or 15 to 20 days from November through April.  Authorities are especially concerned about lakes Lavon, Ray Hubbard, Lewisville, Grapevine, Possum Kingdom, and Granbury as these lakes are on the Trinity and Brazos River systems and are heavily used by recreational boats. For more information, see texasinvasives.org.
In other Texas news, the state’s official paddling trails now stretch over 350 miles of both fresh and saltwater areas. For more details, go to tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/boat/paddlingtrails.

Spring floods cause summer boating

hazards in the Mississippi watershed;

ironically, Texas is having a drought.

“How High’s the Water, Papa?”

That old Johnny Cash song about flooding would be very appropriate right now in Louisiana, as heavy rains on the upper reaches of the Mississippi River have caused the Army Corps of Engineers to open gates at both the Morganza and Bonnet Carre spillways to keep the Mississippi from overcoming the levees at Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
The Morganza spillway diverts excess river water through a floodway that feeds the Atchafalaya swamp and river, while the Bonnet Carre spillway dumps water into Lake Pontchartrain west of New Orleans. The muddy river water in Pontchartrain is backing up to the north, threatening to enter the Tickfaw River and other tributaries. This is pushing crabs and other saltwater or brackish water species into the Tickfaw, and making for some strange bedfellows. I was sent a picture by a friend in that area of a spoonbill catfish, an endangered fish, that was caught by a commercial fisherman. It had a large chunk bitten out of it by what had to have been a bull shark pushed out of Pontchartrain by the muddy water.
All this water coming down the river will affect everyone boating and fishing in the area this summer. Water levels will be much higher, currents likely stronger, salinity and water clarity both much lowered. Mud stains are hard to get off gel coat, so those who can might want to wax their hulls.

Texas drought continues

As of press time, the upper Texas coast had not seen significant rainfall since February. One of the worst droughts the state has seen in a century, it has caused problems for ranchers, fishermen, and plenty of others. Continuing with the song theme, we’d love to hear Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood” coming true about now. Unfortunately, when a drought breaks, flood conditions usually ensue; Texans are holding their collective breath as hurricane season begins.
On the plus side (if there is one), water clarity should be good in the bays and the ICW, and salinity should be high. In areas that receive no freshwater influx, however, water quality likely will suffer, as will marine life. It would be nice if some of the excess water from the east could be diverted to Texas.

New Gulf Shores repair facility

White-Spunner Construction Co. and Saunders Yachtworks broke ground on a major repair facility on the ICW in Gulf Shores, Alabama, in April. Developed in partnership with the city of Gulf Shores, the $10 million-plus project is being funded by Gulf Shores, Saunders Yachtworks, and the Economic Development Agency of the U.S. Commerce Department. White-Spunner estimates build time for the basin, docks and heavy lift infrastructure components will be 15 months. The 14-acre  facilty will have 965 feet of frontage on the ICW, and serve recreational, commercial, and military vessels. Dry dock capacity will accommodate vessels up to 150 tons and 120 feet in length.