TMCA Cruisers...
Having now been a member of TMCA for 26 years I remember a time when someone scheduling a cruise for a weekend when another cruise was already scheduled was kind of a no-no! The theory was that there just were not enough interested and motivated cruisers to make two cruises work on a given weekend. But I am now going to try to prove that this is not still true!
For Memorial Day weekend there is on the TMCA calendar right now a scheduled cruise to Harborwalk Marina, with 25 slips reserved in advance. I might possibly have signed up for this, but for s/v Silhouette it is at least a 6-hour trip to get to Harborwalk, and just that amount of traveling takes kind of a big chunk of time out of the weekend!
So I am proposing an alternate destination for that same weekend for those who might possibly be interested…, much closer (16nm vs 28nm), and much less expensive ($25/night vs $75/night). No there is no pool and swim-up bar at Job Beason Marina on Double Bayou in Oak Island, but there are plenty of other low-key kinds of things to do where a list of pre-planned activities is not necessary! Amongst these are dinghy exploring up either the East Fork or the West Fork of the bayou, or out along the shoreline of the Galveston Bay, riding around the town on boat bikes, fishing, for those who are into that sort of thing, and enjoying happy hours and dinnertime at Channel Marker 17 (https://www.facebook.com/channelmarker17/?msclkid=5ebb57d4d14611ecbb5ca8f0ec54ba7a ) and/or Hurricane Titas ( https://www.facebook.com/resortbargrillstorehotel/ ) And of course there is the usual opportunity for happy hour gatherings under the pavilion right there at the marina.
The one other location to definitely visit in Oak Island is the Frascone Winery (http://www.frasconewinery.com/About.html ). You can go there just to purchase some of their wine, or if we possibly get enough people signed up, to go have a Bistro Dinner there (http://www.frasconewinery.com/Bistro.html ), again of course with the opportunity to buy some Oak Island wine!! (From Job Beason Marina it is an easy half-mile walk to the winery.)
Such a dinner, probably on Saturday night, would be the only weekend activity which I would be willing to organize, other than of course being the Cruise Leader and getting us all there, and also dealing with Chambers County regarding marina reservations (see below).
Now there are various TMCA’ers who think that Double Bayou is either impossible, or too difficult to navigate successfully, anymore without running aground, but I submit that this is not necessarily true! The predicted tide levels for that weekend are quite favorable for entering and leaving Double Bayou at various times (re: chart below), and although s/v Silhouette draws only 4ft, boats with drafts up to almost 6ft can make it in there, all with some careful navigating, and utilizing waypoints that can be accessed in my “Double Bayou Navigation” pdf file found by clicking here. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/eq62ut8uxjfi3gi/AAAGaTDyQt_krjBDGbvZ71Iwa/Destinations%2C%20routes%20and%20anchorages?dl=0&preview=Double+Bayou+Navigation+(Pasture+version).pdf&subfolder_nav_tracking=1 (For those who have never made this trip, this file also contains many photos of Double Bayou and Oak Island scenery that you will get to see.)
I made 4 trips to Double Bayou in 2020, and two in 2021, and I can attest that, due to many commercial vessels coming and going in that channel all the time, conditions are better there than they have been for a quite some time! Don’t let Double Bayou navigation scare you!!! It has been one of TMCA’s most favorite destinations for many years, and there is no reason that it cannot still be!
Registration for this cruise (for as many nights as you wish) will be on the TMCA website, and whereas in the past TMCA has collected the slip fees for Job Beason Marina when you registered, and then forwarded those fees to Chambers County, this time they will not do that and instead you will be responsible for submitting your own fees (only $25/night, and payment can be made on their website). But also there is a Boater (release of liability) Agreement that they now require, and once you register for the cruise I will contact you with the specific details on how to do this.
So it seems to me that this is a great destination for us to have an Alternate Memorial Day Cruise to, and so if you don’t wish to travel all the way to Harborwalk, please consider joining me in the lovely little waterfront town of Oak Island! Start your holiday cruise planning now, and then get signed up for this event when registration opens on the website very soon. And if you have questions please give me a call at 713-598-6454.
Philip Kropf, Cruise Leader
s/v Silhouette
pkropf@flash.net
