This is a cruise designed for us to watch some of the Texas Outlaw Challenge mariners arrive at Bayland Marina on Saturday morning as one of the stops on their “Gunslinger Poker Run” event (re: https://texasoutlawchallenge.com/), there to pick up their poker card, to perhaps fuel up their thirsty gas-guzzling beasts, and then to grab lunch and a brewski or two at O’Neal’s. This cruise was first run back in 2012 (when O’Neal’s didn’t even exist!), and a photo album from that cruise can be seen on my Flickr site by clicking here. Since there is no swimming pool at Bayland, like there is at Harborwalk which is another one of the stops, the boats don’t linger at Bayland for very long, but it is great fun to watch it all while it lasts!
The “Goose Creek Dinghy Excursion” part of the day was a cruise feature which I created back in 2001 when there just wasn’t much to do there at Bayland on hot summer afternoons! I led that fun event every year for the next several, and there was always great participation! Photo albums from two such Goose Creek explorations, in 2015 and 2017, can be found by clicking here and also here. So bring those dinghies and we will spend a couple of hours in the afternoon cruising up this close-by waterway that bisects the city of Baytown.
O’Neal’s Sportsbar & Grill (click here) opened in June 2018. The food is good, the beer is cold, there is often live music, and the view of passing ships in the HSC, and especially of the Fred Hartman Bridge, cannot be beat, especially at sunset and after dark! It had been a long time since Bayland Marina had a venue onsite such as O’Neal’s, where one could go for dinner, and/or just some cold beers at the bar out under the palapa, and so I am looking forward to it again!
TMCA has a very long history of cruising to Bayland Marina (https://baylandmarina.com/bayland/), and that is ever since it first opened in the mid-90s! It is a fine weekend destination due to its relatively short distance from Clear Lake (10.5nm), and with its great docks, plenty of electric plug-ins, clean restrooms, and ship’s store, it is well worth cruising to! The long-awaited dredging of the entrance channel took place a couple of years ago, and looking at the tide predictions for the weekend no one should have any access problems. If you cannot make the trip on Friday just come on Saturday, but the go-fast boats generally arrive around mid-to-late morning, and so if you want to see them you need to arrive early!!
My “Navigation to Bayland Marina” destinations file, which includes waypoints and other important information, is available by clicking here. Slip fees for TMCA at Bayland are $1.50/ft per night, payable at the ship’s store. There are always plenty of open slips and so you really do not need to make a separate reservation with the marina.
I am hoping for a nice turnout for a fun cruise to Bayland Marina!
Philip Kropf, Cruise Leader
s/v Silhouette
713-598-6454
pkropf@flash.net
