Any C-Dorys around McAllen Texas

P

Pandy Girl

New member
Hi C-Dorys Owners
We are in North McAllen Texas and would like to meet with another C-Dory owner and would like to find some good Boating at the coast or on some River here. We do not know this area but would like to learn it.
We went over to Port Mansfield to look around yesterday, we did not see anyone to talk to but it was cold about 38 deg. and everone was trying to keep warm.
Jim
 
Hi Jim,

I had responded to an earlier post of yours. Sorry we weren't able to connect. We are in the Port Isabel/South Padre Island area, and enjoy boating and sailing here... more options than the Port Mansfield area, IMHO. I would enjoy sharing local information with you, but we are heading out in the morning for some extended cruising.

A couple years ago, I scoured the area, trying to get a look at a C-Dory. Couldn't find a thing. Judging from the comments and gawkers we get, there is certainly a market for this boat in this area. There is someone on the Brat Map that has a TC listed in Port Isabel, but we have never come across it.

If you've been in the area the last 6 days, the weather is not typical. We get an occasional norther that blows in during the winter, that is usually a 2-3 day event. This one has been nasty (though nothing like they've been getting north of us). Average daytime high in January on the coast is 70º. Haven't seen that since last week. :xseek And not looking great for the next week.

The C-Dory is a great boat for this area. When we pulled out yesterday, it was in the 40s and drizzling. While not big fun at the ramp (washing the boat/trailer down in the precip), the boating itself was decent (thanks in large part to the Wallas).

If you come to this part of the coast, you will find excursion boats that do bay trips as well as off-shore fishing. Large ship traffic into Brownsville; barge traffic along the ICW. Scads of small fishing boats. Dolphin watch boats. Sailboats playing in the breeze. Skinny water in the bay, deeper in the channels, good access to the Gulf. And the C-Dory is comfortable in all that. In a previous post you had mentioned river cruising - the closest for that would be the Arroyo Colorado, navigable from the ICW to the Port of Harlingen (about 26 miles); there are some ramps along the south side of the river in the Arroyo City area. The river runs along the Atascosa Wildlife Refuge; plenty of birding and wildlife viewing there.

Pick up a Hot Spot fishing chart for the lower Laguna Madre to get an idea of the water around here (NOAA charts are almost non-existant). The depths are well marked on the chart.

Bring Pandy Girl on your next trip. The Expressway through the Valley can be a bit of a zoo, but you will enjoy the boating available on the coast.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Hi Jim (Wild Blue)
Thanks JIm for all the infro. We may go to Harlingen and check it out there and see if there is any Marinas to.
Sorry we did not get together on the other Post, we did not have any Internet service for a while.
We like this area in the Valley.
Have a good cruise,
Jim
 
So there's no confusion, Harlingen doesn't have much in the way of water... you will have to go to the coast - South Padre Island / Port Isabel area to see some real water. There IS a Port of Harlingen (not to be confused with the city of Harlingen), but you won't see anything there from the road. Drive on down to Arroyo City and you'll see the river. The Arroryo is good for an occasional day of cruising... but if you want to spend weeks, or months, or years, come to the Laguna Madre area (SPI/PI)... drive across the 2 1/2 mile long causeway and you'll see PLENTY of water.

Have fun exploring.

Best wishes,
Jim B,

(drove most of the day, and we're still in south Texas :wink: )
 
Thanks,
For all the Info. we will ride over to SPI on the map looks like a lot of water there, Have a good Cruise.
We hope the weather will change soon.
Jim
 
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