FREEPORT, Texas – More than 44 powerboats and 80 sailboats had registered to participate in the second annual Texas Mariners Cruising Association Spring Fling, May 18-20.
Participants – mostly from the Houston and Galveston area – were to sail or motor the short run either offshore and in through the Surfside Jetties or along the Intracoastal Waterway and up the former mouth of the Brazos River for their rendezvous at the Freeport Municipal Marina, ground zero for the weekend packed with cruising activities.
Activities were to include a trade show, live bands and steel drum music and plenty of food. A seminars series was to cover topics ranging from diesel maintenance, radar and marine sanitation devices, to medical preparations, communications and safety at sea for cruisers. The U.S. Coast Guard was to discuss preparations for rescue at sea and give a helicopter rescue demonstration. Other sessions were to include knot tying, sail maintenance and marine air conditioning basics.
The downtown marina, which opened in Spring 2010, provides an easy destination for Houston area boaters. It is protected from storm surge and other turbulence by a huge «guillotine gate» that has 69 feet of vertical clearance when in the normal up position. The Spring Fling easily maxed out the marina’s 92-boat capacity, with the overflow vessels steered toward the nearby Bridge Harbor Yacht Club on the ICW.
Proceeds from the event were to benefit Galveston Bay Foundation, Sailing Angels Foundation, Texas Lions Camp, Boys and Girls Club of Brazoria County and the 100 Club.
Visit tmca.nu for details about next year’s Spring Fling and other upcoming events.
