The drive down was pleasant, but Google Maps sent me down the highways east of San Antonio and I encountered some road construction that got my boat dirty. It washed off easily enough, but decided I would stay on the interstate going home.
Monday morning we took our time putting the boat in at Aransas Pass (about 10 minutes from Danny's place in Ingleside), and set out from the marina (red circle) shortly after lunch. We promptly ran aground on the east side of the ICW (Red arrow. When Danny says shallow, he means SHALLOW!). Once off the sandbar, we headed north up the ICW, under the Redfish Bay Causeway, and due east in the Aransas Channel (indicated by the blue line). It was fine at first, but the channel turned to the southeast, putting us dead into the wind. For about the next five miles we were tacking every couple of minutes, taking care not to run aground again, though we did tap the bottom with the centerboard a few times.
We entered the ship channel at Port Aransas and it was easy sailing the rest of the trip. I was running a full main and a 65% jib, but we still managed to hit 7 knots a few times. The original plan was to camp out on the boat overnight, but the forecast showed rain coming in in the middle of the night, so we sailed down the the deepwater port just short of Corpus Christi Bay and back up the ICW to the marina where we had a slip rented.
With 50%+ chances of rain over the next few days, we decided to cut the sailing trip short and pulled the boat out Tuesday morning. Dropping the boat at Danny's, we took the ferry to Port Aransas, had a lunch of fried shrimp, and circled back through Corpus Christi. I grew up there, and of course was struck by how much things have changed (more people, houses, old landmarks gone, etc.). We had a good visit, but I decided it best to get back home, so drove back a day earlier than I had originally planned.
So, about 15 hours of driving for a 5-hour sail, but it was worth it to go out sailing and spend some time with a good friend. Better luck next time.
