1st
Annual Duckworks Messabout
May 17, 2003 - Bird Island Basin
Map
For those of you who live in the
South Texas area, or who don't mind traveling a bit, we are announcing
our first messabout. We have chosen a location that we feel
is ideal for this type of event. It is a place that we always
took our children when they were growing up. Bird
Island Basin is a small cove on the Laguna Madre side of Padre
Island on the south coast of Texas.
The Laguna
Madre is a large body of shallow water separating Padre Island
from the South Texas mainland. It covers 609 square miles of estuarine
and coastal marine systems. The boundary of Padre Island National
Seashore encompasses approximately 20,000 acres of the Laguna
Madre.
Bird Island Basin is a popular
spot with windsurfers, and for good reason. The water is
warm and shallow, and the wind is fairly constant and onshore,
but not too strong. This keeps the bugs down, and makes
for fun sailing, as there is little wave action. The beach is
sandy, and fairly clean most of the time.
There is a Boat ramp for trailer
boats, and some picnic tables, and porta-pottys. Camping
is allowed on the beach but it is primitive with no running water.
There are numerous motels in Corpus Christi, and a few on the
island.
A modest fee per vehicle is paid
at the entrance to the National Seashore. That will get
you a week's pass. We never mind paying this as it helps support
the facility, which is a wonderful, one of a kind place. A few
miles down the island, and over on the Gulf beaches, there is
a visitors center with showers, a little store, and a museum.
Bring plenty of water, bring a
lunch, bring some sunscreen, and bring your boat if you have one.
We will bring our Caprice, and Sandra's Canoe. Saturday night
we will have a pot luck dinner.
For those of you who want GPS coordinates:
27.47222 North
97.31219 West
We hope to see you there.
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