The Gulf of Mexico is larger and more varied than most sailors on either coast give it credit for. The Texas ICW is the longest protected waterway in the country. Louisiana has more miles of navigable water than any other state. Florida's Panhandle has some of the clearest, most uncrowded water on the northern Gulf. And the Bahamas — the part beyond the Abacos that most cruisers never reach — include some of the best sailing and anchoring in the western hemisphere. These guides cover four distinct cruising grounds, written for sailors who want to understand what they are getting into before they get into it.
The Texas Coast: The Forgotten Gulf
The longest uninterrupted ICW section in the US, the hypersaline Laguna Madre, Corpus Christi's serious sailing culture, and the reality of Gulf squalls.
Louisiana and the Mississippi Delta: Sailing the Bayou State
Lake Pontchartrain, arriving at New Orleans by water through the Industrial Canal, the Mississippi Sound's barrier islands, and hurricane haul-out culture.
Florida's Panhandle: The Emerald Coast
Pensacola Bay's naval history, Choctawhatchee Bay's uncrowded anchorages, Old Florida Apalachicola, and the Big Bend transition to open-Gulf sailing.
The Bahamas: Beyond the Abacos
Nassau provisioning, the Exuma Land and Sea Park, Staniel Cay, George Town, the remote southern Bahamas, and the Caicos Bank crossing to Turks and Caicos.
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