There have been some very interesting developments in this year's Texas 200 event which I've been following with interest. I just heard from Greg Matt who I sailed with last year in Texas. During previous events there are usually very strong winds out of the south which makes for an exciting sleigh ride during MUCH of the trip.
This year has the winds all backwards from previous years. Winds will be out of the North on Monday. Considering the first day's camp is 62 miles away, that makes it almost impossible if you're going into the wind. The other obstacle that makes this scenario so interesting is day one will be tacking in a narrow section called the land cut. A place where large freighters occasionally share the waterways.
This year there are four Hobie Islands participating in the Texas 200. Normally the participants depart early Monday morning but to beat these shifting winds, Greg said that the Hobie island sailors have decided to get underway immediately after they drop off their trailers (Sunday late afternoon) at the finish and take the shuttle bus back this afternoon. That way they can take advantage of the remaining winds out of the south tonight. I'm sure they're tired after 400 miles of being on the road today but I was assured that they will be hopped up on caffeine and sugar to keep awake tonight. And they will start out as two groups of two sailing together unless one group catches the other during the night which is possible. I hope everyone is safe and they have a nice night sail tonight with a bit of moonlight to light their way. I always worry about the possibility of hitting an unlit channel marker or bouy at night and collapsing an ama. Which is why I always have keep out lines on my boat to prevent that. Winds will be out of the southwest 10-14 tonight which is pretty good. They die down considerably in the morning before shifting from the north.
They are in a pretty remote area tonight and starting from Port Mansfield Texas. For more information about their route you can look it up on the Texas 200 website which is
http://texas200.com/Route.html Another less common weather event they will be dealing with is thunderstorms. Looks like they're slated to get more than their share during the week. If I hear more from Greg, I'll post here if anyone is interested.
Jim