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.