Daulphin Island AL
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Posted: Jan 25, 2011 - 12:06 PM
Can anyone tell me anything about the present state of the beaches and berms on Dauphin Island? My extended family has booked a place on the beach at the end of June and I am hoping to take my p-18. Has the beachfront berm washed away yet or is there still a berm right at the waterline? Am I gonna have to carry the boat over a walkway over the berm to get access to beach launch? Any regulation regarding leaving a boat on the beach on the island? If not would you leave your boat there in a house while staying in a house a few hundred feet away? Any additional local info would also be greatly appreciated. We usually visit Fort Morgan just across the bay but we figured we would change the pace up a bit this year. -
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Posted: Jan 26, 2011 - 01:12 PM
At the present you better have beach wheels. You can take your boat to the west end and park. But it may be 50 yards to the beach. You can also put in on the East end by ft Gaines, but again you need beach wheels to cross the road and some rip rap poking up to the sand. do not know about leaving your boat on the beach. DI is not beach cat heaven, But if you are a few hundred feet away the boat should be fine. PM me if you need some add info and I will send you my number.
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Posted: Jan 26, 2011 - 01:45 PM
Thanks for the info!
I have a set of Tiger tracks (big hard beach wheels) Which I hope will suit my needs. If not I know from experience the guys from the group I am going with can carry the boat no problem (it will just cost me some beer). We are staying near mid island where Bienville Blvd jogs north and 10 or so streets turn off to the south. I am hoping to be able to launch from there daily and transport on wheels back near the house but if that becomes problematic I will just hit the ramp at the east end to launch and recover daily and leave it on the beach during the day when not in use.
As far as DI not being beach cat heaven... that me be true but coming from AR where the lakes are rocky or muddy (often both), surrounded by hills, and wind conditions change significantly every 5 minutes it will be a definite upgrade. -
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Posted: Jan 26, 2011 - 08:04 PM
At one time back in the late 90's DI was beach cat heaven. Put in down at the west end,
rig up a fly shade on the sound side and have at some of the finest cat sailing anywhere.
With wind coming from any of the southerly points the island/sandbar will block any
wave action but not the wind. 12 to 18 kts and water just as smooth as your 18 yr old
cousin Shirley's arse.
Now the west end is leased out to some guy who won't let anyone near the place with a boat.
The Ft Gaines side is still open, but not very beach cat friendly. Rip-rap and 3 to 5 foot
hillocks to get to a graveled parking area.
Its too bad really. The west end could rival Quiet Water, OSYC and the "Secret Spot"
as the best place to sail a cat within 100mi of Mobile. -
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Posted: Jan 26, 2011 - 09:39 PM
If you want a great place to visit and sail...come to Ocean Springs...great town and you have the OSYC to sail from...lots of sand and not far from Horn or Ship islands.
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Kenny Boudreaux
2010 C2 F18 USA 323
Goodall Design "Southern Area Rep"
Owner of Sailboxes.com
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Posted: Jan 26, 2011 - 09:54 PM
Yes in the 90's it was beach cat heaven. I can remember launching at the east end always with a crowd. I also remember the wife of the Marine Patrol guy that lived in the camper down there. Boy was she good looking. Rider If you launch at the ramp you are a brave man. The wind blows predominately out of the se. The opening to the bay is se.
Edited by golfdad75 on Jan 26, 2011 - 07:00 PM.
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Posted: Jan 27, 2011 - 12:00 AM
Unfortunately I am along for the trip and didn't get to pick the destination.
Good point. If I am forced to use the ramp I will be leaving and returning to the ramp under tow from my father-in-laws jetski not under sail.
The east side sounds like access at my local lakes, less than ideal but manageable. When you guys refer to the west side are you talking about west of the cut? I was under the impression that this land was all owned or leased by the city. Or does the west end refer to areas near the end of the developed portion of the island? -
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Posted: Jan 27, 2011 - 12:33 AM
West end is the end of the developed portion. The cut is only a few years old. A couple of
hurrricanes helped rearrange things. Back before the cut was there it was possible to drive
all the way to thend of the island. I still remember one saturday night we watched a full up
semi, tractor AND trailer try to drive out there.
Took'em two weeks to get out what took the driver 10 mins to get in.
Some sort of labor dispute
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Posted: Jan 27, 2011 - 12:44 AM
thats right butch! O SEGREDO FROTAS homeport...the "trailor sailors" front row to the gulf of mexico!!!
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Jan 27, 2011 - 03:28 PM
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but....the old berm bit the dust many storms ago. Unless they rebuilt it within the last year and a half, it's a non-factor. Rider should be fine, especially with beach wheels. Also, unless things have changed, you can beach launch rather easily at the dead end of DeSoto Ave. (sound side).
Been to DI for most of the past ten years or so.....will be there for a week this summer as well. Leave boat and gear on beach overnight and never had a problem.
If sailing on the gulf side when there's a good SW wind, go to the lee side of Pelican (the one near the east end that sticks out into the gulf?) Island for some flat water fun. Also, sail to the isolated part on the other side of the cut....pretty cool!
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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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Posted: Jan 27, 2011 - 04:40 PM
By berm are you guys talking about te dunes or the rise of shoreline at the high tide mark. Desoto is out. What is Pelican? I have lived here all my life, are you talking about Sand Island?
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Posted: Jan 27, 2011 - 05:29 PM
The berm I am referring to is the 8 to 10 ft tall berm DI built at the gulf shoreline to prevent oil from topping the island in a storm last year. They built it with BP's dime if I am not mistaken. From what I can see in news from the area (Link Below), as of Fall 2010 there was a project underway to sieve the sand used for the berm to remove debris and to regrade the berm from around 10 ft to between 4 and 6 ft in total height. Beach access appeared to be restricted to wooden walkovers at selected locations as the berm is protected by local ordinance.
I am just generally trying to find out if I am going to have flat terrain from the house to the gulf, or if there is a large mound of sand between the houses and the water which i will have to cross on a wooden walkway. Satellite images are useless, pictures of the houses indicate a berm with walkways but the pics may be 15 years old. I wish I could do my own recon but I live 10 hours away.
http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_…973/Nov-09-2010_5-48-pm/ -
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Posted: Jan 28, 2011 - 01:32 PM
Rider_55: I did not know about the BP berm....please let us know what you find out. If it's anything like the one they built 8 - 10 years ago, one good storm will take it out. Also, be aware that DI is not a typical beach resort area. A lot of the houses are locals' primary homes, and they seem to have eyes in the back of their heads! Don't assume you can launch at any ole vacant lot or at one of those streets that dead ends at the gulf. You'll likely get a visit from the police, and you don't want to spend your vacation in the pokey at Bayou La Batre! (Honestly, if I lived there, I'd want to look out for my town, too!)
golfdad75: I used to call it Sand Island, too, but on the charts (http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11377.shtml) it's labelled Pelican Island, and Sand Island is a smaller (submerged?) island farther out. Maybe everyone calls it Sand Island regardless? Too bad about DeSoto....is it illegal to launch there? We used it a couple of years ago for the Dauphin Island Race....sweet spot near the airstrip.
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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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Posted: Jan 28, 2011 - 03:41 PM
I will update when I go but I hope someone will beat me there and provide the information before I go the last week in June. As far as beach launching from one of the streets that dead ends in the gulf we are renting the last house on the street so we should have direct access without having to cross anyone else's property. It's not like I am trying to doze out the berm and back a trailer down to the water If I can walk there I can get the boat there with beach wheels or by carrying it if necessary.
Why on earth would the police get involved? Trespassing? Damaging the protected berm? Seems like a good way to make sure the tourism industry, no mater how small, will spend there dollars elsewhere. -
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Posted: Jan 28, 2011 - 08:25 PM
Now your catching on. They want their tourists in special tourist areas. . . and thats it.
The launch spot on DeSoto Ave (near the airport) has been designated a wildlife
protected area....no motor vehicles of any kind, no beach use of any kind. Unless of
course you are a resident and then that area is where you walk your dogs.
The berms are 8-12 high and run the legth of the main drag fromthe split to where
the road stops on the west end. The berms are on the gulf side of the road, one is
NEXT to the road, and in some spots a second berm between the road berm and the
beach.
A great place for aquatic activities. . . if it weren't for the Dauphin Island City Council.
I will be petitioning the DICC again this year (4th year running) trying to get them
to open up the West End Park to non-motorized recreational vehicles. The jet-ski
franchise is explicitely held by the West End Park Leasor, and he will NOT let
anyone or anything upset his monopoly on water sports down there.
IMHO, since you have a rental at the end of the road you won't have any berm
or police issues. Just be sure to pull your boat high up . . . don't want the tides
to carry it off . . . or local teens using it for their own "recreational" purposes.
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Posted: Jan 29, 2011 - 11:48 AM
Butch are you telling me I cannot launch my boat at west end park?
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Posted: Jan 29, 2011 - 04:42 PM
Unless things have changed from the last 3 years, Yes Sir, thats what I'm telling you. -
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Posted: Jan 30, 2011 - 12:17 PM
FWIW....I'm not trying to bash DI authorities or locals. I'm sure that some of their rules and enforcement thereof make it the place I like....not so touristy and crowded. Just want to give Rider some friendly warning: I've been to DI many times as stated before, and had no trouble during most visits. Once a long time ago I launched at a vacant lot (gulf side) and had the police called on me. He said it looks like you're nearly done, so go ahead, but I have to stand here and look like I'm giving you a hard time 'cause the lady who complained is watching us out her window! Another time we carried the boat over the huge old berm (gulf side). No one said anything, but the papers were there and published a picture of my boat with a story about how tourists were destroying the berm. At that time, the City was debating fines for being on the berm. (That berm was a waste of money IMO...it was right next to the waterline and had no vegetation....would obviously be breached by a storm of any decent size, which didn't take long). Three years ago, I hauled out at another vacant lot (sound side)....no real problem, but some lady was taking pictures of me and my truck/tag, and I got the feeling that I just missed another police encounter. Two years ago, we were at a house located similar to yours and had fairly easy access without having my truck wheels leave the pavement. I did have to launch from the street, technically, but it dead-ended right next to our driveway. I was still nervous and planned it out to minimize my time in the street. If you're going to step your mast before wheeling to the beach, MAKE SURE TO TRIPLE-CHECK FOR POWER/SERVICE LINE CLEARANCE! They'd really love you if you knocked out everyone's power while breaking the law. And it would really, really suck to spend your vacation in the hospital AND the pokey in Bayou La'Batre!
Thanks for the info Butch....seems things have changed a lot the last couple of years. I'm having a hard time imagining the use of a berm next to the road....isn't there a break at every driveway?. Hopefully I'll see y'all at OSYC and get the latest info before we go to DI in July.
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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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Posted: Jan 30, 2011 - 05:16 PM
where do you land the cat when racing the dauphin island race? the harbor where all the other boats tie up is not a good place at all. i'm thinking of racing the blue ribbon this year instead of the hunter but not sure where to land. guess we could turn around and sail back to fairhope but i would like to stretch my legs after the race. mobile bay can be as rough a place to sail as any and i'm tired of getting beat down on the mono hulls. although we got second place in our class last year, we were the only 2 boats who finished!
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Jan 30, 2011 - 06:19 PM
At the end of DeSoto Drive and just east of Pelican Pub.
We get a pass for the DI Race for the preserve. Pelican
Pub beach is ok if you get in early. But make sure your
out of there early or trailer out. Once the mono's raft up
there ain't no gettin out of there.
