Sailing the Gulf of Mexico: US Gulf Coast, GIWW and Yucatán

The Gulf of Mexico is a warm, shallow basin with little tide. On the US Gulf Coast the cruising areas lie behind islands, in bays, sounds and bayous, linked by the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from Florida to the Mexican border. Mexico's Gulf coast has few harbours for yachts, but reefs, fishing villages and, in the Bay of Campeche, the oil fields.

Which cruising areas does the Gulf of Mexico have?

From Carrabelle in Florida to Brownsville in Texas it is about 800 nm in a straight line, and from there along the coast of Mexico to the northern tip of Yucatán roughly as far again.

Florida's Panhandle coast with Destin and Pensacola has white sand and clear water, with Choctawhatchee Bay and Santa Rosa Sound sheltered behind it. Mobile Bay and the Mississippi Sound are shallow and calm, with anchorages behind the barrier islands. Galveston Bay near Houston, with Clear Lake and Kemah, is the largest sailing area in Texas, and Corpus Christi and Port Aransas have the steadiest wind on the Gulf. In Mexico, Progreso with the harbour of Yucalpetén is the most important port for yachts, and off Veracruz lie the reefs of the national park.

What is the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway?

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) runs about 1,100 statute miles from Carrabelle to Brownsville, behind the islands and through the marshes of Louisiana. It is maintained to a depth of 12 ft (3.7 m) and is above all a commercial waterway: tows pushing barges dominate the traffic.

• Bridges: The fixed bridges in Texas and Louisiana mostly have 73 ft (22.3 m) vertical clearance, in Florida 65 ft, a few only 48 to 50 ft (Fort Walton Beach, Navarre, Redfish Bay near Port Aransas). Moveable bridges open on signal, but in New Orleans, on the Harvey Canal and in Houma not during rush hour.
• Locks: In New Orleans the Industrial Canal Lock (IHNC) connects Lake Pontchartrain with the Mississippi, and the Algiers Lock and the Harvey Lock lead to the west bank. Further west come Bayou Boeuf near Morgan City, Leland Bowman and Calcasieu, and in Texas the floodgates on the Brazos River and the locks on the Colorado River. Call on VHF channel 14 (Brazos and Colorado: 13); pleasure craft go after commercial traffic.
• Mississippi: If you are heading west, you run a few miles on the Mississippi in New Orleans, with strong current and heavy shipping.

When is the best time to go?

On the US Gulf Coast spring (March to May) and autumn (October and November) are the most pleasant, with a sea breeze and warm water. Summer is hot and humid, with thunderstorms building almost every afternoon. In winter cold fronts bring north wind and cold air all the way to the coast. Yucatán and Campeche are warm and dry in winter, but that is when the Nortes blow.

How dangerous are hurricanes and Nortes?

The hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November and peaks from August to October. The Gulf Coast has been hit often and hard (Ivan 2004, Katrina 2005, Harvey 2017, Michael 2018, Ida 2021), and over the shallow shelf the storm surge builds high. From September to May cold fronts bring the Nortes, gales from the north over the Gulf, strongest in the Bay of Campeche and off Veracruz; the Capitanías then close the ports to small craft.

What are the entry rules?

USA: Report your arrival from abroad immediately to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), via the CBP ROAM app or by phone. If you need an I-94, you report in person at a reporting location: on the Gulf these are Panama City, Pensacola, Mobile, Pascagoula, Gulfport, New Orleans, Morgan City, Lake Charles and Brownsville. The crew needs a B1/B2 visa; ESTA is not valid on a private yacht.

Mexico: On the Gulf a yacht usually clears in at Progreso (Yucalpetén); Ciudad del Carmen, Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Tuxpan and Tampico also have a Capitanía and customs. Notify the Capitanía of your arrival 24 hours in advance, and the yacht needs a temporary import permit (TIP). If you come from the USA, you present a declaration in Spanish instead of the Zarpe.

What should you watch out for?

• Oil platforms: Off Louisiana and Texas there are thousands of platforms, many barely lit at night. In the Bay of Campeche lie the oil fields with 500 m safety zones and the IMO areas to be avoided.
• Shallow water: The coast stays shallow far offshore, and the bars at the passes shift after every storm.
• Tamaulipas: The German Federal Foreign Office strongly advises against travel to northern Tamaulipas.
• Shipping: A traffic separation scheme applies off Galveston, and large ships use the Mississippi and the ship channels of Houston, Corpus Christi and Mobile.

How does Sailseer help in the Gulf of Mexico?

On the map you plan between about 200 harbours from the Big Bend to Brownsville and from Tampico to Yucatán, including inside through sounds and bays and from New Orleans through the locks along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to Grand Isle and on through Louisiana and Texas to Port Isabel, with the hours of locks and bridges. Sailseer shows the warnings and coastal forecasts of the National Weather Service offices from Tallahassee to Brownsville, the NHC high seas forecast for the whole Gulf with its storm warnings, the SMN warnings for Mexico's Gulf states and, alongside GFS and ECMWF, the HRRR model from NOAA. Measurements come from about 50 buoys and coastal stations and from 46 tide gauges with tide above chart datum. The route avoids the areas to be avoided in the Bay of Campeche and the coast of Tamaulipas, and the official NOAA ENCs lie under the route as a nautical chart. For formalities, each country has its own page: USA and Mexico.

Sailseer is a planning aid and not for navigation. Official charts, the Local Notices to Mariners of the Coast Guard, the Avisos of the Capitanías and the forecasts and warnings of the weather services always take precedence.