Lake Travis 
Where do we sink the Texas Clipper? Hypothetical Poll!
- Thread starter Debraw
- Start date
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I spoke with the TPWD yesterday and here is what they said:
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Texas Clipper Ship Reef Project:
The Texas Clipper ship project is currently under review by the US Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C. I should get an official answer to the TPWD's request for transfer of the ship title by April. If the project is approved and funding terms are met, then the ship will be towed to Brownsville for cleanup. We hold the US Army Corps of Engineers reef site permit for a location in PS-1122 (South Padre OCS block) about 17nm miles out of Brazos Santiago Pass. The ship will be modified so that a dive would begin at 50ft from the surface (top of ship funnel) and the promenade deck will be at around 70ft. The plan is to have the ship sitting in an upright position off the bottom. Depending on the time frame of cleanup, the ship could possibly be reefed by fall 2006. BUT, we have a number of hurdles to jump first.
We are redesigning the Artificial Reef Website at TPWD and will have a "status update" link so the public can keep tabs on the project.
USS Texas Battleship:
There has been some scuttle butt recently in the dive community about TPWD considering the reefing of the USS Texas battleship. TPWD has NO plans or authority to do such a project. The ship is scheduled to undergo hull maintenance again and may require drydocking for that process. There has been discussions centering around the costs of continued maintenance on the ship and its drain on the parks budget. Any type of plan for using the ship as an artificial reef would require several things: grass routes efforts by the general public to raise funds (~ $4 million) and political support from the state legislature. The ship is of value as a nautical heritage site and there are some people who would not like to see her used as a reef. Again, at this time there is NO official movement by TPWD to consider reefing for the ship.
------------------
Texas Clipper Ship Reef Project:
The Texas Clipper ship project is currently under review by the US Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C. I should get an official answer to the TPWD's request for transfer of the ship title by April. If the project is approved and funding terms are met, then the ship will be towed to Brownsville for cleanup. We hold the US Army Corps of Engineers reef site permit for a location in PS-1122 (South Padre OCS block) about 17nm miles out of Brazos Santiago Pass. The ship will be modified so that a dive would begin at 50ft from the surface (top of ship funnel) and the promenade deck will be at around 70ft. The plan is to have the ship sitting in an upright position off the bottom. Depending on the time frame of cleanup, the ship could possibly be reefed by fall 2006. BUT, we have a number of hurdles to jump first.
We are redesigning the Artificial Reef Website at TPWD and will have a "status update" link so the public can keep tabs on the project.
USS Texas Battleship:
There has been some scuttle butt recently in the dive community about TPWD considering the reefing of the USS Texas battleship. TPWD has NO plans or authority to do such a project. The ship is scheduled to undergo hull maintenance again and may require drydocking for that process. There has been discussions centering around the costs of continued maintenance on the ship and its drain on the parks budget. Any type of plan for using the ship as an artificial reef would require several things: grass routes efforts by the general public to raise funds (~ $4 million) and political support from the state legislature. The ship is of value as a nautical heritage site and there are some people who would not like to see her used as a reef. Again, at this time there is NO official movement by TPWD to consider reefing for the ship.
MaplesSharon
Registered
I would set a wreck in the Brazos A-28 block. There is already a reef so approval should be easy, the site is about 150' deep and about 50 miles from freeport. For a shorter run it's only 35 miles out of the mouth of the Colorado river.
Randy
Randy
humanphibian
Guest
does anyone have a link for the block map?
http://www.texasgulfcoastfishing.com/images/navmaps/txgc.gif
If you look down the 28 30 line you will see a fish haven this is Brazos A-28
Randy
If you look down the 28 30 line you will see a fish haven this is Brazos A-28
Randy
Debraw:
That's sort of sad - I hadn't known she was being decommissioned. When I was in medical school in Galveston, a student could ship out on the summer cruises as an elective. On one cruise there was such a large gonorrhea outbreak that the ship was unofficially re-christened the Texas Clapper.
How about sinking her in the Houston ship channel? The water there should be able to disinfect anything.
OP
Debraw
Contributor
They have a Texas Clipper 2 out of Texas A&M now. So in a way it is still around, same program, different ship.
I think somewhere in the Corpus area would be great. That way the land locked central Texas divers could get to a decent wreck without having to drive 200 miles only to face Houston traffic.
Mack
Mack
OP
Debraw
Contributor
So right now it's 22 to 6 for someplace other than South Padre. Keep voting, we have until April 14.
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