Sea Pearl gives beach combing new meaning

21-foot craft makes outing more pleasant

BY JOHN IRA PETTY

The stern of the 21-foot Sea Pearl lifted as the first swell, gathering itself to break on the beach, passed underneath. The wind was a little aft of the beam, but mercifully not too strong, so the boat wasn't heeling much.

Another passed uneventfully, and then we were atop the third, riding it toward the beach in dry comfort as it broke beneath us. We skimmed across a bar, then picked up a smaller breaker. Soon the bow slid up and the boat stopped on the wet, inclined sand We had arrived.

It took only a minute to roll the 550-pound Sea Pearl up the beach on fenders. The sheets were free, and both tanbark sails and their wishbone booms wind vaned without seeming to mind.

Robert Rothbard, local dealer for Marine Concepts which makes the Sea Pearl, Post outdoor writer Ken Grissom and I were in the second day of a two day outing to the area around the mouth of the San Bernard river, seven or eight miles down the coast from Freeport first day had been an abortive attempt to sail on Cedar Lakes, south of the San Bernard between the Inter coastal Waterway and the beach.

The Sea Pearl is an adaptation of a 1929 L. Francis Herreshoff design. Despite its draft of only six inches we found that north winds had not left enough water in Cedar Lakes to sail, and the venture turned into a shoving and tugging contest involving us, the boat and the deep mud that made up much of the lakes' bottom.

But once free of the lakes, the boat showed its many advantages. Its shallow draft, flat bottom, lee boards, tombstone transom and kick up rudder made it an ideal boat for beach combing under sail.

The day devoted to that activity began with the discovery that the San Bernard had fallen several feet overnight. The Sea Pearl, beached just inside the mouth of the river was perhaps 20 feet from its edge.

That it turned out, was no problem. With three of us providing propulsion and fenders under the boat for it to roll on it was soon back in the water. We loaded an ice chest, cameras and miscellaneous other gear, including bug spray, closed up our tent and started down the 200 or so remaining yards of the San Bernard

There were breakers beyond much of the river's mouth, and we were concerned enough about getting out to put on lifejackets, But Rothbard, pointing the boat at where the waves weren't breaking, got us into the Gulf without incident.

We sailed up the coast, toward the middle of the island formed by the San Bernard, the Brazos, the Inter coastal Waterway and the Gulf. The island is not accessible by vehicle, and we appeared to be the only ones there that Sunday morning. Before we crossed the sharp dividing line between the muddy water of the San Bernard and the green water of the near- shore Gulf, half a dozen dolphins inspected us. A couple came to within a few feet of the bow, and we could clearly hear their breathing.

Lifejackets remained on for the approach to the beach. Landing through the breakers was more exciting than avoiding them at the river's mouth. We had the boat's oars in their locks and held them ready but the sails provided all the power the boat needed

The breakers were not high - it would be unwise to try to land with much of an onshore wind - but they did provide an enjoyable ride, It would be fun to spend an afternoon playing with the boat in the surf under those conditions.

Beach combing was a great success. The beach was littered with driftwood swept down by swollen rivers after recent rains, but it was otherwise vacated as far as we could see in both directions. After getting the boat back in the water, we sailed out on a close reach. One wave broke al an awkward moment and considerable water flow aft, wetting each of us lo one degree or another.

But not much went down the Sea Pearl's open mid ships hatch, anti the episode was more refreshing than threatening. We were soon beyond the last line of breakers and sailing back toward camp.

Entering the river again was laborious. We came in too far to the cast. Later we saw a 31 foot shrimper come in from the Gulf along a channel marked by three flags atop bouys. We wound up pushing the boat over a bar, and then against the river's current to our campsite.

Using a sailboat lo visit isolated beaches unreachable by most other means has a lot to recommend it given the proper boat and proper consideration for the safety of all involved. The Sea Pearl and other designs aimed at gunk- holing, like the Dovekie and the Mud Hen, are more than adequate for such activities under reasonably light conditions

And if things are too brisk outside, there are a lot of places behind the beach any of those boats can explore, too.

Reprinted from the Houston Post. Photo by Ken Grissom. Story by Ira Petty.