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361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com The Island Newspaper since 1996 Facebook : The Island Moon Newspaper
July 18, 2013
The Only Island in Texas with Toe Rings and Towed Rigs
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com What a week Around Our Island. We actually had some real rain, not just the kind that leaves big dusty spots on our cars but the kind that actually runs down the gutter. The strange weather patterns persist well into the summer.
Photo by Mark Middleton Next Publication Date: 7/25/2013
Island Moon ArtWalk This Weekend Will Benefit Tara Truett
Year 16, Issue 483
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Schlitterwork
Digging of Canals Continues, New Buildings Going Up
The Deep Sea Roundup last weekend produced a dearth of billfish as the offshore water temperature failed to rise above 80 degrees and the billfish looked for balmier climes. The weekly Gumball Rally down the landing strip between SPID and Port Aransas gets weirder and more congested every week. The cars start piling up several miles before you hit Port A on Saturday and then as you get closer there is a mix of traffic slowing golf carts. Forget about making a left turn on Alister on Saturday. The process reverses itself on Saturday evening and again on Sunday during mid-day. We Islanders are learning to tailor our weekend schedule around the traffic like folks in the big cities do around rush hour.
Big rig This week we headed down for the launch of the big rig that made its way through the channel mid-afternoon on Saturday and what a sight it was.
Schlitterbahn drawings have been released. This is what the current Padre Isles Country Club Clubhouse will look like when construction is finished.
The Olympus platform inched its way through the channel as spectators lined up to watch her go. We stopped by the launch party at Virginia’s where the folks who design and build them gather to watch the fruit of their labors go by. There is a story in this issue with more information but we learned a couple of fun facts that you can use to entertain and amuse your friends; first, the rig drew 42 feet of water as it was underway. That means there was somewhere around ten feet of clearance between it and the bottom. Second, when it is in place the rig will be secured to the bottom by 36-inch pipe which is fastened to each of the platform’s four legs.
Work on new poolside cabanas is nearing completion at the site of the Schlitterbahn
Lake Padre Monster We had the first Kafob sighting in a while last week in Lake Padre. Moon Mike was always on the lookout for Kafobs which rose up out of the Laguna Madre on the New Moon. Lo and behold last week there was one. It showed its giant green head just before sundown on the east side of the lake right by the Boathouse where it was witnessed by two absolutely sober and credible folks who for reasons that should be obvious would rather their names not be used. He popped his green head up just long enough to look around and maybe grab some air before going submarine. Mike said the only sign that a Kafob was around was the coyotes would issue a shrill whine before scattering. So if you go around Lake Padre on a new moon keep your eyes open for a giant green head, and listen for the coyotes whine and if you can be the first Islander ever to come away with a picture of the elusive Kafob. This weekend is the Island Moon ArtWalk on the seawall. Stop by and say hello if you are Around The Island.
Exactly the same and Totally Different
The event runs both Saturday and Sunday in the parking lot on the Michael J. Ellis Seawall. Both the Artwalk and the benefit will kick off at 9 a.m.
By Mary Lou White 361-960-9460 marylou@baxterbrooks.com
This event is sponsored by the Island Moon Newspaper, KIII Television, and the Shark 106.5 radio. Live music will be provided by the Brett Mussey Band. The event is free to both vendors and the public.
Night at the Races July 19
The 12 Annual Night at the Races presented by the Padre Island Rotary Club will be held July 19 at the Padre Isles Country Club. The annual event lets bettors place wagers with play money on pre-recorded horse races. At the end of the night the money can be used to buy over $5000 in prizes. The event kicks off at 6 p.m. and includes a full seafood buffet along with two beer and/or wine tickets. Pre-race tickets are available at the Country Club or from any Island Rotarian and are $35 and limited to 120.
By Brent Rourk
Cameras clicked and binoculars were raised to see the oil rig as bystanders asked each other questions about how tall the rig is or where the rig is destined to work. Small 21 foot fishing boats were dwarfed by the tugs that were dwarfed by the rig. It was difficult to imagine the size as many onlookers compared it to skyscrapers, the Stature of Liberty, towering waterfalls, and more. They were all correct in one thing. The rig is tall; it
Schlitterban continued on A14
The Island Moon Newspaper ArtWalk this weekend will include a benefit for Tara Truett who was severally beaten on the beach on July 5. Truett remains in critical condition and her friends will be on hand Saturday to help raise funds to support her.
Shell’s Olympus Oil Rig Platform Heads to the Gulf
Shell’s largest Tension Leg Platform (TLP) slowly began its journey to the Mars Oil field in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday as thousands of curious onlookers lined the channel in Port Aransas to observe the enormity of the platform. They were not disappointed, though several who arrived early had to patiently wait as the massive rig passed by the ferry station a little later than advertised. Regardless, it was a spectacular sight to behold and all of those onlookers as well as thousands frolicking at the beach froze and stared as they considered the vast size of the rig.
Beach Country Resort as well as the new tennis clubhouse. Near SPID work on the digging of the new canals is progressing with the fill sand being used to raise the elevation on other parts of the site.
is the largest Shell rig at 406 feet from the base of the hull to the tip of its derrick. Admiring observers lined the shores on both sides of Port Aransas to witness this colossal rig slowly make its way into the Gulf. Olympus will find its home in roughly 3000 feet of water approximately 130 miles south of New Orleans, joining another deep water oil rig, the Mars TLP, in the Mars field. The Mars field was discovered in 1989 and began producing in 1996 with the when the Mars TLP began operation. Having two rigs will hopefully optimize oil production in the Mars field. The Olympus is designed to operate in 3,000 to 5,000 feet of water and designed to access reservoirs from 10,000 to 22,000 feet, beyond the capability of the Mars TLP. Once the Olympus reaches its home within a month, then 16 steel tension legs will be installed. Oil production is expected sometime in 2014. Shell owns 71.5% of the rig and BP owns 28.5%
North Padre and Port Aransas: a Study in Contrast
Friends and Family used to question me about the uniqueness of living in The Netherlands and in the United States. I found over the years that it was an impossible question to answer. Only those individuals, who have done something similar, can possibly grasp what you are trying to explain. I now find myself in a parallel situation when I am asked to describe the difference between Port Aransas and our section of Padre Island. For the past two months, I have been posting the MLS listings for Mustang Island and Padre Island. Even I have been surprised at the numbers, because it forced me to compare the two areas in a way that I had never taken the time to do before.
How Very Similar The obvious factor here is the landscape. Mustang Island and Padre Island are both barrier Islands that border on the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, many people are completely unaware when they cross from one Island to the other. In total number of Properties For Sale on our MLS system, they seem to run neck and
neck, week after week. Padre Island has 406 total listings and Mustang Island has 431 total listings. Under Lots/Land For Sale, Mustang Island =186 and Padre Island =178.
Total Residences For Sale are also similar, Mustang Island =227 and Padre Island = 215. Commercial listings reflect Mustang Island =16 and Padre Island =11, while Multi Family Units show Mustang Island =1 and Padre Island =2. Closed Sales in June 2013, follow the same pattern. Mustang Island had 45 closed sales in June, represented by 14 Lot/Land units and 31 Residential Units. During June on Padre Island, 30 Residential Units closed, along with 6 Lot/ Land units and 1 large Multi Family complex, for a total of 37 closed sales. I suppose I am constantly surprised because, to me, the two Islands represent very different lifestyles.
Totally Different
Padre Island and Mustang Island have been different historically from the beginning of Real Estate continued on A6
A little Island History
The Island During the Civil War Mexican cattle rustlers and Yankee gold
Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of stories from Islander Greg Smith who is a member of the Dunn family which came to The Island in the late 1800s and ran a ranch up until the later part of the 1900s.
divisive and passionate issue causing a great rift within the City. Unionist feared for their lives and many left town for the less hostile countryside.
By Greg Smith In 1879 Catherine Dunn and son’s Patrick and Tom began ranching on Padre Island, which later would sometimes be called the Dunn Ranch. This is the story of Catherine and her husband Thomas journey to South Texas.
Civil War comes to town
Battle of Corpus Christi painting by Thomas Noakes
With the outbreak of the Civil War Corpus had a population of about 2,000 souls, up from 600 ten short years before. The town was a thriving and growing seaport, a gateway for area towns, farms, ranches and Laredo. Beef, Salt, Cotton and Wool crossed the docks bound for New Orleans and other points. Nueces County, like the rest of Texas had to vote on whether to stay a part of the Union or join with the Confederate States, when the vote was tallied four out of five of the citizens voted to secede. It was an extremely
The Dunns in the most part supported a free Texas and three: Brothers Thomas and Peter and nephew Lawrence joined the ranks of the Confederacy. Thomas and Peter enlisted on September 10th in Company I of Hobby’s Texas Regiment. In December of 1861 the war came to Corpus in earnest with the arrival of Lt. John W. Kittredge and the Union blockading fleet. With the USS Arthur stopping any ship at the Gulf passes and Kittredge’s “mosquito fleet” of gun boats History continued on A5