July 24, 2008

Bolivar Peninsula Boating and Bays

Bolivar's bayfront properties are the closest deep water channels to the Gulf of Mexico providing yacht owners easy and quick access to the ocean. For example, Bolivar's new Laguna Harbor can accommodate boats up to 100 ft giving homeowners 5 minute dock to oceanfront convenience.

The sun sets on the bayside making it the envy of many other coastlines. Beautiful and peaceful tranquilty is found in the quiet decks of many homes overlooking the bay and intracoastal waterway traffic.

One of the most interesting features of the Bolivar Peninsula is the Gulf Intracostal Waterway, which extends the length of the peninsula on the north side and is used for transportation of freight and small craft.

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately 1700 kilometers (1050 mi) from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas.

The entire GIWW is a 1,300-mile-long, man-made canal that runs along the Gulf of Mexico coastline from Texas’ southern- most tip at Brownsville to St.Marks, Florida. The canal links all of the Gulf Coast ports and enables these ports to access the inland waterway system of the United States.

The GIWW is the nation’s third busiest waterway with the Texas portion handling over 58 percent of its traffic. In Texas, the GIWW is 423 miles long and is an impor- tant component of the state’s diversified multimodal transportation system. Over 63 million short tons of cargo were moved on the Texas portion of the waterway with a commercial value of over 25 billion dollars. In combination with ports,Texas ranked second in the nation in total waterborne tonnage moved in the United States.

Bolivar Sunset

Bolivar Bayside

Laguna Harbor

North Jetty

The North Jetty, at the southwestern end of the peninsula, is one of twin restraining walls built into the Gulf of Mexico to provide a deepwater channel to Galveston. The South Jetty extends into the Gulf from Galveston Island. Work on the jetties began as a construction experiment in 1874, and the major portion was completed only after Congress appropriated funds for the work in 1890. Completion of the system in 1898 made Galveston a deep-sea port for world commerce. The jetties now protect shipping to various cities along the Houston Ship Channel, and are used as fishing spots by many sportsmen.

The jetty was built of huge granite blocks by the Army Corp of Engineers. Without the jetties, large ships would not be able to travel the channel as the channel would silt over and boats with no more than a 12 foot draft would be able to navigate through the area.