{"id":303409,"date":"2026-05-21T19:59:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/303409\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T19:59:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:59:33","slug":"dont-get-yourself-in-a-bind-at-the-ramps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/303409\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t get yourself in a bind at the ramps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A tanker ship passes Dennis Dreyer Municipal Harbor in Port Aransas on a recent day. Folks using the boat ramps in the harbor should watch for passing ships because they can cause water levels at the ramps to fluctuate, creating safety concerns. Staff photo by Dan Parker<\/p>\n

Launching and pulling out of the boat ramps at Dennis Dreyer Municipal Harbor (the city marina in Port Aransas) can be a challenge, even for seasoned mariners who use the ramps every day. Unfortunately, the water level can change drastically within seconds!<\/p>\n

There is nothing more frustrating than having backed your trailer in a perfect position to pull your boat out, but by the time you bring your boat up to load onto the trailer, the water level has either risen or ebbed by as much as two feet! \u201cWhat the heck?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Since normal tides do not rise or fall that quickly, there can only be one culprit: A tsunami \u2013 in this case, a manmade tsunami caused by the hull displacement of millions of tons of water from outgoing and incoming oil tankers.<\/p>\n

The bigger the tanker, especially the VLCC\u2019s (Very Large Crude Carriers), the greater the displacement surge in and out of our marina. If you notice a large tanker in the ship channel, that should be a warning!<\/p>\n

These surges can sometimes last up to 20 minutes or more. You must wait until the water level stabilizes in order to pull the boat out. It is wise to take note of the water line on the bulkhead as a gauge as to whether the water is coming in or going out.<\/p>\n

\"Butch<\/a><\/p>\n

Butch Findley is a longtime fishing guide based in Port Aransas.<\/p>\n

There is another challenge to using the boat ramps. Each ramp has a different incline, so you need to figure out which ramp is best for your boat trailer.<\/p>\n

Ramp 1, closest to the floating dock, seems to be the most popular, because it has a gentle incline. Ramps 2 to 4 are steeper.<\/p>\n

Not all boat trailers are the same and will need different inclines for a safe launch. Ramp 2 works best for my trailer, so I can avoid having the back wheels of my truck submerged in salt water.<\/p>\n

All of the ramps can be very slick from algae, especially during low tides. The city harbor staff has been diligent in power-washing the ramps, but you should still be careful!<\/p>\n

Boat ramp etiquette<\/p>\n

\u2022 Preload fishing gear in your boat before arriving at the marina.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Turn off your headlights so as not to blind the next person trying to launch.<\/p>\n

\u2022 If you have difficulties backing up your trailer, it might be a good idea to practice in a less congested area.<\/p>\n

\u2022 If you have an assistant in launching, hand signals will work better than yelling!<\/p>\n

Other bits of advice:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Submerging the back wheels of your truck in salt water is a no-no unless you have very good insurance coverage.<\/p>\n

\u2022 If your tailpipe is bubbling salt water, this should alarm you that you have backed in too far.<\/p>\n

\u2022 When pulling out of the ramp, vehicles will lose traction if you accelerate too quickly, especially on a slick surface. You may find yourself sliding backwards. Mrs. Woody\u2019s will be happy to pull you out for a fee!<\/p>\n

What are some solutions to these issues?<\/p>\n

First, keep ramps power washed. Second, I propose posting a sign that explains tanker surges at the ramps.<\/p>\n

In the future, there will be more large tankers. Corpus Christi is the largest U.S. port for crude oil exports and the third-largest exporter of crude oil in the world. It is also ranked No. 3 in the U.S. in total waterborne tonnage. Every ship headed in or out of Corpus Christi must pass through our ship channel.<\/p>\n

Port Aransas is known as the Fish Capital of Texas. Keep fishing, but please stay safe!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tanker ship passes Dennis Dreyer Municipal Harbor in Port Aransas on a recent day. Folks using the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303410,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-303409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}