Gulf of Mexico destinations?

[Bill NH]

My organization (Ocean Classroom Foundation) is looking into the possibility of bringing one of our big schooners to the Gulf next fall & winter.  I've been in & out of many of the major harbors on commercial ships, but never "cruised" recreationally in the Gulf.

I'd appreciate any recommendations of ports with historical, cultural or environmental significance that could be incorporated into high school and college educational programs.  Note that our ships draw 10-11 feet, so we're not talking gunkholing here! 

Specific destinations ashore or leads to groups that we might collaborate with would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Bill

[JWalker]

I don't know about your draft ect but Apalachicola is a really cool village with traditional oyster harvesting still happening in the bay, and they have a living maritime museum http://www.ammfl.org/ which offers sailing and kayaking ect....more of a hands on than a walk through and look at stuff.

I don't know about the air draft of the big bridges coming in from dog island, and I think you would have to anchor out in the bay and dingy in....seems like the public warf was maybe 6-7 feet deep at low tide

way cool place though, from a current and historical perspective.

[gpdno]

Tarpon Springs, north of St. Petersberg still has an active sponge diver fleet.  It's quite interesting with a number of historical sights.  Plus the kids can get real sponges ;)

[Snapdragon]

Perhaps you might consider putting Pensacola on your list of candidates.  Some of the larger tall ships are welcomed and allowed to dock at the municipal pier downtown.  Water depth should not be a problem.  There is a large Navy presence here, with the Museum of Naval Aviation being a worthwhile destination.  Fort Pickens is directly across the bay from Pensacola Naval Air Station and is certainly historically significant.  The University of West Florida campus is located on the north east side of Pensacola and has an impressive marine biology department, and is very involved in Underwater Marine Archeology in the area.  It might be well worth the effort to coordinate your visit with them.

[Captain Smollett]

Mobile Bay has a TON of history around it.  You could recreate Farragut's "darn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead" trip in the famous battle there.

At the mouth of the Bay is Dauphin Island, with a pretty cool Estuarium and the remains of Fort Gaines.

The Mississippi Sound barrier islands show a lot of the geology of barrier islands in general (island migration is clearly evident if you look at the chain as a whole).

Pascagoula should provide plenty of opportunities for deep water anchorage, and if you can get a ride there, the Sand Hills Crane National Wildlife Refuge right outside Gautier is worth a visit for natural history and conservation education.  In Pascagoula proper, you might get a tour of one of the ship yards, but security might be a barrier.

Gulfport/Biloxi still show, 7 years later, plenty of evidence of Hurricane Katrina, so there are educational opportunities one can derive from that (not the least being the civics lessons about how state governments operate to allow a region remain so un-rebuilt seven years later, etc).

See if you can contact one of the refineries operating close by a deep water anchorage and arrange a visit/tour of the facility.  There are many to choose from all along the coast.

The Naval Air Station at Pensacola has a really cool publicly accessible museum...lots of planes on display and cut-aways of jet engines, etc.