GBCA Discussion Forum

Power play: As crews dismantle the old P.H. Robinson Power Plant, state Highway 146 and FM 517, speculation is swirling about what might take its place. Rumors and general hearsay have it that owner Kemah Ventures is considering some kind of marina development.

But it?s unclear whether canal homes would be a component. Officials with Kemah Ventures could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

But those in the know said representatives of Kemah Ventures have been asking around about the viability of raising the FM 646 bridge to allow for large boats/yachts to pass under so users could take advantage of the cooling water discharge canal and enter the bay.

The man-made canal is one of the property?s major draws. Raising the bridge would take some deep pockets and the Texas Department of Transportation would have to approve and manage the project.

The power plant is in unincorporated county territory but within Texas City?s extraterritorial jurisdiction, which gives the city some authority over the property.

That means any development would have to meet both the county?s and Texas City?s requirements. The power plant was built in the 1960s but has been idle for nearly 10 years.

Texas Genco, a former subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, sold it to NRG Energy, which sold it to Kemah Ventures. Stay tuned.

Our annual meeting will run from 7:15pm to approximately 8:30pm at the Houston Yacht Club following the Skippers Meeting for the HYC Midwinter Regatta.  Friday February 26th 2010

This meeting is open to all current and prospective members of PHRFGB and is a great time to ask a few questions, and learn a little more about PHRF racing on Galveston Bay.

Speakers from Quantum and Cameron Sails will offer tips on how to optimise's your cruising sailboat for PHRF racing.  Members of the committee will review how the appeal process works and what kind of data and documentation should be submitted when filing an appeal. 

The New Website is up and running:  http://phrfgb.com/index.asp

Check it out. Easier searching, less clutter and we now have the ability to modify data as we go.  We are making every effort to add in all of the boats that have received a certificate but were never posted on the old site and checking the accuracy of the current data for all the boats in the fleet.  For this reason alone it is important that you check the data closely on your renewals.  We will still be making modifications until we work out the kinks but for now you can access it and review your boat.  Props go to Stuart Lindow for making this happen.

Another change you will start to see is listing of boats that are up for a rating or are appealing their current rating prior to each meeting, which by the way is scheduled for February 11th at HYC.

If you click on the Agenda tab you will get the 'docket' for the upcoming meeting.  Under section 5, 3 boats had their rating changed at the December annual review.  As per the by-laws the new rating does not go into effect until after the February appeals meeting.  The fourth boat on the list has filed an appeal to his current rating.  It is our objective to post proposed ratings and appeals prior to the actual discussion so that interested parties will have an opportunity to review and comment.  If you do have a comment please let one of the board members know.  Let's not use the GBCA discussion board for that purpose.

BB

We had a 'return only' crew member have to drop out  due to work commitments.  We are looking for looking for 1 or 2 additional crew for the return trip.  Plan is to leave Sunday morning around 10 am directly for Seabrook but we can stop in Galveston if needed.



Contact Burns Brown 713 825 4919