Seabrook, TX Outdoor Activities

This two-hour cruise plies the wild waters of Clear Lake and greater Galveston Bay, allowing would-be explorers to relax while learning the region's rich lore of bootleggers, pirates, and oil barons. Seafarers board at the lobby of the South Shore Harbour Resort on the eponymous FantaSea, a 117-foot glitz-class glamcruiser equipped with two decks, two bars, custom brass work, 42-inch TVs, a Doppler 5,000 sequin-sensing radar, and a massive, pink-unicorn figurehead. See here for cruise dates and times. Accompanying your voyage into the watery past is a complimentary beverage, with choices including champagne, wine, beer, and soft drinks, and additional refreshments and food options for sale.

South Coast Sailing Adventures operates a floating fleet of 18 sailboats with instructors certified by the American Sailing Association and more than 20 captains licensed by the US Coast Guard at the helm. Incorporating their vast cruising, racing, and Bermuda Triangle–averting experience into lessons, several of South Coast's instructors have been the recipients of an ASA Instructor of the Year Award, and the entire training facility was voted one of ASA's Outstanding Sailing Schools in 2006. Courses range from basic keelboat instruction, which offers the chance for beginners to mettle in a Colgate 26-foot sailboat, to catamaran sailing, which teaches advanced students to skipper and crew a 30- to 50-foot multihull sailboat. Beyond lessons, sunset and moonlight cruises chart courses toward romance, basking in the glow of the stars or distant underwater volcanoes. Special-event sails include options as varied as an Irish potluck dinner and scenic day sails around Galveston.

Members of Sail Ventures take turns cruising in a fleet of new or late-model Catalina and Beneteau sailboats. The system, known as fractional yachting, teams up members who share their luxury vessels on a monthly basis. A rigorous training program ensures sailors are seaworthy, and the club picks up maintenance, slip fees, and other costs. Sail Ventures also hosts special membership events throughout the year, such as regattas, boat christenings, and boat-show parties.

The ghastly guides of Ghost Tours Texas lead groups of foolhardy interlopers on story-filled journeys past the spectrally inhabited landmarks of Galveston and Houston Heights. On the Galveston tour, a knowledgeable leader takes parties through the Silk Stocking District to visit the 1858 Ashton Villa mansion, whose second floor is occupied by the phantom “Miss Betty” Brown, and whose basement is occupied by a man who years ago forgot how to work a doorknob. The guide also divulges tales told from eyewitness accounts.

The Houston Heights tour winds through the area's historical and opulent homes, exploring such mysteries as the story of the Dean Correl murders and the children who are said to still haunt the alleyways of Houston Heights. Guides weave tales of ghostly possessions and evil voodoo dolls peppered with real-life testimonies from local residents.

The boom swings lugubriously, its shadow slicing across the sun-steeped white deck of the Alternate Latitude. Water chuckles against the double hulls of the Voyage 440 ship. In four cabins, air conditioners purr as the boat cuts towards the azure horizon, dwarfing the other catamarans on Galveston Bay.

During chartered sailing trips, Captain Steve—who holds a 50-ton United States Coast Guard Masters License—and his crew steer the vessel as passengers lounge on trampolines on the deck and sip drinks. The ship, which was built in South Africa, now makes occasional cruises to the Virgin Islands. Queen-sized berths in each cabin cradle passengers during overnight trips and after chamomile-tea-drinking contests.