Heading East for the Summer

June 3 – June 18, 2019

We wait in our slip in Kemah for floodwaters to recede along the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in the Atchafalaya Basin area around Morgan City LA before moving east.  Our normal stop at the town dock has been under water for months due to the mid-west flooding, with no sign of relief.  Much of the runoff from the flooding ultimately drains down the Mississippi.  Absent flood control dams, maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Mississippi would have changed course to flow down the Atchafalaya years ago, bypassing port industries in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.  Due to rising water in the Mississippi, the Corps has issued warnings it may need to open the Morganza Spillway to divert some floodwaters from the Mississippi down the Atchafalaya.  This will make the flooding along the ICW even worse.  We need to have another plan.

USACE Mississippi River Flood Control

One option is to run offshore to New Orleans.  That would be a 3-day & night trip and we would need to recruit friends or hire a captain to go with us and a 3-day window of calm seas.  Not our idea of a good time!

Finally we learn of a private dock, available to us as Loopers, in Houma LA.  That will at least allow us a safe stopping place in the vicinity of the Atchafalaya but will require a 100-mile day, skipping Morgan City.  Anxious to get moving again, we cast off the lines and head east.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Finally, we are on our way!  We ease out of our marina slip and make our way into Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel.  We pass the usual assortment of large ships along the way and arrive in Galveston, turning east into the ICW.

Container ship, Houston Ship Channel

We are retracing our steps from last November so we have planned a series of long days to get east as quickly as possible.  After a 10-hour day, we drop anchor in Taylor Outfall Bayou near Port Arthur TX, our last night in Texas for some time to come.  We are treated to a lovely sunset.  Ahhh … good to be underway.

Sunset, Taylor Outfall Bayou, Port Arthur TX

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Today is our shortest day, 6 hours to another anchorage off the Calcasieu River near Lake Charles LA.  Lots of tow traffic between the busy ports of Port Arthur, Beaumont, Orange and Lake Charles.  We are asked to wait for some of the tows to pass each other in tight quarters, delaying us somewhat.

LA ICW

Friday, June 21, 2019

We get an early start, enjoying the sunrise as we embark on another 10-hour day. 

Sunrise, Calcasieu River anchorage, Lake Charles LA

Today we must pass through 2 locks and 2 pontoon bridges, all of which could add delays.  We go right through the first lock and have a minor delay at one of the pontoon bridges.  So far, so good.  As we near our destination for the day, we have one last lock.  A short delay at the lock and we arrive at our overnight stop, Shell Morgan’s Landing, a fuel dock in Intracoastal City LA.  We have a chance to top off our fuel tanks here at commercial prices (cheap) before moving to a concrete wall where we will spend the night.  We are fortunate to have large fuel tanks and can usually plan fuel stops at places with the best prices.  Our last refueling was at this same dock in November 2018.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Today will be our 100-mile day.  We have only one lock that may delay us, just past Morgan City.  As we pass through the Atchafalaya swamp, flooding is evident with water into the trees along the ICW.

ICW, Atchafalaya Swamp

We work our way past Morgan City, negotiating our path around tows / barges in this busy intersection of the ICW and Atchafalaya River, and arrive at Bayou Boeuf Lock.  The lock is closed and we are instructed to wait for tows locking ahead of us.  So we wait … and wait … and wait.  Finally, an hour later, we are able to lock through and continue 30 miles to our destination for the night.

Bayou Boeuf Lock, Morgan City LA

A few miles past the lock we pass a barge loaded with boat hulls that appear to be headed for the scrap heap.  More hulls are piled along the wharf.  We have been wondering what happens to all the boats damaged beyond repair in storms.  Looks like we have at least a partial answer but not sure where they are being taken.

Trashed boats, ICW, Englewood LA

By 7 pm, we are tied up on the outside of a boat house behind a private residence.  One of the benefits of belonging to the Looper group (officially “America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association” or AGLCA) is a daily forum where members share cruising information.  We recently saw a post by the owner of this home, offering use of his boat house for cruisers passing through Houma.  We eagerly made arrangements to stop for the night as the only other option nearby is the city dock.  We used the Houma city dock last fall but the only spot we can fit is the end just off the ICW.  They do not take reservations, so our chance of getting the only spot we can use is not good.

Private dock, Houma LA

It’s been a very long day; we are relieved to have a quiet spot for the night.  The homeowner is on his boat in Florida so we don’t get to meet him.  Instead, his brother stops by to welcome us and offer us a ride to town.  We decline, but are grateful for this option.

Sunday, June 23, 2019

We get a very early start again today.  We will cruise 80 miles, a relatively long day for us.  Our destination is New Orleans so we must cross the Mississippi River and the two locks, one on each side, that transition us between the water levels on the river and the ICW.  We will also pass through a pontoon bridge and several railroad bridges that need to be raised for us.  Lots of opportunity for delays.  The pontoon bridge opens promptly for us, a good thing.

By 1 pm, we approach the Harvey Lock, the west entrance to the Mississippi.  Our electronic charts show no traffic going through the lock.  Great!  Oops – a couple of miles before the lock, we encounter a rat’s nest of tows rearranging barges.  They have completely blocked the ICW as far as the eye can see.  Can they do that???  Well, apparently so!  A phone call to the lock reveals they do not expect to reopen until 5 pm, a 4 hour delay.  Not going to work!  So we backtrack 2 miles to take an alternate route 11 miles to the Algiers Lock.  The downside of using the Algiers Lock is the run on the Mississippi to the ICW heading east will be upstream; the Harvey Lock would have put us going downstream.  The Mississippi is currently flowing about 5 MPH, so subtract the current speed from our typical cruising speed of 9 MPH and we estimate it will take almost an hour to creep upriver to the ICW junction – another delay!  

At least we get through the Algiers Lock with minimal delay, then crawl upriver, turn into the ICW and call the Industrial Lock, hoping for a quick lock through.  It is now about 4 pm and we have already had a long, hot day.  Imagine our chagrin when the lock operator informs us we can expect a 3 – 4 hour delay as he locks tows / barges ahead of us!  We are allowed to tie up to a floating dock beside the lock entrance, so here we wait.

Waiting for Industrial Lock, New Orleans LA

Finally, after an hour or so of waiting, we call the lock and ask permission to stay tied up overnight if he is not able to lock us through at least an hour before sunset.  Our destination is a marina on Lake Pontchartrain that we have never been to and we don’t want to find our way in the dark.  Not sure if our request made a difference, but he suddenly decides he may be able to lock us through with one of the tows.  Another hour passes and we are loaded into the lock with the tow, a barge loaded with rock, and another pleasure craft waiting with us.  

Soon we are crossing Lake Pontchartrain, heading for Orleans Marina and a 4-day break.  And thankfully it’s not yet dark!

Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans LA

Monday, June 24 – Wednesday, June 26, 2019

New Orleans!  We spend Monday resting and cleaning and even go for a bike ride.  Our marina is on the lakefront in an older upscale area with waterfront parks, restaurants and shopping nearby.  We plan dinner at K Paul’s in the Quarter, a repeat from our trip last November that we especially enjoyed.

We have a lovely dinner and appreciate that the restaurant is not busy on this weekday evening.  Our waitress is intrigued by our boating lifestyle, spends a lot of time visiting with us and arranges a kitchen tour and photo op – a fun evening!

K Paul's, New Orleans LA

Tuesday, Carolyn takes a quick flight back to Houston, driving back with our car while Robert works on boat projects.  

On Wednesday, we return to the National WWII Museum to see more of the extensive exhibits that we so enjoyed last fall.  Then we drive across the river to Westwego and a great fresh seafood market where we replenish our supplies of shrimp and crab.  Stops at Costco and a grocery store and we are ready to head east again tomorrow.

Thursday, June 27, 2019

We make a 75-mile run to Gulfport MS, staying overnight at the Municipal Harbor.

Friday, June 28, 2019 – Sunday, June 30, 2019

We take advantage of calm seas to cross Mississippi Sound and Mobile Bay, arriving late Friday afternoon at Saunders Yacht Works in Gulf Shores AL, another long 90-mile day.  We will return here in August for scheduled work but want to stop to discuss a few more items that need attention.  We arrive after employees have left for the day but we are allowed to stay on their dock over the weekend.  A pattern of late afternoon thunderstorms has set in and we enjoy a spectacular rainbow shortly after tying up at the dock.

Rainbow, Saunders Yacht Works, Gulf Shores AL

Monday, July 1, 2019

We have an early meeting with Saunders’ staff, then head east for the 30-mile run to Pensacola FL.  Tomorrow we will rent a car and drive 3 hours to get our car in New Orleans.

Soon we pass the extensive development on Ono Island, a private gated community on Perdido Bay and the Alabama / Florida border.

Ono Island, AL

As we move east, the water becomes prettier and sand, an intense white.

Perdido Key, FL

We arrive in Pensacola in time for a late lunch.  Two of our boating friends are docked at the downtown marina, Palafox Yacht Harbor, and we are thrilled to see them.  We are actually tied next to friends we first met 2½ years ago in Jacksonville.  At the time, they had ordered a new boat and had lots of questions for Robert.  We enjoyed meeting them and have kept in touch these past few years.  We passed them on the Tennessee River last October, waving furiously, but we were going opposite directions.  So their boat is here and we finally get a tour!

Palafox Yacht Harbor, Pensacola FL

The other boating friends are from our home marina in Kemah, so we saw them over the winter.  They have been here since April, entertaining friends and family.  We are happy to catch up with them, too.

We expect to spend the month of July here, returning to Saunders in Gulf Shores for our August 1 scheduled appointment.  While there, our boat will be out of the water and we will be staying in a rental cottage in Point Clear for the month.  Looking forward to some time on shore!