There is indeed...and it must be 25-30knots...and we are going to have to go and hunt for our sweaters. Our rain jackets are making do right now.
We left Houma on a lovely morning bound for NOLA (as it is said, 'round here) New Orleans, Louisiana. We had allowed around 6 hours from start to finish, not taking into consideration the amount of time we would have to wait...and wait...and wait...all the time with the engines running, and a stiff breeze blowing, and the temp. taking a dive, the closer we got to NO.
We didnt know if we would get all the way here, yesterday, as we were waiting for the Flood Gates to be opened, after the Hurricane warning was lifted. We listened carefully to the radio reports, and in particular the Coast Guard report that the storm system was out of the way, and the gates are open for all Marine traffic.
We were already 2/3 the way to NO when that came through and we did a little dance, knowing we would be here safely by mid afternoon.
Lets go back to the beginning...easier!
We left Houma about 8.45am, taking time to enjoy our breakfast without having to rush. We had plenty of time to get into our Marina and dock, so what is the rush, right?:)
We waved to a father and on sitting on the end of the Houma town Marina wall as we went out into the ICW channel under the two bridges. It is a particularly narrow part of the ICW and we had marvelled at the tows going through that small space, so large were they.
Close to every town and city is a whole marine infrastructure that you would not dream existed unless you were on the waterway, or somehow attached to those industries. AMAZING is the only word we can think of...and sometimes AWESOME, in the true sense of the word. The size of the machinery is astonishing, for starters, but what is more awesome to us, is the vast net worth of the machinery sitting idle in vast lots covered in parts and wholes.
What is also amazing to us, is the number of 'dead' pieces or whole of machinery/tows/barges/tugs etc that is just scuttled in the waterway. The amount of iron being discharged through rusting machinery is both horrifying and a crying shame. This all despite the numerous recycling (metal) places we see in every port.
we are also flabbergasted by the huge amount of shipbuilding and the specifics of the build. Take a look at this new offshore tender. These are purpose built for the oil industry. Yes, without the oil, not much would keep this place afloat (no pun intended...well, ok, it was:) ) me thinx.
This ship takes (or it will) machinery and supplies to the off-shore oil rigs...
I loved the graffitti on this bridge....indeed!
We have seen some interesting sights, but the one that always makes us smile is the cattle grazing on the water's edge...no aligators evident! We wonder how many cattle get attacked, but nobody can tell us...or even seem to think about it. I wonder why we do, lol.
Yet another broken down thing along the ICW
Going through our first bridge of the day, it was only a vehicular bridge and a short one at that.
...and on the other side going east...LOTS of cranes, tugs etc. This is going through the Safe Harbor of Larose.
It didnt look too safe to us, however! Note the broken down barge in the background!
And then the storm clouds appeared on the horizon and the wind started picking up. It was just after 11am when we passed through Larose.
Our first lift bridge, but we got under it with no trouble at all..
and this is why....we are only 20ft tall!
Just after the bridge, there was a settlement...no name that we could see on our charts, but it was definitely a lower economic area with some interesting living arrangements...here is one with a small shrimp boat parked at the back door....
This person wisely made sure he would eat by installing a fishing platform! complete with cooler...not sure if that is for the drinks or the fish...perhaps for both?
I have spoken before about the vast problem of Water Hyacinth on the ICW. This is what it looks like...and this is relatively small...we have come across great islands of the stuff right in the middle of our path and we have to slalom through it.We are interested to see that most of the tows do the same thing, if they can see above their loads. They all have a flag on the middle front of their barges so that they can see the mid point on anywhere. Some can barely see over the top of the barge in front of them, let alone the end of the barge in front. A scary proposition from where we sit.
These sheet piles are put in place as a kind of levee, but they look far too close to the homes and not high enough for comfort, considering how high the surges can be when Hurricanes strike.
Our first rain, and the first time we had to close all the Glass.
How awesome is this??? An ocean-going off-shore boat being built. 
...and across that near thin strip of grass and hyacinth is a lake...Lake Salvador and Catahoula Bay. Just before I took this photo, we turned into Harvey Canal which is part of the ICW.
You can see the lake next to the canal.
We had 25 miles to go to Harvey Lock, our first 'real' lock, as it involved not just going straight through, as the other smaller locks we had travelled had been, but this one had high sides and small places to hang onto.
Sorry, there arent any photos of this lock...I was too busy hanging onto the side of it and keeping the boat from banging itself against the side...concrete!!! I didnt succeed totally, but more on that one later:)
These 'crew' boats passed us at great speed and things went flying in their wake...we curse them, but know they have a job to do and fast...and we didnt slow down either, so we got what was coming to us!
That is Lake Salvador in the background. By now we could see the distant skyline of New Orleans.
Tourist rides like this AirBoat are available just around the corner from here. They are so noisy all the punters have to wear ear muffs...I think we should have been wearing them too!
Here are two of them parked up opposite the cemetary, below...We didnt get close enough to find out the significance of it, but it is probably a founding fathers cemetary.
Now we were coming to the wealthier parts of town, but still a good way from NO. Note that the boat house is just part of the main house, and you can see the covered and pillared walkway between the two...it is on the other side.
I liked the hammocks in the foreground. We bought this one...theoretically!
Another scuttled boat. Sheesh! I got really pissed off about this one. It had obviously just been driven into the swamp and left there, like parking the car and getting out.
We figgered these were flood pumps, on Harvey canal. We were getting closer and closer to NO, and it showed. Look at the 'hooters' on this thing! Diesel engines?
After taking this photo, the camera told me to put a new battery in...so now it is all pics taken with Waz's camera...
We knew we were closer and closer to NO because of the signs of 'life'...meaning flood gates, pumping stations, like this one etc.
...and sure enough...mile 5! only 5 miles to go to Harvey Lock which is mile 0.
We turned a corner in the canal and our first shopping center with paddle steamer attached....and...for all you Coast Guard readers:)
complete with gun mount on the front!!!
The paddle steamer is called Boomtown Belle 11.
Looks like the steamer is now an Hotel.
The Flood gates were closed.
and some of the dry docks were sinking docks...
Coming up the canal to Harvey Lock which we had been anticipating all along the canal. This is our first 'real' lock, as I have said.This means that the sides are taller than us, we have to stop the engines, put our life vests on (its the law) and not tie off on any of the 'small' things they give you to put a rope around.
Going into Harvey Lock was relatively easy, except that the wind was now up and we didnt realize the height was going to be so small...as in, the water level, so we were over-prepared. It prob. went up no more than 8 inches. It was actually hard to guage the amount of water they were putting in there. They closed the gate on us at the canal end, and then opened the other end straight onto the Mighty Mississippi!!
This is the scene as we exited Harvey Lock. the small boat is actually a Coast Guard vessell. Behind it is a huge tanker of some kind which was going faster than we were...more on that shortly...
It is 3.38pm...no photos while in the lock, sorry...too busy doing our stuff....We put a loop of rope around the small thing to loop to (I'm sure it has a name, but my addled brain can't think of it right now) and I held on for dear life. Waz cut the engines and two mins later started them again...we were out of there. This photo shows the skinny canal in relation to the Mississippi and the skinny lock at the very end of the canal where it enters the MM. Note that the water is 85ft deep here.
Little did we realize at this stage, how long it would take us to complete our journey...and we were not going that far!
Just out of the lock and there was a rock concert going on on the banks of the River.
Two major bridges to clear...dont know the names of them, but they were the only ones across the MM where we were going.
at first we saw only one cruise ship...a Carnival Cruise boat. Then we saw the smaller one...That is the downtown skyline behind.
Mardi Gras World. NO is famous for it's annual Mardi Gras, as you have probably heard!
Remember that tanker that was behind the Coast Guard vessel way up the MM? Well here she is about to toss us off the river. The captain radioed us as 'The pleasure craft' and told us there was a tow coming towards us on our side of the river (it wasnt showing on our plotter, at this stage) and how many knots were we doing? 10knots at this stage...the MM runs fairly fast anyway, so we needed to keep ahead of her.
He advised us to slow down a bit, let him pass, and then tuck ourselves in behind him...please!:) It was a good idea as there was an almost 90 degree turn coming up with a tow coming way out into the middle to negotiate the bend.
More downtown...I am looking across in front of Waz in this, as he was VERY busy trying to stay out of the way of the tanker
This is one of the Downtown Hotels.
and just after we turned the corner we found this real working paddle steamer...except she was more of a Ferry and no paddle. Bummer!
Not far around the corner was the entry to the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal. This was our turnoff. We took one look at the entry and decided they were NUTS...with a big F#####g in front of it. The bridge in the foreground is open, in this photo and the barge is lining up to go through the vehicular bridge and under the rail bridge(the tall one) and straight into the lock .
The first tow went through well, with some help from a tug that came through before it, pushing it into the wall, as this is a VERY skinny space. These tows are 4 packs...meaning two across and two down. NO extra room AT ALL...and I dont say this lightly...not even an inch! This guy was literally scraping the walls, and there is plenty of evidence along same to suggest that this isnt the first time:)
This particular tow had great difficulty getting lined up to go through the little waterway. It took a while and the bridge wasnt even open yet, but he took about an hour to get into position.
We had missed our queue space after the previous tow, because we werent forward enough, even though we radioed and told them this was new for us and we needed their help. No help was forthcoming...they prob. dont care!, so we sat in the MM and waited, and waited for another 1 1/2 -2 hrs. It was getting stressful at this stage. We were on the side of the MM and turning circles and trying to stay out of the main river traffic, which was plenty. HUGE ships passed us, and their wakes pushed us around, of course.
We watched a little sail boat coming up the river and passing us, only to turn around, after we heard radio traffic tell them they had missed their turn. They turned into our small holding pattern which was small indeed, and made worse by the fact that everywhere there were logs of wood and debris floating around...sometimes in rafts.
The yacht entered the inner river and did the same holding things we were. We were watching them closely and hoping they didnt get in ahead of us, as we were pretty pissed off at this time, with not only our missed opportunity to follow number one tow, but that this tow was taking so long and the bridge wasnt opening, and the first tow had just exited the lock...all about 2 hrs worth of waiting. Meanwhile, the sun was going down.
We decided to enter the channel, which was small, in behind the tow, and the yacht and us did circles around each other. The tow was stirring up the channel which wasnt good for us, and for the lumber in the channel.
I went down and got the boat hook and pushed as much as I could away from our boat, but it kept getting under us. A bit of a loosing proposition.
FINALLY...we started to move, but not fast. We literally went back and forth and in circles trying to follow this tow which had NO leeway on either side, and seemed to get hung up. We also, by this time had the Susan W on our tail and she was VERY close.
Now, if you think you know what a Dolphin looks like...then you are not entirely correct.
This, below, is a dolphin! Yes, really!
When we radioed the bridge and asked what they wanted us to do, they said..."come on in tie up to the small dolphin......"
Riiight, we thought. What is a dolphin??? and where is the small one located. As it turned out, we never saw a small one...so what the heck??? all this was said in a Louisiana accent which was hard to follow, along with lots of crackling on the radio.
This is why we ended up in the holding pattern and watching like a hawk to see what everyone else was doing.
As it turned out later, the yacht was doing this for the first time too! sheesh!
I didnt get the opportunity to take photos while we were entering the lock...I wonder why??
Waz took these from his lofty perch on the flydeck.
Please notice that the Susan W is now in front of us!
How did she get there, you ask?
Note how close to her stern, and what you can't see is that they are trying to close the lock behind us and lower the bridge so the traffic can go through. We cant reverse...much, and we also have the yacht in our midst!Just to complicate things and make them a bit more fun..yeh riiight!
There were big gaps in the concrete walls which swallowed our fenders, so Waz did a dance in place while I strained almost every muscle in my poor tired body..boohoo!...sympathy for mon here....
and we shouldnt forget the valiant efforts and incredible stress of the captain at his helm, while trying to maintain control with the wash of TWO tugs whirling around us, and Susan W trying to push the Safety First tow (in front) because it was stuck in the lock.
Ok..back to how Susan W got there in the first place.
I'm exhausted writing about this...
We were in the lock already, and the bridge was down over and behind us. The folks on the side of the lock above us, told us to move over so that Susan W (SW) could come around us (you're kidding, right!!!) and help Safety First (SF). SW is at least 75 ft long and twice as wide as us...so around 30ft wide.
SW moved around us, and the yacht which had more ability to turn that we did, being only about 30ft long.
SW got the SF tow ready to go, and we were struggling to maintain control in the confines of the lock. We tied up to SW on their starb'd side , and the yacht tied up to us on our Starb'd side...next to the wall. We had to hussle to get the fenders down for them as they werent prepared for this eventuality.
We waited thus for about half an hour while the lock water went up and then the gate was opened on the far side infront of SF, and we were instructed to go out Yacht before us, and followed closely by SW.
This presents it's own problems due to the wash from the tow which is like a washing machine and can throw you every which way. The yacht quickly got to the side of SF and the capt. advised us both to go past him as we were faster...the yacht wasnt, by much, with only a 13 hp engine, doing 5 knots.
It was dark, by now, and we had one more bridge to go through(under) and it was a railway bridge....and it was closed...and it had a train on it.
We Radioed ahead and they told us we would have to wait....and we waited,...and we waited...and the yacht caught up with us and they also waited!..for about another hour and half.
We had given up looking at the time because it was already dark and we knew docking was going to be challenging, and with the wind throwing 35knots at us, it would be totally sucky, no other word for it.
We watched in horror as the train stalled in the middle of the bridge. Then another train stalled on the bridge...for ages. We could hear the screeching of metal and brakes and eventually they all moved, the bridge raised and we went through with the yacht ahead of us.
We only had a short way to go before recognizing Seabrook Harbour Marina (yes another Seabrook) on our left...but looked in horror as we saw no other boats, and the dock we were supposed to go into was pilings and a short finger out to each one. No go in the wind. We tried one open dock, but the wind just pushed us down river, and it would have been damaging for both dock and us, especially to continue with that.
We decided finally to try for the fuel dock, being the only open sided place we could kind of safely go.
Waz deserves a gold medal for his boat handling skills all through the day, and no more so that docking the boat in a place where all the boats had been taken out of the water in advance of the Hurricane coming through.
As this dock is right on a major artery to Lake Ponchartrain, we were and are very exposed.
So...after tying up at the fuel dock...where we still are, closely watching the wind...we had a quick meal of soup (cardboard box kind) and a foccacia from the freezer...oh, and the last of the cookies and a cup of tea...which we had been hanging out for.
We were both exhausted. The stress of not knowing what is expected of us, nobody telling us, so we have to guess all the way, and then the whole lock situation was something we dont really ever want to repeat.
Well, we DID want adventure, right??PHEW!!!!
As I said at the beginning...there is a cold north wind blowing and we are out in our jackets, as is everyone else, today. Waz has been to the office and squared us away with them, and our neighbor has been onboard to say hello.
We are watching the marina come to life, this morning, wiht crew working to clear the boats out of the dry stack and back into the water. The all clear for the Hurricane means we are about to be very busy around here.
Marty, the captain of the lovely sportfisher, next to which we are going to dock later, when the wind drops...and only when I say so...Im the lacky, so if my body feels up to it later on, and the wind is low enough we will go there.
anyway...Marty. We had gone out to watch him back the sportfisher between the piles...no small feat, I can tell you, and the wind was not helping...he captains the boat for the owner who fish and play, apparently. Nice for some:)
I took the photo below as the sun was coming up around 7am this morning.
Yes, those are the pilings we are supposed to be tying off on...just past the sign. In actuality, we are not far off the MM...as you can see those bridges in the background.
We are out of food, officially, and we need to go grocery shopping. Waz has found that Rouses have a sushi bar, so that is where we are headed!
Im done for the day, and it is only 11am! Waz sounds fine, but I think after we have moved the boat, he might take a nap...well earned too.
So..I'm out of here. You will probably be exhausted just reading this...take that and times it by 100! and you will know how we feel.
TTFN..
We just are enjoying following your adventure. Miss you guys! Enjoy! and Be safe!
ReplyDeleteLinda and Steph.