LA-MS-AL Trip May-June 09 Part II

Louisiana – Mississippi – Alabama Coastal Sailing
May 27 – June 8, 2009
Beautiful Sights and Valuable Lessons (Part II)

Sun 5/31. Mike felt rested (see Part I), as the wind did not pick up during the night and Talisman was well protected from the NW winds by our position east of Sand Island. The water was calm, the beach, ½ mi. away, shone with its fine, white sand. I couldn’t help noticing the contrast between Pascagoula’s petrochemical complex (in sight) and this simple, totally natural environment. Surely those folks who are tied to work in the industrial city of Pascagoula must escape as often as possible to the natural calm and simple beauty of Petit Bois. Even on a Sunday morning, motorboats and some sailboats were arriving or had spent the night.

After a quick swim for Mike, we studied the charts and decided to make way toward the other side of Mobile Bay, a peninsula type land mass called Mobile Point. There stands Ft. Morgan, and there seemed to be some anchoring spots near enough to shore. We were expecting light NE winds, somewhat variable, and then veering N sometime during the night. Another sailor had recommended it to us as backup.

From Petit Bois we would be passing Dauphin Island to enter Mobile Bay and would probably make it over to Ft. Morgan by late afternoon. Late afternoon is a desirable ETA because it gives us a chance to find good anchorage, rest, freshen up, admire the sunset with wine or beer or other, and dinner.

However, getting there was not as interesting as previous days. Maybe the presence of so many oil platforms was disconcerting. Talisman plodded along at less than 5 kts., and wind direction didn’t favor using the spinnaker. Too bad. It would have made for a more interesting day of travel. We ended up motoring most of the way.

Dauphin Is. is split in two, with the western part completely uninhabited and the eastern one on its way to full development. We had been to Dauphin Is. before by land. It’s roughly a 45 min. detour from Mobile City and connected to the mainland by a good 85 ft. bridge. The Island has an older part that conserves its greenery and old town charm, and the newer portions that are so developed that not a bush or plant can be seen. Why do developers love to level everything in sight? Don’t they know that the 85+° weather over several months of the year along the Gulf Coast make it suicidal to be without shade?

Anchorage about 1 mi. from Ft. Morgan and ½ mi. offshore proved to be just fine. Dropping the hook was easy. We settled into a gorgeous sunset and a great meal (couscous with chicken and spinach). We were even lucky enough to get cell phone connection, which provided the extra treat of contacting family and friends. We watched the frequent ferry arrivals and departures from Ft. Morgan to/from the east side of Dauphin Is. The woods and the coastline were also attractive. The only two problems with anchoring in that area are: a jungle of crab traps that would prove vexing the next day during departure; and, the oil platforms (Mike counted 9 in the general area we occupied). In fact, the next morning, an alarm went off at one of the platforms and did not cease for the next 2 ½ hrs. Needless to say, we prepared for departure faster than usual. I guess one becomes sensitive to what sounds are permissible when enjoying nature (and sailing).

Mon. 6/1. After breakfast we weighed anchor and departed. We weren’t sure what our next stopover would be. We only knew where we were headed. The ICW crosses Mobile Bay and then cuts through land on the way to Perdido Bay and finally to Pensacola Bay. It is affectionately referred to as “the ditch” or the “Alabama Canal” as it snakes its way through the area. Alabama Canal is my choice because “the ditch” does not conjure up the lovely images we saw along the way and that have stayed with us.

Somewhere around 5 mi. into the Alabama Canal we passed the first bridge (probably 85 ft.) after which we saw Lulu’s Restaurant immediately on the port side. Everyone we’ve talked to says, “you gotta try Lulu’s.” But it wasn’t in the cards this time around. It was after lunch and too early for dinner. We’d just have to catch it some other time. We knew it would be good given all the hoopla about it, and we had eaten several times at her brother’s restaurant, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, in New Orleans. Anyway, we did get fuel and filled the water tanks at Homeport Marina, which includes Lulu’s on its premises, before continuing on.

The shores on both sides along the Alabama Canal were lined with trees, individuals fishing, and regular traffic of sailboats, motorboats and some commercial as well. Around 3 mi. after Lulu’s we passed under the second bridge (around 65 ft.). The Wharf was immediately after the bridge on our starboard side. It definitely was a surprise and seemed somewhat out of place: so shopping center-like with its tall buildings and retail fronts. I guess in a pinch we’d have to stop there, but not as a first choice. We were enjoying the older, quainter look of the Canal up to this point.

The next few miles showed us small communities of lovely homes and their boats on the Canal. The entrance to Wolf River lay to our port side, and that’s where our sailing buddies wanted to stay. But we preferred to press on and see more before deciding where we'd overnight. We passed the new and large Barber Marina on the north side of the Canal, and the entrance to Ingram Bayou, the must-experience area that sailors recommend strongly, which was just past it. We made a promise to catch it on the way back.

For now we wanted to find a way to provision Talisman. We called Pirate’s Cove Restaurant, which we’d find just beyond the next bend on our port side. With only a 4.5 ft. draft, we figured it would be plausible to tie up at the Restaurant’s pier, eat and find a way to a grocery store. Yes, we could tie up without any difficulty. There was plenty of room and the depth was permissible on the right side of the pier. However, there was no grocery nearby. So we called Bear Point Marina, just across the Canal on the south side. It had also been recommended by another sailor who had recently been there.

Bear Point Marina had been damaged by the string of storms and hurricanes in 2004 and 2005. But they were up and running again. Not only were their rates for overnight stays half of what others were asking (including the usual services of water, electricity, bath/shower, Internet connection, etc.), but also they offered a ride to a nearby grocery store, a Publix. The restaurant at the Marina looked inviting (Flippers), there was the needed dock store, everyone had a good attitude, and we discovered a very friendly live aboard community.

This was not a hard decision to make. We looked at each other and said, “let’s rent a slip for tonight.” What the heck: it was time for a little relaxation, air conditioning, Internet, and chatting it up with all these experienced sailors! And that’s what we did, except that one night turned into three. There’s a reason why, besides enjoyment. Stay tuned for Part III.

LA - MS - AL Trip May - June 09 PART I

Louisiana – Mississippi – Alabama Coastal Sailing
May 27 – June 8, 2009
Beautiful Sights and Valuable Lessons (Part I)


Thu. 5-28. After overnighting at Madisonville, LA, we left at a decent hour heading toward Eden Isles, in the Slidell area. There was hope and excitement in our newbie hearts. After all, we would be facing a new challenge -- new places and a longer trip aboard Talisman, our Pearson 365 ketch. Would we meet the physical challenges that Nature seems to throw at everyone with seeming glee? Would we be able to solve boat functionality problems along the way? Were we well provisioned? Etc. Etc.
We tied Talisman up at Phil’s dock in the late afternoon. This is our new friend that we had visited days before so we could meet the other sailing buddies. It would be a loose group of boats sailing east. We met Karen, Phil’s friend and sailing partner, and a lively discussion ensued about anything relevant to sailing and the upcoming trip. They would be gone longer; we had a definite schedule.

Fri. 5-29. We all left early with the objective of making it to Ship Island off the coast of Mississippi by sundown. This time we took a different route than the last trip Mike and I had taken. As we approached Cat Island after exiting the Rigolets and a portion of the Mississippi Sound, we came around its south side, rather than by the north. It seemed quicker and less crowded, and it provided a better wind direction for sailing purposes. We tried our spinnaker and new sock along the way and realized it lent some efficiency to raising, lowering and handling the spinnaker in light wind.
Finally we all made our destination just around sunset. We had planned on anchoring at the Northwest side of the Island near the pier, but the increasing seas and NW winds made us question the sanity of our objective. Nonetheless, Mike dropped our 35 lb. Delta anchor at about the same spot we had used before (see past trip). But the seas were increasing and we had to question whether the anchor might slip and we’d find ourselves in 2-4 ft. of water. The 24 ft. depth quickly changes to 2-4 ft. within a few hundred feet. So we weighed in the anchor and dropped it again in a spot that was slightly further from shore, though vulnerable to the NW winds and waves that picked up after sunset.
Our friends’ boat, Candida, also experienced problems. Phil and Karen rowed over to us with a bottle of wine, and I was busily preparing a pasta dinner as a good conclusion for a long day. But, alas, that was not in the cards. We happened to look toward Candida and noticed with horror that it was moving toward shore and the 2-4 ft. shallows! After that, there was no relief for Phil, Karen and Candida. And, so much for dinner and company. They weighed and dropped hook several times in the night. While Mike and I stayed put with our GPS tracking any dragging of the anchor, Phil and Karen finally took off for the Mississippi coast late in the night. However, we didn't know and wouldn't find out until much later the next day.

Sat. 5-30. Next day, I emerged from below with yoga mat in tow after an uncomfortable sleep (too much rocking of the boat). Where is Candida? We tried to radio them but no answer. Bad cell phone connection also made it difficult to track them down. In the meantime we heard a call for assistance from “a vessel in the Ship Island northwest corner.” Could it be Candida? But why couldn’t we see it? What we could see was a smaller sailboat dangerously near shore and next to the pier. As it turned out, that was not a good thing. We had seen the small boat being repositioned the evening before, as had occurred with the other boats in the vicinity. That story ended better than expected when the Coast Guard, one of the Mississippi services, and a private towing company came to its rescue, and the boat was “unstuck” within a few hours.
We took Talisman around to the south side after breakfast, awaiting word from Candida. It was beautiful, serene and the Gulf was calm. We could have kicked ourselves in the you-know-where that we hadn’t moved over there the night before.
Anyway, we lazed away for several hours before heading to Petit Bois (many pronounce it “Petibo”). We had called Phil and Karen, got the scoop on their midnight escape and discussed where we would meet up next. So, we decided to rendezvous about midway across on the north side of Petit Bois around sunset. Winds were light from the N/NE. We made our way following the coastline, a mile or so below Ship Island, passing Horn Island (which we would visit on the return trip) before reaching our destination. We planned to round up at Petit Bois Channel, which is an extension of the Pascagoula Channel, to meet our friends on the north side.
It was interesting and relaxing to view the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico and avoid the heavy commercial traffic of the ICW. Beaches, birds, dolphins, fishing boats, and a sailboat or two were the only sights.
The channels in between the barrier islands have to be adhered to simply because tides, winds and other natural phenomena tend to create sandbars right and left, and they don’t show up on the charts. By the time your depth sounder spots them, it’s probably too late. So, we kept well within the channel, though ships and barges out of Pascagoula were of the enormous type, and the channel was fairly narrow at this juncture. In fact, we kept still at the sidelines at one point to let a megaton ship plow its way through and waited some more for its significant following wave action to subside. Whew!
Yes, we made it to our rendezvous point on Petit Bois and dropped anchor. But again, the wind was blowing out of the N/NW and we were not confident the anchor would hold in this terrain and in this unprotected spot. So, we weighed anchor and proceeded to the northwestern corner of the Island. Sand Island, a small island just slightly Northwest of us, seemed to offer some protection were the winds to pick up. And we noticed another sailboat in the vicinity, though it seemed a little too snuggled up to the shore for our sense of caution. Better to be overly cautious than end up in the shallows like the boat from the night before, we said. That lesson stayed fresh in our minds.
In the meantime, no sign of our friends. Luckily, we had cell phone access (kind of iffy on the islands). They decided to stay put at their getaway on the coast. Could we meet there at Petit Bois the next day? Well, that depends. It depends on whether the wanderlust gets the best of us. After all, we had a limited window of time, and there were new places to explore!
Stay tuned. The best is yet to come.

Louisiana - Mississippi - Alabama sailing adventure

Trip Itinerary :

Madisonville --- Slidell --- Ship Island --- Petit Bois Island --- Ft. Morgan --- Bear Point --- Ingram Bayou --- Horn Island --- Cat Island --- Mandeville --- Madisonville


Finally, a Louisiana – Mississippi – Alabama trip that had the variety we wanted! For us, a trip is worthwhile once Talisman, our trusted Pearson 365, exits Lake Pontchartrain. That’s not to say that we don’t enjoy the communities around the Lake. It’s just that we are familiar with them and are seeking new sights, new explorations.

On this trip we visited friends in Slidell, LA. We had met the loosely assembled group of sailors and seen their boats at a get-together. A few people took off the next day, and we headed out with others a couple of days later. We covered pretty much of what are the interesting islands off the coast of Mississippi – Ship and Petit Bois one way, and then Horn and Cat on the way back. We crossed Mobile Bay and entered the Alabama Canal (the inland ICW of Lower Alabama), lighting at several spots that are just as quaint and attractive as can be.

Altogether this was a satisfying trip. There was a good mix of anchoring in pristine waters off of uninhabited islands, sharing scenery and meals in bayou areas, and partaking of what the boating communities of Lower Alabama have to offer. Lower Alabama has plenty of good marinas, bayous, restaurants, and gregarious people, all of which made for great enjoyment and socializing, too.

Enjoy the slideshow. The next few blogs will cover the trip segments in more detail.