Sailing with Mickey and Nan on Lake Pontchartrain

Fall weather in the New Orleans area is fantastic. South Shore Harbor, where Talisman, our Pearson 365, is docked is perfectly located close to the Rigolets and the exit to the Gulf of Mexico. And, South Shore is almost brand spanking new since Hurricane Katrina leveled it back in 2005. We’re glad to be back at South Shore. We can be out in the Gulf in a matter of hours. So, reaching, say, Cat Island or Ship Island off the Mississippi coast is a day’s venture unless the weather is uncooperative or other unforeseen mishaps surprise us.

We invited our friends Mickey and Nan to enjoy a leisurely outing on the Lake. We talked and ate, and the day was beautiful. But the sailing was less than spectacular. Why the weather delivered only 5 mi./hr. winds was a mystery since a supposed Cold Front was approaching. But we had fun anyway.

Getting out in the Fall, which we’ve been taking advantage of, drowned the disappointment over the extreme heat this Summer and the oil spill. Now we’re excited looking forward to our upcoming trip. We should start sometime next week before the end of October. Our plans are to cruise along the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coastline. Let’s see if we can make it to Tampa on a month long trip (no rush -- we take our time and get to know places and people). We’d travelled the Mississippi and Alabama coastline, including the barrier islands off Mississippi, and the Alabama Canal to Bear Point (see 2009 trips).

Now we’d like to add some further points to our repertoire. For example, we plan to anchor in Big Lagoon, stop in at Pensacola, Destin, maybe Panama City, definitely Port St. Joe, and maybe make the puddle jump to the Tampa area, including their islands.

If anyone has recommendations to make, please, PLEASE respond. We would love tips on anchorages, marinas, restaurants, and all the other important stuff that makes sailing fun and convenient. For example, are there bridges or passages to avoid? How about Internet service, provisioning, great this or that, etc.? Or just let us know about quirky experiences or other thoughts.

Will blog a couple of times a week as we go. Let’s keep the conversation going!