The First Mate and I managed to get to Cat Island, MS and return to our home in Slidell, LA without major mishap.
We left Monday morning just after 7:30 and motored down Bayou Bonfouca into Lake Pontchartrain, temps around 70 deg and bright sunny skies. Our 1986 Beneteau First 375 had been converted to cruising mode by the addition of the dodger, davits, dinghy, and of course barbecue grill. We motored out through the Hwy 11 bridge, Hwy 90 bridge, and through the Rigolets, where we were blessed with a 1 - 2 knot favorable current.
Passing through the railroad bridge into open water, we encountered quite a few dolphins and a light NW breeze - unfortunately not enough to sail if we intended to anchor at Cat Island before dark. We continued motoring as the breeze died away, then refilled from the SW, having a nice lunch onboard in benign conditions. When we got to the spot where the ICW branches off to the NE, and we continued E into the Pass Marianne Channel, there was just enough wind to hoist the spinnaker and sail for an hour or two, Cat Island now in view.
Leaving the channel just past marker 'B', we *carefully* ventured into Smugglers Cove, closely watching the depthsounder. The sand spit shown on the chart protecting the south side of the cove is mostly gone, leaving a sandbar just awash at low tide and populated with hundreds of birds. The channel that used to run just on the north side of the spit also appears to be gone, and we bumped once going in. We eased off farther to the north and finally anchored in about 6 feet of water (!) at about 4:30. Thank goodness we have a shoal keel.
The breeze was still out of the SW, so we were exposed, but it was very light. We were also under serious attack from black flies. Good thing the First Mate had completed the bug screens for the hatches and companionway. We launched the dinghy (motor started on the first pull) and took a quick ride to the island, about 1/2 to 3/4 mile away. This was our first time getting on and off the dinghy from the boat, and the First Mate very nearly went swimming, but all turned out OK and she eventually regained her composure. During this time the breeze swung around to the E as predicted, so we were pretty snug and had a nice dinner inside because of the bugs and a quiet night at anchor. It was pleasantly cool & breezy, especially with the windscoop set up over the forward hatch.
Next day was gorgeous and after a relaxing morning we dinghied over to the island for a long walk on shore. The flies had relented quite a bit with the wind shift, but were still there. We walked as far as the big sand dunes at the cross of the 'T', encountering a friendly BP cleanup crew, and headed back. The island has been battered by hurricanes, and at the southern tip where we beached the dinghy was some evidence of weathered oil - balls of rust-colored oily sand about 1/16 to 3/8 inch in size closely scattered over an area of several hundred yards. For all that, the surroundings were beautiful, with many pelicans and gulls overhead and the surf crashing on the beach on the Gulf side of the island.
The flies had let up enough at the boat to allow us to grill some tuna steaks, which we greatly enjoyed with some wine.
After a little more wine in the cockpit, for the flies had nearly all departed, we settled in for another quiet night when a spotlight lit up our boat. Out of the blackness appeared a Customs & Immigration boat and a couple of agents who inquired whether we had any weapons and politely insisted on coming aboard. They were pleasant but professional and quickly departed after checking our ID's and boat registration (and letting us know they had been watching us with infrared for a while - good thing we hadn't gotten frisky earlier). This was after 10:00 at night, and was the first time I had ever been boarded by any agency in some 20 years of sailing in this area.
In the morning we were able to enjoy coffee in the cockpit, then prepared for the trip back, again in ideal conditions. The breeze was some 10 knots out of the E, and our general course was W, so after raising the anchor and getting organized we set the main with a preventer and poled out our the jib on the opposite side, enjoying trade-wind running back towards Slidell. The trip was uneventful, but long. We passed shrimp boats, barges, dolphins, and a few sailboats headed for the start of the Lake Pontchartrain Racing Cicuit this weekend, and finally tied up at our dock an hour or so before sunset. Nothing broke, nobody fell in, and we had enjoyed perfect weather the whole time. Pretty much a '10' on the fun scale, and it was gratifying that the First Mate appeared to enjoy it as much as I had.
We left Monday morning just after 7:30 and motored down Bayou Bonfouca into Lake Pontchartrain, temps around 70 deg and bright sunny skies. Our 1986 Beneteau First 375 had been converted to cruising mode by the addition of the dodger, davits, dinghy, and of course barbecue grill. We motored out through the Hwy 11 bridge, Hwy 90 bridge, and through the Rigolets, where we were blessed with a 1 - 2 knot favorable current.
Passing through the railroad bridge into open water, we encountered quite a few dolphins and a light NW breeze - unfortunately not enough to sail if we intended to anchor at Cat Island before dark. We continued motoring as the breeze died away, then refilled from the SW, having a nice lunch onboard in benign conditions. When we got to the spot where the ICW branches off to the NE, and we continued E into the Pass Marianne Channel, there was just enough wind to hoist the spinnaker and sail for an hour or two, Cat Island now in view.
Leaving the channel just past marker 'B', we *carefully* ventured into Smugglers Cove, closely watching the depthsounder. The sand spit shown on the chart protecting the south side of the cove is mostly gone, leaving a sandbar just awash at low tide and populated with hundreds of birds. The channel that used to run just on the north side of the spit also appears to be gone, and we bumped once going in. We eased off farther to the north and finally anchored in about 6 feet of water (!) at about 4:30. Thank goodness we have a shoal keel.
The breeze was still out of the SW, so we were exposed, but it was very light. We were also under serious attack from black flies. Good thing the First Mate had completed the bug screens for the hatches and companionway. We launched the dinghy (motor started on the first pull) and took a quick ride to the island, about 1/2 to 3/4 mile away. This was our first time getting on and off the dinghy from the boat, and the First Mate very nearly went swimming, but all turned out OK and she eventually regained her composure. During this time the breeze swung around to the E as predicted, so we were pretty snug and had a nice dinner inside because of the bugs and a quiet night at anchor. It was pleasantly cool & breezy, especially with the windscoop set up over the forward hatch.
Next day was gorgeous and after a relaxing morning we dinghied over to the island for a long walk on shore. The flies had relented quite a bit with the wind shift, but were still there. We walked as far as the big sand dunes at the cross of the 'T', encountering a friendly BP cleanup crew, and headed back. The island has been battered by hurricanes, and at the southern tip where we beached the dinghy was some evidence of weathered oil - balls of rust-colored oily sand about 1/16 to 3/8 inch in size closely scattered over an area of several hundred yards. For all that, the surroundings were beautiful, with many pelicans and gulls overhead and the surf crashing on the beach on the Gulf side of the island.
The flies had let up enough at the boat to allow us to grill some tuna steaks, which we greatly enjoyed with some wine.
After a little more wine in the cockpit, for the flies had nearly all departed, we settled in for another quiet night when a spotlight lit up our boat. Out of the blackness appeared a Customs & Immigration boat and a couple of agents who inquired whether we had any weapons and politely insisted on coming aboard. They were pleasant but professional and quickly departed after checking our ID's and boat registration (and letting us know they had been watching us with infrared for a while - good thing we hadn't gotten frisky earlier). This was after 10:00 at night, and was the first time I had ever been boarded by any agency in some 20 years of sailing in this area.
In the morning we were able to enjoy coffee in the cockpit, then prepared for the trip back, again in ideal conditions. The breeze was some 10 knots out of the E, and our general course was W, so after raising the anchor and getting organized we set the main with a preventer and poled out our the jib on the opposite side, enjoying trade-wind running back towards Slidell. The trip was uneventful, but long. We passed shrimp boats, barges, dolphins, and a few sailboats headed for the start of the Lake Pontchartrain Racing Cicuit this weekend, and finally tied up at our dock an hour or so before sunset. Nothing broke, nobody fell in, and we had enjoyed perfect weather the whole time. Pretty much a '10' on the fun scale, and it was gratifying that the First Mate appeared to enjoy it as much as I had.
