Fine Day On Lake Ponchartrain

[kloudie1]

Went out Thursday (8/26) on the 27 foot Stiletto catamaran that my buddy and I have been re-working.. What a fine day ! First day of dry air and an overcast to keep the sun’s heat at bay .. Nice breeze had us ripping along the North Shore at 12 knots, occasionally touching 15… Water right now in the lake is unusually clear.. probably 5-6 foot visibility, really rare at this time of the year.. We were taking advantage of the cat’s shallow draft to survey a couple of bayous to see if our 5.5 foot draft boats could enter.. We were using a small portable fish finder to take readings.. one of the places is just west of Slidell, and east of Bayou Bonfuca, the other is the entrance to Bayou Lacombe. All our calculations say that we should have about 6’ 3” at normal water.. Normal tide range in the lake is about 5-6 inches and the cycle is about 23 hours.. Tight, but looked doo-able .. That guy was correct, messing around in boats is a fine thing to do !

 

[zeehag]

kloudie--thankyou for posting those pix--i am having such withdrawals from that region...beautiful !!!!!!

 

[kloudie1]

Fine Day

They are phone pix, so not very detailed..The sunset was heading back into Mandeville, Bayou Castine, after the wind had decided it was time for us to motor.. The other one is a little canal that dead-ends at the Highway 11/ railroad, just north of where the bridges hit the Northshore.. It was fun exploring without worrying about going aground ! The weather is going to be great for tripping here pretty soon (maybe 3-4 weeks?) especially if the little high wind lows (hurricanes) continue to behave.
Hope all is good out west, Karen.
'nother shot of the bayou just past where my boat lives.. Pre Katrina, there were eagles in teh big dead tree to teh right of the picture.. There are a couple of pairs that have moved back nearby in the Fontainebleau State Park swamp.. further to the right out of the picture.. Really neat to see 'em flying occasionally.

 

[Chuck Creel]

great news, thanks for sharing...

 

[zeehag]

thankyou claude--is ok here--coldest summer in 77 yrs--i miss the heat and humididity and t storms lol and the bayous--sooo beautiful...even with cell fone pix is awesome..

 

[kpgraci]

Nice pics. You're making me jealous, I had to work Thursday. Work!, Can you imagine that? Been sailing every weekend except this one due to weather. I didn't even notice that Thursday was a nice day...

 

[Dan Johnson]

Hey Kloudie...

Claude, you're just trying to make us jealous! Had to work at my Club Thursday and walked the docks with great envy for the guys getting ready for a race down Bay this weekend.

My cousin Ken had a Stilletto 27 when he was living in so. Fla. Made the crossing to the Bahamas in it a few times--said it flew in a good breeze so weather changes weren't a problem. Looks like you had a great day!

 

[JonnyQuest]

Great bayou shots, Kloudie. Makes me hungry for alligator sausage poboys!
Have any pics of the Kat as well? Were you motoring the bayous (I assume so, but love the idea of sailing in skinny back waters on a Kat or in a catboat).

 

[kloudie1]

Fine Sailing

She is kept at a slip close to our boats.. he has a Hunter 33 Cherbuini.. here is no interior in it right now, so it is purely a camping platform, with ice chests and stuff stored in the hulls. .. The front tramp holds an 8' by 8' tent that pops up at night for keeping the bugs at bay.

 

[rgranger]

What kind of boat is dat!

btw I'm originally from the Lafayette area...

r. Granger

 

[Winkfish]

Great shots. I've a good friend that lives off of Bayou Lacombe. Quite a few sailboats up in there, so I don't imagine depth is much of a problem, unless you get too close to the shore line. Yeah, I was itchin to do some fishin, but the weather took a dive for yesterday and today, unfortunately. Can't wait for that fall weather, Brother.

 

[kpgraci]

Cat?

Now is that boat technically a cat? It's rigged like a sloop...is it not?

What ever it is...I like it.

Edit: I guess I'm confusing Catamaran with Cat Rig... hey I just larned something

 

[kloudie1]

Winkfish.. Yep lots of sailboats but the note on the chart says "5 1/2 feet, Aug 1994". I have been in and out of there a lot but not since Katrina, and I wanted to make sure that everything was still OK.. My boat draws 5 1/2' so it is always a puckering experience.. When the commercial shipyard folks shut down back up the bayou, they stopped dredging the entrance channel.. The bayou itself is plenty deep, but the entrance off the lake can be touchy.
Ken.. I dunno ..?? Would a cat rigged catamaran be a Cat-Cat? LOL
Monsieur Granger.. It is a 27 foot Stiletto Catamaran.. kinda late 70's / 80's.. Some are still actively raced today..Google and you'll be able to see the web site and specifications.. A fun boat for sure.. They are still built on demand over around St. Petersburg.. This one had sat on a trailer for 8 years after the owner scared himself by flipping it over in Lake Charles during a race. It was a mess.. still is.. but we have it sailing now.

 

[ChuckThomas]

we are leaving thursday for a three day cruise up the tickfaw. i could sure use the draft of that cat. wooo hooo. is the leopard 38 still up on the corner from you? btw claude did you see the osprey family up across from the gazebo last weekend? two adults teaching yearlings to fish. very cool.

 

[kloudie1]

Another fine day on the Poncho-Train

Sailing the catamaran again today.. We had not had it out in waves before but today we had 3 foot chop for some of the afternoon .. she did well sailing under main only .. touching 10 knots at times in about 15 knots of wind .. which was pushing up the whitecaps.. We were touring Bayou Castine when the storm caught us (strange storm with a lot of rain and wind but not one lightning bolt).. tied up for a few minutes to let the deluge finish itself then went all the way up the bayou to the fork past the marinas.. A fine day again.. The catamaran is a hoot but it sure is nice to be back on my boat where the air conditioner is purring.. and I can use the computer.. and it is dry and there is running water.. Chuck.. Yep, that big Leopard 38 belongs to a guy named Jim.. He bought it in Guatamala and met the boat in Belise .. sailed it back here.. He used to live at the end of the slipway , a few boats down from me.. I was not out last weekend.. but today we saw some osprey fishing along the bayou, back where "Secret Sailor"(on this forum) has his boat docked.. (Indian Landing?)..
Watching disturbed area 98 carefully, it looks to be headed to slot below Cuba.. .. Wishing the guys along the East Coast luck with dealing with the weather ..

 

[JonnyQuest]

The rain in Slidell was not a problem for me bilge

I was over in Slidell to see if my ODay had sunk with all the rain. (No sailing)

Bilge still working, and solar panel keeping the battery topped off. Pretty icky hose clamp though.