Gunkholes between PCola and Biloxi

woodster · Jun 10, 2016

sailaway or kloudie may be able to give you some food for thought ...at fort morgan there is a place called edith hamete that may be ok....

JamesG161 · Jun 10, 2016

woodster said:
may be able to give you some food for thought

@woodster Cough cough.... eeehhhhmmmm

JohnnyMac said:
2) Suggestions for places to anchor at Fort Morgan, Petit Bois, Horn Island, and West Ship.
3) Any other interesting places to stop?
4) Any places for snorkeling?
5) Opinions on marinas in Biloxi

Ship and Horn have deep water nearly up to the shore line ( 20 feet way). Tidal current is swift.

Snorkling not so much... there is a reef further west made from the old Hwy 90 bridge concrete Katrina damage
Good spear fishing and anchorage

Fish Haven 12 --- 15 nm south of Ship Island. Good drift fishing. Big fish.

Marinas...
Best service and nearby access to beach resorts is Gulfport. Brand New.
The rest of them... use the web search.

Rest depends on your plans...

BTW don't stop and see @woodster unless it has rained in last 2 days or Saturday when he takes his weekly shower.
Jim...

Ron20324 · Jun 10, 2016

[QUOTE="...BTW don't stop and see woodster unless it has rained in last 2 days or Saturday when he takes his weekly shower....[/QUOTE]

Aw, man... that's just mean.

woodster · Jun 10, 2016

JamesG161 said:
BTW don't stop and see @woodster unless it has rained in last 2 days or Saturday when he takes his weekly shower.
Jim...

lol

woodster · Jun 10, 2016

JamesG161 said:
@woodster Cough cough.... eeehhhhmmmm

i would have mentioned you but i didn't want to interrupt whatever scientific experiment you were doing at that time

like testing my saturday shower run off water for contaminates

Rick Webb · Jun 10, 2016

I've spent many nights off of Ship, Horn and Cat Islands. We set a stern anchor and walked an anchor on the beach and buried it in the sand. I have not been out there for a long time. (15 years at least) Smugglers cove off of Cat Island was good and there was a wonderful cove due south of the Biloxi Light House on East Ship Island. All before Katrina so I can't be certain I am giving you good info. Horn Island had a pond in the middle and at least one alligator that was cool too.

JamesG161 · Jun 10, 2016

JohnnyMac said:
JamesG, When you mentioned the swift tidal current, are you saying you wouldn't spend the night anchored off of Ship or Horn?

Since the islands are closely spaced, the falling tide is "pushed" between the islands and sweeps on the south side. It is a trench so to speak. We anchor with a 6:1 scope just outside that trench. Never have moved, once my sand bottom Danforth is set.

If you swim to shore, take a long line to pull yourself back to the boat if on a moving tide. Usually a 50' works.
Not treacherous but you need to be aware.

Horn has less flow on the north side.

Ship has an excursion boat to the Old Fort and has concessions near there. East Ship is rustic camping.

woodster said:
like testing my saturday shower run off water for contaminates

You better be beyond the 3 mile limit on Saturday and away from Petit Bois.

[B]woodster said:
scientific experiment you were doing

He is only in AWE of my science, after showing him how to make water run up hill without electrical power. Good for "off the grid" preppers or fear of Zombies crowd.

Rick Webb said:
Smugglers cove off of Cat Island was good

It is shallower now. My 5' draft has to stay a bit outside of the south east side cove and still great foul weather protection. Actually the best protection outside a coastal harbor.

Jim...

Sandy Stone · Jun 11, 2016

You don't want to go inside on the ICW? Surely your mast will fit under the Perdido bridge. It's much more scenic IMHO and you would be able to anchor out in, say, Ingram Bayou. (And stop at LuLu's)
If committed to going outside there is a little cove on the south side of Dauphin Island near the east end. When anchoring off the barrier islands be mindful of expected wind direction. If it blows onshore, or even parallel to the shore with any strength, the chop can make things uncomfortable.
I second Gulfport Harbor over Biloxi. Point Cadet is doable but they have fixed concrete docks, and the current sweeps through the marina.

BigEasy · Jun 11, 2016

Definitely agree with Sandy, why not head West in the ICW from Pensacola? Many places to stop along the way including Bear Point Marina, Pirates Cove, Barbour Marina, The Warf and LuLu's. Anchorage at Ingram Bayou is good. After you cross Mobile Bay, you should be able to clear the bridge on the West side of the bay into the ICW. Numerous anchorages between Dauphin Island and Ship Island. Check on Active Captain "Live Map" to see comments about recommended anchorages and comments. Gulfport Marina is great-- a few years old with all amenities & restaurants within walking distance. If you definitely want to do the Gulf, you can do that on the West side of Dauphin and then head back into the ICW if the weather dictates as you make your way West. Have fun!!

woodster · Jun 11, 2016

i have been to pcola from mobile bay via the icw going to pcola and back from pcola to mobile bay on the outside and both runs were great ...there is a lot more to see on the icw than the outside...doing the outside you see tall condos for most of the trip but on the inside there are a lot of things to see and places to pull into ......both were fun for me ....

kloudie1 · Jun 11, 2016

Not much to add..I have been under the Perdido Pass bridge but I really do not like it because the channel is so narrow.. and if ya get on the wrong side of the tide, there is not much room for maneuvering. Your 380 has more mast (~59') than that bridge (54') has space.. We almost always went inside to Mobile bay. It is a long day to Edith Hammock , just east of Ft. Morgan on the north side of the long peninsula. It is protected from the southeast through west so check forecast carefully. You may be surprised about trolling.. at times, the fishing is fine in the bays and behind the gulf islands. On the north side of Horn, about half way, there is an area "the Horse Shoe" on the charts with deep water near shore.. Lots of good places but the afternoon/evening storms need to be respected. Have Fun !!

Sandy Stone · Jun 11, 2016

Clarification - what I called the Perdido bridge is called the Gulf Beach bridge on Active Captain, around Mile 172. Sorry for any confusion. Also, crossing Mobile Bay you can leave the channel at marker G147 and go straight across to the Dauphin Island bridge, you don't have to make the dogleg. The spoil banks shown on either side of the ship channel are not a concern. Do be careful crossing the ship channel, because those ships are really moving. Let us know how it goes!

Sandy Stone · Jun 22, 2016

You were 80 miles out in the Gulf on Friday? We were racing in the Mississippi sound at Gulfport and it was pretty sporty - we saw 20 knots easy. Sounds like you had a great trip, thanks for the report. Tony's is pretty good, isn't it?

Ron20324 · Jun 22, 2016

Hey, Johnny... you're not the guy with three crew missing somewhere in the Gulf, are you?

JamesG161 · Jun 22, 2016

JohnnyMac said:
47 knots was the top I saw.

Ouch!!
When did your jib become a flag? Water Spout? Gusts? Hull speed?

How did your H 380 fair in the open waters and what was the max estimated sea state?

I chatted with @Monty VM about our H 430 model and his 24,000 logged miles. His boat handled 20' seas with no problem.

JohnnyMac said:
When we were in deep water, we headed east to Desoto Canyon

I assume the beginning part of the Canyon or was your boat just "plaining" in the 47 knot winds.

When we go cruising later this summer to Panama City, I will tap you for some nice spots too.

Now the BIG Question...

How big were the Fish you caught!

Jim...

Gunkholes between PCola and Biloxi

.

.

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

.

.

.

.

.

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John