Mississippi Sound to Chandeleur Island Advice

[TwistedVet]

Planning a trip on a Catalina 22 with retractable keel this coming summer hopefully to fish the Chandeleurs for a few days, weather permitting. Going to trailer it to either Bay St. Louis or Biloxi to launch but didn't know if anyone had advice on which pass is easier to slip between the MS barrier islands...debating between launching from Bay St. Louis and passing between Cat Is. and Ship Is. or between Horn Is. and Ship Is. if I launch out of Biloxi. Thanks in advance

 

[Rick Webb]

Look at Long Beach or Gulfport

 

[JamesG161]

fish the Chandeleurs for a few days

Look up Fish Haven 12...

There is a safe harbor on North West, at the top.
Jim...

PS: 12 nm south of Ship Island.

 

[kloudie1]

Either pass is fine, well marked.. The one between Ship and Cat Islands is the commercial one but not busy enough to worry about.. Staying to one side of the channel will keep ya out of the way if a biggie decides to go into Gulfport.. Lots of banannas go through that pass. With a shoal draft, you should have no problem getting to the Chandeleurs and being around there.. The prevailing wind is east to east/southeast so you'll probably find shelter on the west side close to the New Harbor Islands.. Water is pretty thin all around there except on the east side of Chandeleur. There can be some current between the New Harbor Islands and Chandeleur.. The tidal range is less than a foot, but because of the shallow water, the deeper channels will have current. Sounds like a fine trip..

 

[TwistedVet]

Thanks for the advice, hopefully we'll find a good weekend of clear weather! Thanks again

 

[Rick Webb]

If you are planning on stopping at Horn Island then launching in Biloxi has some merit otherwise it is way way further than launching out of Gulfport or Long Beach both have excellent ramps.

Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island is an interesting stop as well. Be careful if your anchored near the ferry dock when the ferry comes in it throughs a pretty good wake.

Also keep in mind that there is a propensity for afternoon thunderstorms off shore along the islands.