Two days, 50 miles, Gulfport Mississippi

Sunday 1/19/2014
We have left Louisiana behind us. We had some of the coldest weather we have yet to encounter and both of us have colds, and bumps and bruises, but warm weather here we come.
We did get a chance to travel around New Orleans. It is a city on the mend, with the scars of Katrina visible everywhere. We were jolted over washboard city streets, drove by abandoned destroyed neighborhoods to find beautiful new brick houses all build with flood basements or stilts. On the ICW again we past barges filled with wreckage and abandoned rusted out structures. Our cab drivers both commented that they knew it would happen again. There are new levees, and embankments, but one of the news stories, residents were taking the city and government to court because they evacuated the levee workers just before Katrina. It does seem to contradict all the construction if no one is there to operate the system.

We traveled east through flat marsh land with few signs of any one but the occasional fishermen or barges. We stopped for the night at a place called Rabbit Island, just west of the Mississippi border. When we raised anchor we discovered a black goo, coating our anchor and chain.
We arrived in Gulfport at the Small Craft Harbor. This is a city Marina that is very nice.... we were here last June. It seems that we are doomed to have a Mutt and Jeff show at the fuel dock. Again we fought wind and shallows to finally get tied up and the attendant commented that they had no diesel fuel. Now we did call, and radio that we needed Diesel fuel and no one mentioned they did not have any... oh well maybe when we leave.

have no idea what this once was

View to the Gulf from our Anchor site off Rabbit Island

Old rail road bridge looks beautiful in the early sun rise

We are here until Wednesday. I have ordered an Electric blanket from Amazon. They draw less power than our portable heaters and more efficient for sleeping.  I also have been using the new version app of Charts&Tides that Active Captain recommended. One of the many problems traveling along the gulf is out of date information. This new App lets me update markers as we go with the latest information. If we return I will have current information, and anyone following us will have access to the latest info.
For now we have sun and 50+ degrees.

We let the tugs win today. We saw some pushing (moving) 8 or more
barges. 

a yacht  manufacturing facility. 

Danzinger Lift bridge... I love listening to the
Tug captains call in to the bridge operator.
One asked "darlin, can you open your Bridge just
a tad and I will scoot on by." 

L and N or Almonaster bridge, cool looking tinker toy look

Michoud Canal Levees

Michoud Canal Levees

Part Two, the Mighty Mississippi .... Industrial Lock and finally rest

We made it through the Harvey lock with a minimum delay.Up and then out into the Mississippi River. The current scooted us along and  up the channel to the Industrial lock. This lock had been closed since January 3rd so there was still a back up of traffic. We were told to tie off in a little anchorage while a barge and tugs came through the lock
In this lock they toss you down a line and you are going down to the the GICW water height.

We entered the lock behind another power boat. Their crew two people, older then us were tossed one line and the lock master told us to raft to the other boat. Now this lock is 275' long there were
several other places where they could toss down a rope to us. We were the only two boats in the lock.

The woman on the boat they wanted us to raft to had no experience and thing quickly went squirrely and that is a nice word for what happened. Tom did not hit the other boat but we ended up finally backing up and going behind the first boat after a lot of swearing and cussing and using our dingy as a wall bumper. Not happy at all .
When they opened the lock, there was a huge barge blocking 3/4 entrance, if we were rafted we could not have gotten around the barge.

We finally cleared the lock and the remaining lift brides were a piece of cake.
We arrived at Sea Brook Harbor, showered, called a cab and had fun in the French Quarter.
Tomorrow laundry, and some other errands before we start out again.

Entering the Inner Harbor Lock

North Claiborne Ave Bridge

in the Mississippi with the big ships

We had a wonderful Dinner at the Bourbon Street Rest.
This gentlemen played great music 

Tom enjoying d

The Original Cafe Du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. The Cafe is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It closes only on Christmas Day and on the day an occasional Hurricane passes too close to New Orleans

I enjoyed my Beignets. 

Thirteen long, long miles to Sea Brook Harbor Part One

Thursday 1/16
We made it!!!!
We left our grassy hill, sea wall this morning with frost on the deck. The Inner Coastal lock, which everyone calls the industrial lock was fixed and open and the North Claiborne Ave Bridge was functioning again. We made through the Harvey lock   Sorry this will be a two part Blog.

Harvey Locks 

yes frost, 

Tom working the rope in Harvey lock

our grassy knoll

Lift bridge operators were great  

there were lots of  ship repair docks 

still wreckage left from Katrina

and white pelicans

Some villianery is afoot, trying to thwart our journey east.

January 9th.... Important to note this date
Thursday, finally the weather is warming up and we woke early, last chore to fill my water bottles.-...
No water at the pedestal, the cold weather caused a break in the lines and water is temporarily shut off.  Not to worry we did get the water tanks filled and we would be at a marina in New Orleans by Friday.

We left and with the current had a wonderful ride through the channel, ditch, what ever. Tom even passed (raced) a tug and barge,  well about 5 miles later he noticed the engine over heating and we quickly pulled to the side, dropped anchor, and cleaned out our screens, filled with very icky muck goo.

Off we go and our stop over for the night was a wall by the Boom Town casino.  I don't know if you could call this an official tie off place. There are broken metal pipes and steel re-bar sticking out that you can tie on to.  I have to admit this is one of the shakiest places we have tied to. But for now it will work
So we are here and we find out

 According to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the Industrial Canal Lock, which connects the canal and other sea-level waterways to the Mississippi River, has been closed for emergency repairs since the night of January 3.

On that night, the main operating "bull gear" of the lock, built in 1923, sheered into two pieces, said Ricky Boyett, a spokesman for the Corps' New Orleans district. The lock will remain closed around the clock until January 17 or until repairs are completed, Boyett said.

This lock is the only way to get to the east end of the GICW.

The alternative is go down the Mississippi back out in the Gulf and over to Gulf Port Mississippi.... 100 miles out of our way... and we need fuel. 

Now tomorrow we will see if a few places mentioned really are open, have fuel and if we can get into them.  Rent a car and truck gas cans of fuel to the boat to fill tank... Go back to Houma to wait out the lock getting fix, at least we had electricity there.  Or wait here and hope it gets fix sooner than later.

But I saw an eagle catch a fish and got a photo. 

Tug boat race

we are gaining on it

beautiful sunrise to a promising day 

first we wait for traffic

construction of an oil rig platform

my fishing Eagle

This ship really is taller than that bridge

one of the new levee's that have been built 

yep we are tied to re-bar and broken pipes

Good Morning from Houma

UP at 3 am so decided to add more photos from our Gulf ride. It will be 35 degrees right now, I know in Fruitport Michigan, our home it is 14 degrees and snowing with wind chill warnings, so I should not complain about the weather. They are expecting a low of 21 degrees here tonight, in Louisiana, we need to get further east and south.
Good new ...by Wednesday is will be back in the 50's and we will have filled water tanks, Gas and diesel, washed cloths, replenish stores and we ready to move east and south again.

Traveling down the Houma Channel we passed several construction yards where they build and repair the oil platforms. It is amazing to see them this close. They are huge