Intracoastal City, LA to Columbus, MS

Total Miles Traveled 2630

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Finally, the winds calmed down and we were able to leave Intracoastal City on April 1^st, traveling 76 miles to an anchorage surrounded by cypress swamps at Bayou Black.  We chose to cruise a long day to get past the Atchafalaya River at Morgan City which is a major commercial barge and ship traffic area.

We passed two oyster boats along the way, I am guessing it is home, and a place of work, for Mom, Dad, and the kids.

On April 2^nd, we cruised 27 miles to Houma, Louisiana.  Another storm system was moving across the country and Houma is a very protected dock, positioned between two high rise bridges, and the only option for several miles.  We stayed here seven days and really enjoyed our time there meeting new friends and exploring the town.

We listened to a local band at a park downtown

I knew those parking meters would come in handy someday.

Best Mate docked at the city dock

This is a full service gas station, I didn't know they still existed.  The attendant is checking the tire pressure after cleaning the windshield and checking the oil.

I wasn't sure our Starlink Wi-Fi would work here as it is pointing almost directly at the bridge.  Worked perfectly though.

We traveled 43 miles on April 9^th and anchored behind Isle Bonne Island.  The downside of this anchorage is its located close to two major swamp tour companies.  I counted nine airboats passing us within a 15-minute time span.  One or two airboats are loud, but several in a group is deafening.  Luckily the last group returns for the day about thirty minutes before dark. 

We dodged quite a bit of vegetation in the waterway on this section.

I was not looking forward to our next day’s cruise.  We must cross the Mississippi River which had been on the rise for several days, it is very busy with ship, barge, and ferry traffic, and we have to pass through two locks, one before entering the river, and one about 5 miles downstream at New Orleans.  The industrial lock at New Orleans is very busy and there is only one place to tie up and wait, and only room for two or three boats.  If that dock is full, our only option is waiting on the Mississippi River until it’s our turn to enter the lock. We have talked to other boaters that have been held up at this lock for eight hours.

There are a lot of commercial companies as we get closer to the Mississippi River.

A new boat under construction.

We departed our anchorage at daybreak on April 10^th and only had a 30 minute wait at the Harvey Lock before getting permission to enter.  After locking through we immediately entered the fast-moving Mississippi with a lot of debris floating with the current and an approaching ship coming up behind us.  I stayed as close to shore as possible as he was running much faster than we were.  We continued down river passing an on coming ship, a ferry, and dodging logs, finally crossing the river to the east bank and entering the industrial canal.  I called the lock master and was instructed to tie up at the previously mentioned dock, we had two tows ahead of us and luckily the dock was open.  We waited about 2 hours before getting permission to enter the lock.  We arrived at the New Orleans RV park and Marina about an hour after exiting the lock.

We stayed at New Orleans for 7 days, attending the French Quarter Music Festival, taking a guided tour of the area, and walking the streets of the French Quarter. 

You never know what you might see in New Orleans.

Security was very tight during the festival, we didn't see one issue during our entire stay.

In New Orleans, they are called streetcars instead of trolleys.

Can you spot Fred, the local gator?  We were walking back to the boat and was not expecting to see a gator not far from the walkway.  Just like traveling the waterways, you always have to be aware of your surroundings.

These are modified shipping containers used at the RV Park and Marina for guest visiting New Orleans.  We stayed in one of them a few years ago, you can't tell any difference from a motel room, they are very nice.

The Cemeteries

The geography of New Orleans is a factor in why above-ground tombs exist in the city.  When the French originally settled in New Orleans the city was surrounded by bodies of water including the Mississippi River, Lake Borgne, and Lake Pontchartrain.  Being surrounded by all these bodies of water lead the city to have a high-water table.  The dangers of trying to bury someone in an area with a high-water table could lead to flooding of the graves or the coffin even being displaced.  It is a common practice to bury all the members of a family, or multiple families, in the same tomb, with names and dates added to a plaque or headstone as necessary.  This was a very interesting part of our tour and I’ve added a link that explains the process.

They ran out of room for the names on the entrance to the tomb so they started on the steps.  This is how most of them are documented.

How to fit 85 bodies in a New Orleans above-ground tomb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhggumD8yKY

We departed New Orleans on April 17^th and cruised 68 miles to the city marina at Gulfport, Mississippi.  The marina is located on the Mississippi Sound, a huge body of water about 90 miles long, with barrier islands along the Gulf of Mexico to the south. 

Cool wood drift wood arrangement at the art museum.

The largest oysters we've had in all our travels combined.

On April 22^nd, we traveled 37 miles, stopping at Biloxi Mississippi to top off our fuel, then continued to an anchorage behind Round Island.  Round Island is a very small island located not quite midway between Pascagoula Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico on the Mississippi Sound.  It is very exposed to any winds from the south and west, but since we were supposed to have light winds from the northeast, we decided to anchor there.  Everything was fine until after midnight when the winds picked up with a changing tide.  Our anchor held us without a problem, but it was a noisy, rocky night. 

Our original plan was to travel to a marina at Mobile Alabama and hold up until we had favorable river levels before continuing north.  After entering Mobile Bay, I found that the river level predictions had changed for the better, and another storm system was approaching in a few days, so we traveled 76 miles on April 23^rd to an anchorage just off the Mobile River at Big Briar Creek.  

Passing a container ship in the shipping channel of Mobile Bay.

It's amazing the number of containers they stack on these ships.  I've read stories of pleasure boats hitting a partially submerged shipping container in open waters.  We watched a movie "All is Lost" years ago about a sailor hitting one.   

On Monday April 24^th, we traveled 69 miles to an anchorage on the Tombigbee Waterway, then on April 25^th we traveled another 66 miles, passing through our first lock at Coffeeville, then to an anchorage at Bashi Creek.  

Another power plant reduced to scrap, solar farm site maybe?

On April 26^th we traveled another 72 miles, passing through the Demopolis lock and arriving at the Kingfisher Bay marina in Demopolis Alabama.   Needless to say, after 283 miles in four days, we were ready to stop for a while.   Storms passed through the following day, north and south of us, causing the rivers to rise for several days.

Demopolis was a good stop, the marina offers a courtesy van for boaters to use for 2 hour time slots.  We were able to restock our supplies and complete several preventative maintenance projects during our four day stay.  We were also able to attend dock tails and meet new friends.

The river levels started to subside so we departed the marina April 30th and traveled 69 miles, passing through the Heflin Lock to an anchorage at Windham Landing.  We departed our anchorage at daybreak on May 1st on a cool, crystal clear morning.  The vivid colors of the blue sky, green foliage, and shades of brown along the shore, made for an awesome cruise up the river. 

This guy looked like he just ate a cow, he was huge.

We have been very fortunate with tow traffic, we traveled 48 miles from our anchorage at Windham Landing, and passing through the Bevill Lock,  without passing one tow.  When we arrived at the Stennis Lock at Columbus Mississippi, we encountered three tows, two southbound and one northbound.  We found a spot to drop the hook and ate our lunch while waiting our turn to lock through.  After a two hour wait, we were able to lock through and arrive at the Columbus Marina.  We have friends here so we'll stay a couple of days to visit before continuing north.