Commercial traffic and mosquitoes

Svmelos
Fri 16 May 2008 22:22

Friday May 16, 2008 ICW close to Houma, LA Lat 29° 32.15’ N, Long 90° 45.87’ W

 

Yesterday, the weather cleared and we left the little commercial boat dock which had a few slips for transient pleasure boats at about noon after taking care of a few jobs on the boat and having a much needed shower. We made it to a place to anchor last night which the only other sailboat, for that matter the only other pleasure boat we have seen, told us about. There are very few places to pull off the waterway along here and almost no marinas or any other amenities.  First we tried to nose slowly into a little side channel with the promising name of Hog Bayou, but we almost ended up wallowing just like the name, after getting stuck in the mud until a passing tow altered course and sped up to give us a big wake which set us free. The ICW in Texas and Louisiana is mainly used by commercial traffic. It’s fun to see the names of the towboats. One company is not taking any chances, with all its boats having names such as Risen Saviour, Divine Mercy, Redeemer, Sacred Heart and John 3:16. It’s great having our AIS to let us know the names and see who is approaching around a bend so we can call them on the radio by name. It would be a lot harder to do this with only 2 crewmembers without it.

 

Our anchorage was safe and beautiful, and like most of this area, very remote and wild. But the only wild animals that got us were the mosquitoes! We had to sleep with the sheets pulled up over our heads. It’s weird to think that most people never experience this, as they rush by on the highway. Some people say the “ditch” is boring but I don’t think so. We didn’t plan to do it this trip, but we’re having fun anyway.  It’s also giving us some much needed time to get into our cruising routine and do some more jobs on the boat. Tonight we should get to Houma, and tomorrow to New Orleans where we hope to pick up our repaired sails.

 

Janet