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Sailing Mississippi Coast

tfrere

tfrere

Thomas McNulty
a couple of buddies and I set out this weekend on the Mississippi coast. We are anchored at Cat Island tonight. We need to head back tomorrow because of work commitments. it is beautiful weather in the Deep South this time of year. .
 
Yes we did Jim. It took us about 12 hours to get to the south side of Cat Island to an anchorage, Smuggler's Cove. It was a very nice trip and I was very pleased with the boat.
 
Tommy
I know you told me before, but is there a lock to leave the lake? How did the new engine perform? Is that the first time you have made the trip out?

Jim
 
No Jim, there are no locks to leave but I have to get two train bridges and US Highway 11 bridge to open. I also cross under Interstate 10 and U.S. 90. It is a fairly easy trip but with the short days, it takes about 12 hours to get there so we anchored on the way there and on the way back. Take a look at the map below. My boat is in Mandeville, on the north side of the lake just to the east of the Causeway that crosses the lake North to South. I went to Cat Island which is south of Gulfport, Mississippi.
The new engine performed great. We rarely had good wind on the trip so we motor-sailed most of the way. I think I put about 18 hours on the engine on this trip.
I have been out of the lake before but it was years ago on my previous boat, a Hunter 27.
I have gotten pretty spoiled sailing in Lake Pontchartrain. The depth is roughly 12' from bank to bank so I never have to worry about running aground. Since the lake is 24 miles across and 40 miles long, I can do a lot of sailing within the lake. Once outside of the lake we had to carefully watch water depths on the GPS and charts.

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Here are a few pics from this trip. The first picture is the Super Moon early in the morning.
 
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Tommy
Great shots. Is that a snake on the deck by the port shrouds??? I guess he is a little easier to handle then a gator to chase the birds. We missed the super moon up here, it was cloudy. So without a lock the lake must be brackish? Is there any tide range there? I hope your trip gave you a taste for going farther afield. There's a lot of cool places to visit by boat.
I spent the morning today looking for my drawings for the dish rack, without much success. I'll take a lot of photos of it and add the basic dimensions the next time I'm at the boat.

Jim
 
That is a rubber snake. The eastern part of the lake is brackish but we are pretty fresh where my boat lives. A high tide is no more than 2'. We get storm surges from hurricanes though.
I'd like to go further but Kathleen is reluctant for now. Her mom is 92 so she wants to stay close to home.
I'm interested in how you attached the dish rack to the cabin. Also, does forward side of it line up with the forward side of the sink?
 
Tommy
I guess that snake does't eat much. Bet it does a good job with the birds. A 2' rise in the whole lake would entail a great deal of water entering through the inlet from the Gulf. How fast is the current there? Life has a way of changing. Cruising is what happens when those changes occur.

Jim
 
It can be a fast current, especially after rain. I didn't have too much the other day but I hear of it being hard to get upstream in a fast current. Most of our tides are less than 2'. That is about as high as it ever gets.
 
Tommy
Here on Long Island Sound we have a 7' range of tide. We have to pay attention to the currents throughout the sound and when we have wind against current. But it doesn't stop us from going places. Always wondered how Mobile Bay is as a cruising ground. Looks like a lot of places to explore. We also want to check out the west coast of Florida.

Jim
 
Jim , Come on over the waters warm ! Tampa bay, Clearwater , the sponge docks at Tarpon Springs and
the beautiful beaches of Sarasota .
 
Lee
Thanks for the invite. Our trip South this year was postponed. We'll try again next fall. The West coast of Florida is certainly on our wish list. Many of our cruising friends have done it and loved it.

Jim
 
jimcleary said:
Lee
Thanks for the invite. Our trip South this year was postponed. We'll try again next fall. The West coast of Florida is certainly on our wish list. Many of our cruising friends have done it and loved it.

Jim
Click to expand...
Maybe we should all sail along in a flotilla from the North East New England
 
That would be a great idea. There are many M38's along the way to stop and visit. Only it would have to be a leap frog sort of thing. Trying to keep a group of boats traveling together on the ICW is like herding cats. Easier if boats move at their own pace and meet up at places along the way.

Jim
 
jimcleary said:
That would be a great idea. There are many M38's along the way to stop and visit. Only it would have to be a leap frog sort of thing. Trying to keep a group of boats traveling together on the ICW is like herding cats. Easier if boats move at their own pace and meet up at places along the way.

Jim
Click to expand...
That was my idea...independently arriving at places together could be fun and safe traveling...like you go first let me know if it's deep enough
 
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