HOUMA TO NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Houma to New Orleans

Our time in Houma was well spent.  Generally speaking, we did a whole lot of nothing.  The weather was pretty cold.  The highs during the day were in the 40’s and the lows at night were in the high 20’s.  It rained a lot.  We had 30 amp plug in power and thus heat.  So, the motivation to leave the warm boat was not really there.  We got quite a bit of laundry done, and we did go out on our bikes a couple times to see what we could find, but we also watched movies, read, and slept a lot.  We met a really nice gentleman from Houston who arrived in a classic wood boat called “Aurora”.  We have friends in California with a classic wood boat called “Aurora II”.  “Aurora” was magnificent in every respect.  I have never seen such perfect bright work.  The wood floors in the boat were like glass.  The owner of this boat was quite fanatical about it, but this boat is definitely a show stopper.  Every year, he takes her from Clear Lake, Texas to some remote place up some river off the Tenn-Tombigsby Waterway where she lives indoors throughout the Gulf Coast hurricane season and then brings her home to her covered (say indoor) slip not far from Houston.  Yeah, that would be nice.  Thus, he was a wealth of information concerning the forthcoming locks, and canals.  Afterall, he has done this trip 20-25 times over the years.  He gave us some very good advice concerning the Harvey and Industrial locks and their nearby bridges.

The first rule when communicating with these locks is to contact them on the radio telling them who you are, what you are, where you are going and what you want:

“Harvey Lock, Harvey Lock, this is the motor vessel Abreojos.  We are an eastbound 41 foot pleasure craft requesting passage through the lock, please.

He stated with importance that we should do this only once; that there was no doubt we were heard; and that to call over and over again would only piss them off and become even more like molasses.  Later you will understand how we followed his advice and actually made it through the locks in very rapid fashion.

Houma is an interesting town.  It’s a combination of urban sprawl with a deep south overtone.  While there are very nice areas, especially near the new park between the twin-spans, and the new hospital, there are also areas that are not very nice.  Many of the streets are literally closed, meaning out of business.  We are finding that in the smaller towns, places may only open for a couple hours in the morning and then not again until the afternoon and then only for a couple hours.  This seems to be the rule with restaurants.  Once again, we are finding our “Places” App somewhat troubling because it will give the name and address of a place and directions to it, but when we get there, the business appears to have been closed for quite some time.  I have no idea how Google can work out updating this kind of information, but it sure would be helpful.  We have been using the “Buzz” function to let others know the information is inaccurate.

The park dock where we stayed was really nice.  Plenty of water under the boat.  The local Harbor Master was a really nice guy.  He would show up every morning on his bicycle and we would chat.  He told me why unions so often fail to gain a foothold down here.  It’s really common sense:  what, you want me to pay you so I can go to work?  I don’t think so.  Moreover, the companies that employ so many people in the ship building and petroleum industry trades pay very well and offer competitive programs.  So, the only benefit of being in a union is that you get to pay the union so you can work.  This is the mindset.  People see things from a matter of fact perspective and don’t get too hung up on the stupid stuff at all.  A lot of common sense.

Well, after 3 days of lounging around Houma, warm and dry, the weather got good so we bid adieu to Houma and moved on.  Our plan originally was to go from there through the locks on to New Orleans.  Then it occurred to me that, this might not work too well as it is a rather long distance, the weather window was relatively short, and any delay whatsoever could mean getting stuck between bridges after “curfew” and possibly having to find our way in at night.  This was definitely not going to be cool, so we decided to select an intermediate location.  This is where Lafitte came into play. 



It was very  very cold when we left Houma, Louisiana.



Lafitte is a small town located on the Brazoria Waterway off the GICW.  There is an ox bow anchorage right at the intersection where we planned to stay.  However, our plans changed.  While in Houma, we were contacted by another friend born from our membership in AGLCA (Americas Great Loop Cruising Association).  Apparently, he was down in Houma and spotted our boat and our burgee at the town dock.  So, he posted an email to us through AGLCA offering any assistance whatsoever and offered his contact information.  He was able to obtain my email address and contacted me there as well.  We got in touch with Steve and had a nice chat.  Steve is another guy who has run this ditch many times and had only good advice to offer.  When quarried about this anchorage, he noted that, sure it was fine, but he had a better idea.  We listened.  He told us that about another 11 miles up the line, there is a bulkhead right in front of the Boomtown Casino, just 4 miles from the Harvey lock (as opposed to 15 from Lafitte).  Although there were not going to be any services (power or water), the dock/bulkhead was free and it was right there in front of the casino.  Again, we listened and off to Boomtown we went.

The ride there was rather uneventful.  There was plenty of traffic, lots of barges, the odd crew boat, but there was one funny guy on the radio.  His boat was the Marie Morgan.  He was a barge pushing 3 regulations strung out with an empty on the head.  He used up more wave lengths announcing himself on the radio than any commercial boat we had ever heard.  We were only a few miles behind him but had to live there and listen to him all the way through Larose, LA.   Finally, we were able to pass him at the top of Larose.  Then we continued having to listen to him for the rest of the day, although now he was behind us and falling further and further behind.

It got really windy in the mid afternoon.  There was this one wide spot in the road where a lake and the GICW sort of merge for a stretch.  We were coming into this area, and there was a barge coming into it from the opposite direction.  Both vessels had the wind on the beam.  I called the barge when we saw him come around the bend towards this stretch and we agreed we’d pass on the one whistle.  So, off we go.  The next thing you know, his barge was spinning out and now covering this entire stretch of water.  I looked at Brenda and said something along the lines of ,”What the F--- is he doing?”  Then he comes on the radio and says, “Hey little buddy, sorry about that, the wind just caught me funny and blew me down.  I’ll try to get her up out of your way here in just a second.”  So, I told him, no problem, we’d slow down and give him as much room as he needed.  His response was something along the lines of, “Thanks for your cooperation, and thanks for working with us, we really do want to try to keep the incidences down.”  Well, you could just sense the muscle power asserted by those 3800-4200 “ponies” as that captain moved the ass end of that 1000 footer back between the lines.  It still gives me the goose bumps just thinking about it.  That captain was really good!

By the time we got passed that barge issue, we were not far from Cross Point where you have to slow to “no wake” speed.  What a cool little town.  As long as you stayed in the middle of the channel, the water was 17 feet deep.  However, as you drift slowly towards either side, it would shallow.  So, we stayed right in the middle making course adjustments of 1 and 2 degrees whenever necessary. There were definitely some beautiful homes along the banks here and then we got into the “Construction Zone.”

I really have no idea what they were building, but it seemed like every tall crane in the country was working in this stretch between Lafitte and the Mississippi River.  Any tug with barges set up to haul concrete, scrap metal, and other building materials seemed to be piled in there and stuffed up on the banks.  Nothing was shoving, but the waterway got narrow because of all the boats and barges banked in there.  So we continued on through at slow speed.  It was nearly 4:30 by the time we got to Boomtown and tied up.



This is the Boom Town Casino.  All the gaming is in the riverboat which is
attached to the building in the back.



Steve’s description of this dock in front of the Boomtown Casino was completely accurate and right on.  We nuzzled right up to it incredibly slowly and tied to two primitive, but strong bollards sticking out from the top of the concrete cap.  The cruising guide we use also described it.  Both Steve and the cruising guide said to use the part where the cap is concrete.  This was hard to find at first, because the grass on the knoll had grown somewhat over the cap.  But, as we got closer, it was not hard to find.  The wind direction and current were perfect to allow us to come up on it very, very slowly.  Still, we had our fenders hung slightly high, so we got to enjoy the sound of mud-covered concrete meeting fiberglass.  No damage.  Not even a scratch.  Just a little mud smudge that Brenda wiped off.  All good!

So, we changed our clothes and went to the casino.  It was just like a small Las Vegas affair.  Lots of lights, gaming tables (roulette, black jack, poker) and seemingly endless rows of slot machines.  So, I pulled a whopping $10 out of my wallet, split it into two fives, gave five to Brenda, and we sat side by side at the Wheel of Fortune machines.  Brenda likes this one.  So, I put in my money, pull the handle and, all of a sudden, sirens go off, lights start blinking, and I had just won $38.00!  Interestingly, in the same amount of time, Brenda lost all five.  So, I immediately cashed out and we walked away.  Hey, I know how this game works.  That $38 would have lasted another 12 seconds, right?  So, now we are up a few and we walked around.  We found another slot machine.  Wow!  Someone had walked away from $26.00 in credits, so what did we do?  We played.  Of course, we lost all but $5.00.  By now, we had made back the five Brenda lost, and were up. So we went to the bar.  There were poker games on the bar so we sat down.  Because we were playing, the bartender comped us on the drinks.  The bartender sounded like a hoarse lizard when he spoke and had nothing but grey rotted teeth loosely spaced.  He stood there for a while and then Brenda said, “Tip the guy.”  So I did, and he left.  Well…….

After a while, we were hungry so we went to the buffet and ate dinner.  The food was mediocre at best, but we filled our tired bellies and made our way back to the boat.  We got to sleep early as Monday was going to be a big day.

Monday was the day we were going to do the big locks – the Harvey Lock and the Industrial Lock.  Everything we heard and read suggested these would be tough at best and that there could be huge delays and waiting times, so best to get going early.  But, you don’t want to go too early because bridges on either side of the locks worked on a restricted schedule.  This meant that they would not open at all between 0830 – 1030 and 1530 – 1745 due to rush hour traffic.  So, I was up early and Brenda got up early, too.  She has to have coffee in the morning and, as a general rule, the boat does not move until Brenda has had her fill of coffee.  So, she made the coffee and then started the generator.  Funny, it started kind of rough.  Then, when it started, it ran fine…….but it shut down with a rumble and a grumble.  Oh Oh.  Now, I’m thinking to myself, “Great!  This is just what I need.”  At that point, we were convinced we would be another night at the Boomtown bulkhead while I sorted this problem out.  Fortunately, it was nothing but a wire crimp that finally let go after nine years.  Because it was at the 30 amp fuse, and was a safety fuse wire, the generator shut down.  Well, it was just like if the fuse had blown, the generator shut down on cue.  It took me only a second to find, and a couple minutes to fix.  The generator roared to life once again, coffee was brewing and all was right again in the world.

At around 0900, we cast off our lines and headed the short distance up the Harvey Canal to the Harvey Lock. 

The Harvey Lock is just up ahead.

We followed our friends’ advice and called the lock master.  We waited all of 5 minutes before we were asked to proceed into the lock and to tie to the starboard side wall. 

In order to get into the Harvey Lock, this bridge has to be raised.

The two work in coordination.  The guide books say to call the

bridge as well, but you really don't have to.  They are on the same

radio channel and they know you are there and what you want to do.

 Within a couple minutes, the doors closed and up we went – an astonishing 4 feet, before the doors began to open.  Now you have to understand something.  I am a California boy.  I spent a lot of money trucking the old girl all the way to Texas, ran several hundred miles in the ditch, and I was about to embark upon the Mississippi River.  My heart was pumping out of my chest.  This was so incredibly cool.

Inside the Harvey Lock.  You can almost tell how big it is.




The Lockmaster told us to go in just as soon as the bridge was completely open.



Brenda was the line tender in the Harvey Lock. 

Notice she is wearingher PFD.

















 


The gate to the Mississippi was opening slowly before us.

 

A little more.....

Finally, the gate was opened and before us ran the Mississippi River.

The gate opened and there it was – the mighty Mississippi River.  We exited the lock and were immediately impressed by the bottom of New Orleans off on the other side of the river.  The river current picked us up and we were just zipping right along; so much so, that I throttled back.  We were at idle speed making nearly 9 knots!  I was exuberant!  I simply could not believe it.  I wanted nothing more than for this ride to last and last.  The weather out was very cold, but the sun was shining and there was little wind to speak of and we were just thrilled. 

We got to travel for about 6 miles before we had to turn off into the Industrial Canal where we would go through the Industrial Lock and several more bridges.

Entering the Industrial Canal Lock.

The time finally came when we had to turn off the Mississippi River for the last time.  We will not see her again for many months and then we’ll get to ride her top shelf.  The Industrial Canal is just that….industrial.  However, we had no problem with this lock either.  We had to wait for about 45 minutes to an hour before being invited into the lock, but it was fine.  The sun was out, the wind was mild and we had nothing better to do.  So, we motored back and forth, up and 

Leaving the Industrial Canal Lock.

down, dodging a couple barges as they left the lock westbound before it was our turn.  Our friend from Houston told us that the last thing the lock operators want is pleasure craft loitering around in the lock canals, so it was very likely we would get moved in and out as quickly as possible.  From our perspective, he was absolutely right.  He was also right about the radio communications.  It will not help to keep calling on the radio.  The key is to be pleasant and patient and let them know that they are in charge and that your passage is at their pleasure and that you understand that.  Then, follow their instructions and you will be fine.



This is the Seabrook RR Bridge.  The last one.

In the Industrial Lock, there is nothing on the walls to tie to, but the folks working at the locks drop lines to you.  Brenda caught the bow line, and I caught the stern line.  Then, we dropped another 4 feet before the big gates opened and we were cut loose into the Industrial Canal where we had a few more bridges to contend with.   Here, too, we followed our friend’s advice, motored right up to the bridge, held station, and radioed ONE TIME. 

  Generally, the bridge operators did not acknowledge, but you knew….you just had a feeling that, they knew you were there and, within a couple minutes, you heard horns and bells, traffic stopped, and the bridge would start to lift.  After we passed through, we wished the operator a Merry Christmas, and moved on.  Generally, we got a Happy Holidays in return.  That was nice.  All the bad things I had heard about this passage were not happening on this day.  (One person noted we were doing this on a week day and actually offered us a “God be with you” warning).

So, we got through the two big locks and all the bridges and were tied up to our reserved space at Seabrook Harbor in New Orleans by 1345.  What an exciting day.

More about New Orleans next time.