Shakedown Cruise ~ Texas to Alabama
After over one year of preparing we untied the lines from our home slip at Houston Yacht Club, HYC to head out for a shakedown cruise. Our goal was to spend 3 weeks traveling from upper Galveston Bay to Fairhope on Mobile Bay in Alabama, which is where we start our journey on America’s Great Loop.
Day 1 - Houston Yacht Club to Sabine Pass
We left HYC under cloudy skies and with a slight head wind at 7:00 am on April 18, 2023 and headed down Galveston Bay. Near the mouth of the bay we turned east to join the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, GIWW and traveled along the GIWW inside Bolivar Peninsula until we reached Sabine Pass Port Authority marina at 5:00 pm after traveling 81 nautical miles.
For reference 1 nautical mile, NM equals 1.15 miles and 1 knot, KN is 1 nautical mile per hour, which is 1.15 miles per hour.
The only problem encountered on the first day was that the boat would not plane, which meant it would not speed up to cruising speed. After some panic and confusion I realized the breaker for the trim tabs was off. Once this was corrected the boat planed and sped up nicely, day 1 disaster adverted. The Crew was credited with asking about the breaker.
Day 2 Sabine Pass to Lake Arthur
Our second day continued along the GIWW in to Louisiana and after a few hours we turned up the Mermentau River to the town of Lake Arthur. We traveled 94 nautical miles in total during the day through beautiful cypress swamps and once in Lake Arthur we docked at the municipal dock where we were met by the town’s mayor.
At the municipal dock in Lake Arthur we tied up along square timbers. In order to protect the boat from the movement caused by the chop of the lake we deployed our fender boards, which is a 2”x6” plank hung in front of our fenders.
During our second day I became acutely aware of the balance between speed and fuel consumption, or should I say the imbalance of time and fuel cost. I have known for a while that if we cruise at 12-14 KNs we have a fuel economy of approximately 1 NM/gal. If we slow to 6-8 KNs, also known as trawler speed, our fuel economy improves to 2.5 NM/gal. As a comparison on an average 40 NM day traveling at trawler speed takes 2 1/2 hours longer with a fuel cost savings of $80. As we move east and fuel costs increase this cost gap will increase.
Progress has little to do with speed but much to do with direction.
Day 3 - Lake Arthur to Intracoastal City
It was a beautiful morning leaving Lake Arthur and the cypress lined Mermantau River to rejoin the GIWW.
We traveled 53 NMs, much of which was a bypass of the Leland Bowman lock via the North Prong of Schooner Bayou and then the Vermillion River into Intracoastal City, ICY. We were luckily made aware of the problems with the lock early so we could take this detour and avoid having to wait 4 hours for the lock repair.
We fueled up at Shell Morgan ICY, which was a bit of a challenge due to the fuel pump’s larger hose and nozzle indicative of a commercial fuel dock. This meant I had to be very careful to prevent fuel spilling as I topped off our fuel. Fuel was only $3.20/gal, which I am sure will be one of the cheapest we will encounter on our journey.
We spent a lay day in ICY waiting out a passing line of thunderstorms. We also met up with some fellow boating friends from nearby Lafayette for lunch. It was great catching up with them and getting tips on our route as we head to New Orleans and the Mississippi River crossing.
Day 5 - Intracoastal City to Morgan City
We left ICY and headed east along the GIWW to Morgan City, which is on the shores of the Atchafalaya River. We traveled 56 NMs and tied up at Morgan City’s municipal dock, which was right in downtown.
We truly enjoyed Morgan City and were lucky to be there for their annual Porch Fest in Lawrence Park only a few blocks from the dock. We also appreciated the honor system of $30 for our night’s dockage placed in a lockbox and pre-printed envelope.
Day 6 - Morgan City to Houma
After church at the Episcopal Church on Sunday morning in Morgan City we continued along the GIWW to Houma. The day before there had been problems with the Bayou Boeuf lock, just east of Morgan City so we opted to bypass the lock by first heading down the Atchafalaya River and then up Bayou Chene. The river’s outflow current was strong and pushed our speed up 2-3 KNs. Along Bayou Chene we saw numerous Bald Eagles perched in tall cypress trees.
We traveled 48 NMs and docked at Houma’s downtown marina, just off of the GIWW at 3:30 in the afternoon. The place we planned to fuel up in Houma was closed so I reached out to an ex-colleague from Houma and he did some research and found a local commercial fuel dock that would help us out. This taught me to call ahead in the future to make sure planned fuel stops are available. It also reinforced the value of local knowledge.
Day 7 - Houma to Bayou Barataria Anchorage
After one night in Houma we fueled up at Gaubert’s Oil east of Houma where we were pleasantly surprised with $2.95/gal fuel. Once we fueled up we headed towards Lafitte to prepared for our crossing of the Mississippi.
At 5:15 pm and after 38 NMs we anchored just inside Isle Bonne at the entrance to Bayou Barataria. This was our first night at anchor on this journey and it was a perfect, quiet anchorage with the New Orleans skyline off in the horizon.
The wind shifted during the night that caused us to swing on anchor, however the anchor held fine. As a precaution we had two anchor alarms set, one on our Garmin GPS and one on Aquamaps on an iPad. An anchor alarm monitors the boat’s position relative to the anchor and if you move outside a predetermined size circle an alarm sounds. On this occasion all went well and no alarms sounded.
Day 8 - Bayou Barataria to Lake Pontchartrain
This was a busy day and one that I had stressed over during the planning with two locks and 11 bridges to pass. We were able to pass under most of the bridges without needing them opened due to our boat’s height being well below closed bridge height.
The first lock was the Harvey Canal lock, which connects the GIWW with the Mississippi River. We locked through tied alongside a barge, which at first we were stressed about however the barge crew made the process tying up and untying smooth.
After passing the lock we entered the Mississippi river and traveled downstream past New Orleans before entering the Industrial canal. When we contacted the lock we were told to standby to allow a barge with hazardous material to pass. After two hours we entered the Industrial lock with no other vessels. After the lock we had a clear shot with all bridges open all the way in to Lake Pontchartrain.
Once on the lake we traveled west to Orleans Marina, where we spent three nights and enjoyed visiting downtown New Orleans.
Our boat is equipped with a fresh water filter system that holds 5 micron filters. We had changed the filter before leaving HYC, however 8 days in we needed to change the filter again. This taught me to make sure I run the hose at the marinas before filling our tank to clear the system of algae or sediment in the lines. I also ordered a stock of filters.
Day 11 - Lake Pontchartrain to Bay St Louis
After our few days touring New Orleans we back tracked off Lake Pontchartrain to the GIWW to head east to Mississippi. We traveled 52 NMs in 8 hours mainly along the southern edge of Lake Pontchartrain then through Lake Borgne and Mississippi Sound to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
By this point in the journey I had become quite comfortable using automatic route guidance in Navionics, which I then transferred via ActiveCaptain to the boat’s Garmin autopilot system. On this day’s route however it was concerning that Navionics did not recognize the proper opening on the Bay St. Louis railroad bridge, which was a reminder that even with autopilot you need to stay attentive. With that said I highly recommend using these tools; however not to rely on them fully.
We docked in Bay St. Louis at the municipal marina, which was nice and like large portions of the town had been rebuilt after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. As devastating as Katrina was, Bay St. Louis has done an amazing job planning and rebuilding their town.
Day 13 - Bay St. Louis to Pass Christian
After two nights in Bay St. Louis we moved the short distance down the coast to Pass Christian. We tied up at Pass Christian harbor alongside the shrimp boat fleet, after which we had lunch at the Pass Christian Yacht Club.
Day 14 - Pass Christian to Ocean Springs
We continued eastward along the coast of Mississippi, past Gulfport and Biloxi into the quant town of Ocean Springs. We docked at Ocean Springs Harbor, a short walk from downtown. Shoaling in the area just off of Pass Christian made it necessary to take a route more offshore than direct. Better safe than sorry!
Day 16 - Ocean Springs to Pelican Bay Dauphin Island
After 2 days exploring Ocean Springs we headed to an idyllic anchorage in Pelican Cove at the east end of Dauphine Island, which is the western edge of Mobile Bay.
The approach through Dauphin Island was riskier than I would like with depths under 4 feet in a number of places. Luckily we draw less than 3 feet so we were okay, however, shallower than we would like. I need to be more conscious of these details when reviewing the route in the future.
While at anchor we grilled a steak and then ate dinner in the cockpit while the sun set. Our anchorage had protection from all sides and even though the wind shifted and built during the night we had a peaceful night.
Day 17 - Pelican Bay on Dauphin Island to Fairhope Alabama
We woke to a 14 KN breeze from the north however we were well protected in our anchorage. We eased out into Mobile Bay ship channel and made our way to Fairhope, Alabama and the end of our shakedown cruise.
Below is a summary of our cruise, next leg officially starts our Great Loop adventure.
