Intracoastal City plus 84 Miles

April 23, 2009
The alarm went off at 5:00 and we got up, ate breakfast and headed out. It is still dark when we leave the dock at about 5:45. The depth finder is not working again. It pops up occasionally then goes off. Finally, it goes off permanently. I reboot it, I unplug it, I cut the power to it, I unplug it again, I reboot again. Nothing helps. It will not work. Today we are going through Louisiana swamps and it concerns me that we don’t have anything to indicate the depth.
We are making good time. There are two pontoon bridges ahead of us. The waterway guide says they will not open from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. We are not going to make it by 2:00. In fact, at this pace we will get there right about 2:00, so I slow the engine to try to make it about 4:00 or a little before.
For lunch, I make tacos. They are actually pretty good. The stove and oven work well on the boat and meals are actually easy to cook. The only issue is simmering something. The stove burns too hot to simmer very well but I’ve started moving the pan so the flame is just under an edge. That works pretty well.
The waterway was wide and protected with a few exceptions. The winds picked up to the twenties so the exceptions–places where we had to run across bodies of water–had heavy waves and were difficult to navigate, but we made them all just fine.
About 3:00 we looked up and there was our first pontoon bridge! I did not intend to get here so soon. I radio the bridge tender and ask about the openings and if there was any way to get through before 4:00. He said, "Sure. We will open anytime." That meant we wasted an hour thinking the bridge was timed. We were still early, though, so this was okay. I asked the bridge tender if the second bridge was timed–the guide said it was–and he said no that we could go through anytime. And, we went straight through the next bridge and lock.
After these, the next bridge is Ellender Bridge. It is timed. In fact you have to book the opening 24 hours in advance. As instructed in the waterway guide, I tell the bridge tender at the second bridge that I want to schedule a 6:30 AM opening of the Ellender Bridge and she tells me she will get it set up.
At about 4:00 we arrive at the Calcasieu River, our destination, with an anchorage just a mile up. This is a busy harbor with large ships and big barges. We cross the river and head toward the anchorage.
The anchorage is a small outlet off the ICW that winds back up into a marsh. Our depth sounder is still not working but the waterway guide says we will have six to seven feet of water and the charts say ten to twelve. It sits about a half mile from the Ellender Bridge. Perfect for a 6:30 opening because we will sleep until about 6:00 then get up and get going in time for the opening.
When we arrive at the anchorage I began easing in. Bump. We hit bottom, so I back out to try again a little way over. Bump. Bump. We hit again. This time we bumped up on top of the soft mud. The boat does not want to back off. I straighten the rudder and rev the engine and we finally slide off. So much for anchoring.
The only choice we have is to go up the Calcasieu River to Lake Charles, a ten mile diversion. So, up the river we go with all this heavy industrial traffic. It takes over an hour and a half. That means, to make the bridge tomorrow, we have to get up at 4:30 and be off the dock by 5:00. I tried unsuccessfully to radio the Ellender Bridge to change the time.
The depth finder starts working.
When we finally make it to the Lake Charles area, we learn that the casino/hotel L’Abaurge has a marina. If you have to stay in Lake Charles, why not dock at a casino? We go in and I back, professionally I might add, into a slip and tie up with the help of a man from a neighboring boat.
It turns out that he and his wife are taking their power boat to the Exumas next month. They have scheduled eight weeks off. I tell them that we’ve been traveling from the Keys for almost four weeks and that I cannot see how they will make it. I also tell them about our blog so they can see our trip and go to the same anchorage/docks we did, if they want. I get them all worried they will have to cut out parts of their trip. They are going to do further research.
Linda and I clean up and head into the casino to gamble for a little while. We have a good time but are back in the boat by 9:00 and in bed by 10:00.
Post again tomorrow
Royal Crescent.