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Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No 437

Bonnet Carre to Bohemia
~Bohmeia Beach, LBD Mile is 64.5~
---------Monday, November 6, 2017---------


The Rivergator has paddled through New Orleans and is camped this morning at beautiful but dangerous Bohemia Beach, LBD mile 44.5. Thanks to everyone who met us at Agiers Point and shared a potluck under the rising full moon! Robin, Thomas, Jutta, Liz, William, Ann, Chuck, Alison, Pierre, Jack, Holly, Wolf, Paul, Sarah, Booker, Jacob, Matt... and many others... that was an quite the sandbar feast... and gladdened the hearts and lifted the fortitude of all the Rivergator crew... thanks for the goodies! (Suzanne, my one regret is not accepting those dark chocolate-pumpkin cupcakes... that was bad river rat style). Robin, Thomas, Jutta: thanks for all of the support in preparations. Paul Jr. and Sr. a loud Quapaw whoo-whooop for the shuttle!

BTW: You can follow the expedition by tracking us here: https://share.garmin.com/rivergator


Rivergator Departing Bonnet Carre in Grasshopper -- Mark River prow, Layne Logue stern, Boyce, Magique, Michael, and Msr. Landrineau in-between. Not seen in Cricket Canoe: Lena, Julia, Jamie Lynn and John (taking photos).

Layne's Log

Capt Layne Logue has been keeping a daily journal of the progress of the expedition on the Rivergator Facebook Page, which he calls the "Layne's Log:"

What is the Rivergator Celebratory Expedition?
This Trip is the Rivergator.org Celebratory Trip for the completion of the non-profit free paddlers guide mile by mile on the Mississippi River from St Louis to the Gulf of Mexico (including the Atchafalaya River). That’s over 1,350 miles surveyed and paddled over 6 years. John Ruskey & the Mighty Quapaws during the 6 years... paddled this section at low, medium and high water.... so, they paddled close to 4,000 miles to get this 1 million words of Rivergator.org.
This trip is part 2: north New Orleans (mile 127) to the Gulf of Mexico (mile -12)
Track us LIVE here: https://share.garmin.com/rivergator Updates every 10 min.

Layne’s Log: Bonnet Carre Spillway Park
Day 1
0 miles paddled & 162 miles left

Rivergator Celebratory Expedition is back on the River to finish it out to the Gulf of Mexico.

Everyone arrives at the Bonnet Carre Spillway Park. Rain all around... but none hits us direct. There is a highway pretty close... but the industries around us sounds like white noise.... or if I imagine really hard... waves crashing on a beach ??... which I prefer.

We’ve got two handmade canoes with us: 30’ Grasshopper and 26’ Cricket. They’ll get the job done.

After the sun set... the mosquitoes came out in force and I made it into my tent with no followers.

The 7-10 mph breeze feels good coming under my tent. ... at an air temp of 73 right now.

We’ll start paddling tomorrow at mile 127 on the Mississippi River and camp before New Orleans.

RiverGator out...

Layne’s Log: Bonnet Carre to Twelve-Mile Point
Day 2
18 miles paddled & 144 miles left.

Track us here: https://share.garmin.com/rivergator

Launched both canoes (Grasshopper and Cricket) at the Bonnet Carre Spillway boat ramp. The Corps of Engineers office right there was really helpful and friendly.

The big ships were plentiful here and they’re remarkable fast and quiet. They are SO BIG!

After lunch, the high winds were directly in our faces... causing 2-3 ft waves. A few crashed over our canoe. It slowed our speed down to 3mph. At the Kenner airport, the commercial flights took off over our heads.

We landed at mile 109 LDB and River(Mark Peoples) and Länna cooked up some rice and meatballs... so good.

In my tent right now and I can hear the train across the river and see big freighter ships pass by. The temp is good and it’s supposed to get cooler.

Church bells ring out and there is some police sirens in the distant too.

Tomorrow we land across from the French Quarter at Algiers Point.

RiverGator out...


Layne’s Log: Twelve-Mile Point to Algiers Point
Day 3
14 miles paddled today.
32 miles total paddled & 130 miles left.

Campsite at mile 109. River and Länna start making breakfast at 6:00am. Full moon is just setting and gives a great view of the sky.

Beautiful day to paddle into New Orleans... sunny blue sky with big white clouds giving shade and and there. Unusually low traffic in the this area today...not a lot of big freighters passing us. We did pass a container ship wharf.... so, we’ll start seeing these more often. They are huge ships and can give 10-12 waves.

Surprising to me... are the Tug boats... they are fast and give off huge waves.

Paddling into New Orleans (my first time) was cool to see all the spots I know... but from the river view.

We land at Algiers Point at 1:00pm and setup the tents and clean the canoes... we all head over to the famous local pub... Old Point Bar. It is literally right over the levee from our campsite. Very friendly people asking about our canoe trip. New friends, Rick and Wayne... said we need to eat at “The Appetite Repair Shop”. It was only three blocks away... so I go off exploring the Algiers community. We have a Pot luck dinner coming up at 5pm with great food... so, I didn’t eat there... but I’ll be back for sure.

Algiers is just as old as New Orleans and it shows with the beautiful house and old growth trees. It was fun walking around the area.

At 5pm friends start showing up with some amazing food. It was close to 20 people that showed up in support of RiverGator! Paddles Up! for y’all. Thank you!

After eating... We all circle up in a friendship ring and introduce who we are.

The moon rises after the suns sets and gives another beautiful sky view for all of us to enjoy.

Today was a great day and we all appreciated the friends of RiverGator.

RiverGator out...

Layne’s Log: Algiers Point to Will's Point
Day 4
27 miles paddled today.
59 miles total paddled & 103 miles left.

Today, Layne visits his birth place... Chalmette, La.

Itinerary for today: Algiers Point, Industrial Canal, Algier’s Lock, Poydras Bend, English Turn Bend, Caernarvon Crevasse, Twelve Mile Point, ?Shingle Point, Belle Chasse Ferry, Jesuit Bend, Will’s Point (campsite)?

Woke up and left my tent at 5:50am and the river was thick with fog. By the time we left, the fog cleared... but it didn’t help dry our tents. So, when we stopped for lunch... we laid out our wet tents to dry.

Today we had a lot of traffic around us. Big container ships, freighters, oil tankers and Navy Ships. Some of y’all asked... how do you paddle in a canoe around those big ships? It takes a keen eye to judge move to and direction from ships miles away from you. Other tricks are to watch where the upstreamers go (left or right bank)... which is the slow current. So, we want to be on the other side... because that’s the fast current. And next upstreamer you see will probably follow that other one. But not always a “fact” in heavy traffic and the river changes.

Another thing to judge is parked ships. There was two sections that had 7-8 ships parked down 3 miles. And you have to judge if one of those parked is actually moving.

It’s was pretty warm today with some full sun moments... so to cool off while we’re in the middle of the river... we just jump off the canoe into the river and drift. It’s so refreshing and then we climb back in the canoe... feeling much better.

We had kind of s funny moment... next to a parked container ship was a parked barge with two big cranes on it. We were going to split it... because an upstreamer freighter was coming on the other side. As we got within 100 yards ... John says “that guy is moving!” And instantly he blows his horn once at us (one blast meaning warning. 5 blast means danger life threatening).

We moved out of his with no problem... but we mistook his really slow upstream speed for parked. I was taking picture as this was going on... so, I got a nice picture before I dropped the camera and got the heck out of his way.

Military jets are flying all around us... they are crazy loud out there on the water.

We then pass by Chalmette, LA... my birth place. I was born by the river and my parents moved to Vicksburg by the river. My Dad Louis H Logue worked at the Corps of Engineers for +30 years on the river. It’s always been a part of our/my life and I am so blessed being able to enjoy its beauty.

We’re almost to our campsite for the night at Wills Point (mile 68)... when we spot a huge gator sunning on the sand. He was 10-12 ft and not worried about us at all.
Our campsite was 1/2 mile down... and there are ponds/lakes all over here... so, we are in gator territory for sure right now.

We paddled hard today to make tomorrow less of a hard paddle... so, we landed with 69 minutes till sunset. We pulled up the canoes (because of the huge waves the ships and tugs make) and ran off to setup our tents. Most like setting up their tents way away from each other. I’m the farthest upstream and ... actually closest to that big gator. Ha. But I’m not worried... he’s not going to bother me.

River and Länna cook up another great meal... so kind of vegetable curry with mozzarella and bread. And clean up dishes and off to our tents. The mosquitoes are THICK up in here. You unzip your tent zipper... dive in... and zip up fast. Hehe. And then I get my headlamp on mosquito patrol (to see if any made it inside). All clear for tonight.

Also, note... because I Wi-Fi load my camera pictures to my iPhone ... it reduces the high resolution picture. So, after I get back... I’ll make an Album .

Full moon tonight and it came up a little bit ago... but I’m not going out there to fight the mosquitoes.

RiverGator out...

Layne’s Log: Will's Point to Bohemia Beach
Day 5
24 miles paddled today.
83 miles total paddled & 103 miles left.

Big ships, Big waves, Gators, Eagles and Osprey Hawks.

Fresh cooked apples and oat meal is breakfast. After we finish eating, a 6-7 foot gator drifts by us. And John still dives in the river for his morning swim.

Lots of ships and tug boats kicking off 4-5 foot waves today. They’re easy to ride as they have a large space between the next wave. It’s the short spaced waves that give us problems (yachts and bass boats)... but we see NOBODY out here fishing or playing. It’s all commercial boats & ships.

We pass by several coal companies loading barges. The coal dust is not contained as they drop it into the barges and it gets out there in the river (see picture).

Finally see a bunch of eagles (4) and it was a welcome sight indeed.

We had lunch at Mile 59.3 LDB Break in rock ... sandbar and protection from waves. But watch out for steel cable... it was sticking up and could be a problem.

We land at Bohemia Beach (Lower Mississippi River mile 44.5)... and it’s a fantastic area. Osprey hawks are flying 100’ above us and they are awesome looking.

Wolfe is bring us dinner and we’re just hanging out watching the sun set on this beautiful day.

RiverGator out...

For those just tuning in:
This Trip is the Rivergator.org Celebratory Trip for the completion of the non-profit free paddlers guide mile by mile on the Mississippi River from St Louis to the Gulf of Mexico (including the Atchafalaya River). That’s over 1,350 miles surveyed and paddled over 6 years. John Ruskey & the Mighty Quapaws during the 6 years... paddled this section at low, medium and high water.... so, they paddled close to 4,000 miles to get this 1 million words of Rivergator.org.

This trip is part 2: north New Orleans (mile 127) to the Gulf of Mexico (mile -12)

Links Connected to Rivergator Celebration & Expedition:

Itinerary

Note: Itinerary subject to adjustment according to wind, water levels and prevailing weather conditions. For detailed descriptions of route go to www.rivergator.org

Tues, Oct 31: Preparations.

Wed Nov 1: Advance all vehicles to Venice, park at the Cypress Cove Marina. Shuttle back to Bonnet Carret. Meet and camp at Bonnet Carret.

Thurs Nov 2: 10am depart Bonnet Carret Spillway and head downstream past Twenty-Six Mile Point, I-310 Bridge, Huey P. Long Bridge

Fri Nov 3: 9-Mile Point, Audubon Park, Algier’s Ferry, French Quarter, Algiers Point

Sat Nov 4: Algiers Point, Industrial Canal, Algier’s Lock, Poydras Bend, English Turn Bend, Caernarvon Crevasse, Twelve Mile Point (Full Moon Night)

Sun Nov 5: Shingle Point, Belle Chasse Ferry, Jesuit Bend, Will’s Point, Poverty Point, Point Celeste, Pointe A La Hache, Bohemia Beach

Mon Nov 6: Mardi Gras Pass, Port Sulfur (resupply), Happy Jack, Sixty Mile Point, Tropical Bend, Point Pleasant, Ostrica Pass, Buras Landing Boat Ramp, Fort Jackson

Tues Nov 7: Plaquemines Bend/Fort Jackson Point, Baptiste Collette Bayou, Venice,

Grand Pass Island, Cubit’s Gap

Wed Nov 8: Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Pilottown, Head of Passes, -0- Mile Zero, South Pass, Port Eads, Lower South Pass Island

Thurs Nov 9: Lower South Pass Island, last Camp on Expedition, Gulf of Mexico

Fri Nov 10: Paddle back upstream to Venice, Grand Pass Island, Cubit’s Gap, Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Pilottown, Head of Passes, -0- Mile Zero, final takeout at Cypress Cove Marina in Venice.

Sat Nov 11: Drive back through New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Natchez, Vicksburg, return to Clarksdale.

~ This portion of the expedition is made possible thanks to a partnership with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network ~

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The Lower Mississippi River Dispatch

is brought to you courtesy of:

Lower Mississippi River Foundation

www.lowermississippriverfoundation.org

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