There are cargo terminals and at least one shipyard along the ship channel. This floating dry dock has a research vessel lifted up. The Geo Explorer provides on site (off shore) chemical analyses for the petroleum industry. The ship is 147 feet long and appears to have the hull of a typical tow boat so perhaps this vessel has been converted? They had definitely added a helicopter landing pad high above the fore deck as well as repainting.
On the edge of Beaumont, TX the Intra Coastal heads off East across the "top" of Sabine Lake. With mainly sunny skies the temperature rapidly warmed up from the mid 50s to about 70 with a light westerly breeze. As we were crossing the narrow end of the lake, we were boarded by the US Coast Guard for an inspection. They ask permission and then tell you to maintain course and speed. They come along side and two Coasties stepped off onto our swim platform. They make the process look easy, but it no doubt represents a lot of practice. While I manned the helm, the Admiral went below to show them the relevant documents, life jackets, fire extinguishers, placards (like safe disposal of oil, pump out rules for holding tanks, trash management, etc.) and let them look in various lockers and the bilge (for leaking oil or fuel). After about 15 minutes they came up onto the flybridge to check my ID before giving us a "pass" on the inspection. The photo below shows them about to depart. They are pretty "camera shy" so the Admiral feels compelled to "sneak" a picture of them. The Coast Guard does great work, and besides we had not been boarded for an inspection since June, 2013, which was early in our first Great Loop adventure.
Our destination for today is the Golden Nugget Casino, resort Hotel and Marina in Lake Charles, LA about 61.1 miles away. I underlined the "and" for emphasis since the marina is small and only accommodates 10 boats (up to 200 feet long). The casino has only been open about a year, and the marina looks even newer. As is typical of the waterfront resort hotels with small marinas, the reservations staff never seems to know that they have a marina let alone how to take a reservation. Even though the Admiral had filled out a lengthy application and submitted it electronically a day earlier, it took several phone transfers before they could accept a reservation. Oh well, even at a relatively high charge of $2.00/foot, we had the cheapest room by far (!), and the amenities are superb.
About 9 miles South of Lake Charles we turn North off the GICW and head up the Calcasieu Ship Channel (and River) to Lake Charles. Lake Charles is a busy port with refineries as well as loading docks for coal and machinery. The photo below shows a heavy lift freighter taking on a load of coal. The conveyor belts bring coal from a large stock pile barely visible in the back left. The coal arrives by barge from NE Alabama or the Midwest.
This same ship had probably just unloaded heavy machinery before loading the coal for its return trip (to Europe?). Oh joy! The U.S. economy at its best by importing finished goods and exporting raw materials... The next photo show a close up of this same heavy lift ship where you can clearly see the big cranes for off loading cargo.
The red triangular looking objects at the base of the cranes are clam shells that can be attached to the cranes to unload the coal at even small ports.
The next photo shows an ocean going tug-barge combo. The barge has the (pointed) bow of a ship with a notch in the stern where the bow of the tug fits inside. It could easily travel to Caribbean Islands or other ports around the Gulf of Mexico since this configuration could handle much larger waves than a regular barge like we have been seeing.
The last photo for today shows Lucky Us docked at the Golden Nugget. Seems like some pool time is definitely in order. Maybe a few trips around the Lazy River followed by some hot tub time? The NCAA Men's Basketball Final Championship Game comes on TV at 8:00 pm. Thus, I suspect we will be seated at dinner in one of the many restaurants just in time to watch the game. Following the game I am also pretty sure that there will be a pretty serious discussion about staying another day. I will definitely be a push over when this discussion happens...
Lucky is already looking very anxiously at the nice green grass just a few feet away on shore. She has not been on shore for some 30+ hours so I am sure she is anxious.
Hello Neighbors - we are the couple that owns little Sadie the little terrier that does her best to become friends with your Lucky. They bark at each other and wag their tails! Guess that's dog talk for something, who knows?
ReplyDeleteI've been checking your progress each day, incredibly interesting stories. Loved the story about the Coast Guard.Safe travels to you all - Pat & Dick Maddox
Pat & Dick, Well, we guess that your dog walks will be much quieter for a while... Lucky seems to be adjusting to her new home on the water. Since she does not have you and Sadie to bark at, she even barked once at the boat's wake the other day...
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