When we left Houma this morning. We only had 70 miles to travel but it
includes two busy locks on either side of the Mississippi River. On the West side of the river their are
usually two options but a bridge repair has one lock unable to operate so we
only have the southern lock (Algiers Lock) available. This means,
that after exiting the lock into the Mississippi River we will have to go up river (probably at about 4-5 miles per hour against the current) to get to
the Industrial Canal and our second lock.
We expect the journey up river alone to add 1 to 1-1/2 hours to the trip. When the Admiral called the Algiers Lock (our first lock) on the phone a few days ago, they claimed that
they will not make pleasure craft wait more than two hours so we assume that
means about a three hour operation including the actual locking process. Then we have the Industrial Lock on the East
side, which is known for their Southern Hospitality (NOT). We don't expect to have to wait as long at
this lock but you never know. After that
we have two busy railroad bridges that have also held us up in the past. All this to say, that even though our Chart
Plotter has us arriving around 3 pm we could easily arrive as late as 10 pm
+/-.
The scenery from Houma to the western edge of New Orleans is pretty much the as other parts of the coastal plain that we have been travelling through the past couple of days. One sight in Houma that I found interesting was this close up view of a small tug in a floating dry dock. The boat was so short that is was sideways inside the dry dock. This gives an excellent view of what the hull shape is below the water line. The bottom curves up at the bow and is flat until the stern 1/4 of the boat where the propellers and rudder are located. This geometry helps to protect the running gear (i.e. the props and rudders). From port to starboard (left to right) across the boat the bottom is flat. A "flat" bottom would not be a seaworthy design for an open body of water (e.g. the Gulf of Mexico, but it works quite well on the rivers and waterway. If the boat had a v-shaped bottom, it would have to have a much deeper draft (depth) to have the same amount of buoyancy. the daft of a vessel is important in shallow waters where these tow boats generally operate.
One other fun thing was passing this ship's bow and the pilot house on the dock alongside the waterway. I know of several instances on the great Lakes where people have had the bow pilot house section of a lake freighter scheduled for scrapping cut off and transported to make a lakefront home. So, anyone out there looking for a unique waterfront getaway, this might be your chance...
Here is the Admiral with Lucky and both are bundled up in the chilly breeze. The temperature is just in the mid 50s with high humidity. Also, we were travelling into the light southeast breeze. The net effect is that you feel "cold" just sitting there. Well, in all honesty Lucky did not have any say in the matter as she was just assumed to need a cover. It didn't seem to have any positive or negative effect on her ability to fall asleep quickly.
Approaching New Orleans, we encounter the first of a system of dikes/levees that surround and protect the city from floods and storm surges off the Gulf. We pass through a very large flood gate across the waterway, and also see the pumps (inside the taller structures on the right) that help to remove water from inside the protected area. Floods on the Mississippi can originate many miles up stream, but heavy local rains can dump a foot or more of water in 24 hours. Immediately after passing through the gate (i.e. the gap dead ahead), the waterway splits into two with one branch heading SE to the Algiers Lock and the other heading NE to the Harvey Lock.
We continued along the waterway to the Algiers Lock, and we were told by the Lockmaster that we would be included in the second lock through. We had been optimistic when we arrived since there were only three tows waiting for the lock and one was actually in the process of loading into the lock. So, we began the "dance" of station keeping while waiting for our turn to lock through. The picture at the left shows the gate of the lock that had closed behind us.
We were already in the process of being raised 9.1 feet to the level of the Mississippi River. This picture shows the towboat Cindy R with her four barges that are two wide by two long. We would not normally be allowed in the lock with barges since so many of the barges are red flagged, which means that they are carrying a hazardous cargo. However, these dry cargo barges do not carry hazardous cargo (and they are empty as well). There were also two other power boats in with us, including the oyster boat on the left.
After exiting the lock, there is only about 150 yards until we are in the Mississippi River proper, but in the mouth of the channel between the lock and the river proper there is a whirlpool generated by the river. Thus, things get exciting very quickly. We checked in with New Orleans Marine Traffic on channel 12, and he gave us instructions to stay along the west (our port) side of the channel until a down bound tow passed and then to cross over to the east side. The river here is very busy with both barge and ship traffic. One of the funny sights was two tractor tugs moored stern to stern, which made it look like a tug of war between them (pun intended). Tractor tugs are a relatively new type of highly maneuverable harbor tug. They have a "saucer" like hull with one of two different types of propulsion. One is a z-drive where the propeller unit looks like the lower unit on an outboard motor that sits underneath the hull and is able to rotate 360 degrees in a full circle. The other type is a rotating, round, horizontal plate at the base of the hull. Extending perpendicular to the edge of the plate are 4 to 6 blades that can change orientation at any location as the plates rotate in order to maximize the contribution of each blade to the propulsion in any direction. Both of these drives are very efficient, but they are vulnerable to debris in the water. Thus, they are protected by an array of pipes that act much like a baseball catchers mask. On any given tug there are two to four of these drive units, which also serves to maximize the leverage that the tug has as it pushes or pulls a ship from any direction of the tug relative to the ship.
As directed, we crossed over to the east side and continued up river. We then passed a crane barge loading scrap metal for export. It is interesting to note that cranes on this heavy lift ship could load the ship by itself. Possibly some sort of union thing going on here (?). Anyway, here we go again... Export cheap scrap metal and then import it back as a car, TV, or whatever.
After we had travelled about 4 miles up river, we approached the turn off for the Industrial Lock. This was our closest approach to downtown New Orleans so here is a picture. Sorry, but it is totally back lit by the Sun... However, we will get to see the French Quarter up close since the marina has a shuttle to that area.
Once inside the Industrial Canal it is only a few hundred yards to a bascule bridge just before the lock in the direction that we are travelling toward the lock. We were given instruction by the Lockmaster to moor on this wall until a tow exited the lock. Looking behind us on the wall (photo) is a small sport fisherman and a oyster boat barely visible behind him, both of which were with us earlier in the Algiers Lock.
The next photo is looking forward at the bascule bridge, which is only a matter of a few feet in front of the lock. After the tow exited the lock and passed through the bridge, we had permission to enter the lock. But wait... We still had to call the bridge to request an opening. Why? Surely, this could all be done in one call on the radio, but the bridge is state owned while the lock is federal so they probably don't talk to each other (officially at least)... Anyway, in the lock we went back down just as we had gone up to enter the river.
After we exited the Industrial Lock we had a few miles and two railroad bridges to pass through. One bridge went up ahead of us for another boat and stayed open for us, while the other one was already in the up position. So, this part of the trip went very smoothly. I said earlier that we only had about 70 miles to travel, which should have taken about 8.5 hours with no waits for locks or bridge openings. However, we pulled into our mooring along side this floating dock about 12.5 hours after we had started. Disappointed? Hardly, our timing was within our best case scenario and best of all, we made the whole trip in daylight. About three years ago when we made this similar trip, we arrived several hours after sunset...
We decided to go to the marina restaurant for dinner, and we were treated to a live performance by a Zydeco group. They also did a lot of really old classic rock & roll like Fats Domino. I'm certainly not am expert on Zydeco, but the Rock and Roll was really very good.
It probably is no coincidence that this group played Zydeco music since the big weekend music festival in New Orleans features Zydeco music. Anyway, I had broiled red potatoes and 18 broiled shrimp
Gonna sleep well tonight!
The scenery from Houma to the western edge of New Orleans is pretty much the as other parts of the coastal plain that we have been travelling through the past couple of days. One sight in Houma that I found interesting was this close up view of a small tug in a floating dry dock. The boat was so short that is was sideways inside the dry dock. This gives an excellent view of what the hull shape is below the water line. The bottom curves up at the bow and is flat until the stern 1/4 of the boat where the propellers and rudder are located. This geometry helps to protect the running gear (i.e. the props and rudders). From port to starboard (left to right) across the boat the bottom is flat. A "flat" bottom would not be a seaworthy design for an open body of water (e.g. the Gulf of Mexico, but it works quite well on the rivers and waterway. If the boat had a v-shaped bottom, it would have to have a much deeper draft (depth) to have the same amount of buoyancy. the daft of a vessel is important in shallow waters where these tow boats generally operate. 
One other fun thing was passing this ship's bow and the pilot house on the dock alongside the waterway. I know of several instances on the great Lakes where people have had the bow pilot house section of a lake freighter scheduled for scrapping cut off and transported to make a lakefront home. So, anyone out there looking for a unique waterfront getaway, this might be your chance...
Here is the Admiral with Lucky and both are bundled up in the chilly breeze. The temperature is just in the mid 50s with high humidity. Also, we were travelling into the light southeast breeze. The net effect is that you feel "cold" just sitting there. Well, in all honesty Lucky did not have any say in the matter as she was just assumed to need a cover. It didn't seem to have any positive or negative effect on her ability to fall asleep quickly.
Approaching New Orleans, we encounter the first of a system of dikes/levees that surround and protect the city from floods and storm surges off the Gulf. We pass through a very large flood gate across the waterway, and also see the pumps (inside the taller structures on the right) that help to remove water from inside the protected area. Floods on the Mississippi can originate many miles up stream, but heavy local rains can dump a foot or more of water in 24 hours. Immediately after passing through the gate (i.e. the gap dead ahead), the waterway splits into two with one branch heading SE to the Algiers Lock and the other heading NE to the Harvey Lock. 
We continued along the waterway to the Algiers Lock, and we were told by the Lockmaster that we would be included in the second lock through. We had been optimistic when we arrived since there were only three tows waiting for the lock and one was actually in the process of loading into the lock. So, we began the "dance" of station keeping while waiting for our turn to lock through. The picture at the left shows the gate of the lock that had closed behind us. 
We were already in the process of being raised 9.1 feet to the level of the Mississippi River. This picture shows the towboat Cindy R with her four barges that are two wide by two long. We would not normally be allowed in the lock with barges since so many of the barges are red flagged, which means that they are carrying a hazardous cargo. However, these dry cargo barges do not carry hazardous cargo (and they are empty as well). There were also two other power boats in with us, including the oyster boat on the left.
After exiting the lock, there is only about 150 yards until we are in the Mississippi River proper, but in the mouth of the channel between the lock and the river proper there is a whirlpool generated by the river. Thus, things get exciting very quickly. We checked in with New Orleans Marine Traffic on channel 12, and he gave us instructions to stay along the west (our port) side of the channel until a down bound tow passed and then to cross over to the east side. The river here is very busy with both barge and ship traffic. One of the funny sights was two tractor tugs moored stern to stern, which made it look like a tug of war between them (pun intended). Tractor tugs are a relatively new type of highly maneuverable harbor tug. They have a "saucer" like hull with one of two different types of propulsion. One is a z-drive where the propeller unit looks like the lower unit on an outboard motor that sits underneath the hull and is able to rotate 360 degrees in a full circle. The other type is a rotating, round, horizontal plate at the base of the hull. Extending perpendicular to the edge of the plate are 4 to 6 blades that can change orientation at any location as the plates rotate in order to maximize the contribution of each blade to the propulsion in any direction. Both of these drives are very efficient, but they are vulnerable to debris in the water. Thus, they are protected by an array of pipes that act much like a baseball catchers mask. On any given tug there are two to four of these drive units, which also serves to maximize the leverage that the tug has as it pushes or pulls a ship from any direction of the tug relative to the ship.
As directed, we crossed over to the east side and continued up river. We then passed a crane barge loading scrap metal for export. It is interesting to note that cranes on this heavy lift ship could load the ship by itself. Possibly some sort of union thing going on here (?). Anyway, here we go again... Export cheap scrap metal and then import it back as a car, TV, or whatever. 
After we had travelled about 4 miles up river, we approached the turn off for the Industrial Lock. This was our closest approach to downtown New Orleans so here is a picture. Sorry, but it is totally back lit by the Sun... However, we will get to see the French Quarter up close since the marina has a shuttle to that area.
Once inside the Industrial Canal it is only a few hundred yards to a bascule bridge just before the lock in the direction that we are travelling toward the lock. We were given instruction by the Lockmaster to moor on this wall until a tow exited the lock. Looking behind us on the wall (photo) is a small sport fisherman and a oyster boat barely visible behind him, both of which were with us earlier in the Algiers Lock.
After we exited the Industrial Lock we had a few miles and two railroad bridges to pass through. One bridge went up ahead of us for another boat and stayed open for us, while the other one was already in the up position. So, this part of the trip went very smoothly. I said earlier that we only had about 70 miles to travel, which should have taken about 8.5 hours with no waits for locks or bridge openings. However, we pulled into our mooring along side this floating dock about 12.5 hours after we had started. Disappointed? Hardly, our timing was within our best case scenario and best of all, we made the whole trip in daylight. About three years ago when we made this similar trip, we arrived several hours after sunset...
We decided to go to the marina restaurant for dinner, and we were treated to a live performance by a Zydeco group. They also did a lot of really old classic rock & roll like Fats Domino. I'm certainly not am expert on Zydeco, but the Rock and Roll was really very good.It probably is no coincidence that this group played Zydeco music since the big weekend music festival in New Orleans features Zydeco music. Anyway, I had broiled red potatoes and 18 broiled shrimp
Gonna sleep well tonight!
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