Freeport to Morgan City February 2011

February 13th—Finally got a weather break so we headed out to Offatts Bayou in the Galveston area. Great place to anchor; plenty of room, walking distance to stores and you can dinghy up to a restaurant.

February 14th—Our plan was a relatively short sail to the Bolivar Peninsula but we didn’t like the anchorage so we pressed on to Taylor Outfall Bayou. It’s a beautiful area in the middle of the Big Bayou Wildlife but loaded with mosquitoes.

We circled two hours waiting for the Ellender Bridge to open.

February 15th---We had a sunny, clear day with Force 3 winds as we crossed into Louisiana. We anchored in a very serene Oxbow off the Calcasieu River. An oxbow is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake.




February 16th---A short trip to the Bow Tie Marina for diesel & water. It’s 10.7 miles up the river in the Contraband Bayou. It’s a beautiful ride through the swampland; lots of Cypress trees and knees with moss hanging everywhere. The marina owners were wonderful and we decided to spend the night so that we could go to the L’Augerge du Lac Casino. Great food but not much luck gambling.



Calcasieu Locks

February 17th---A cool, cloudy day as we headed east 49.7 miles to the Mermentau River and stayed in an oxbox just north of the ICW.

Leland-Bowman Locks

February 18th---We spent the next night at Bayou Petite Anse which was close to our destination, Avery Island.

February 19th---Since we were not comfortable leaving our boat for the day at Bayou Petite Anse due to the lack of swing room, we headed up the Bayou to Delcambre where we fueled up at LeBlanc’s and tied up to their dock. We then had an 8 mile dinghy ride over to Avery Island where the Tabasco Factory is located. We enjoyed the day getting a tour of the factory and having very tasty Crawfish Etoffue for lunch.

February 20, 2011---Morgan City, 59 miles east, is a “must see” according to our cruising guide. It has a small quaint historic area but the huge hardware store is what got Joe interested. Unfortunately, it was Sunday so it was not open. We spent the night at the city dock.

February 21st---One normally gets disappointed when fogged in but if one gets to go to the hardware store, it’s okay. By the time we got through all the aisles, the fog had lifted and we were on our way east to Houma.