Ship's Log
(April 30-May4, 2005, Biloxi Mississippi)
Well here we are finally, at the Point Cadet Marina in Biloxi,
Miss. Today being Sunday, May Day (1st of May). We got in late this
afternoon sometime around 6pm and there was this huge Cobia (a huge fish)
tournament going on. They were holding the awards as we drove into our
slip. The crowd was cheering, drunk and sun drenched. Anyway,
they were listening to the awards; who has the biggest Cobia: $2000 bucks;
who has the second and so on
 .
A typical railroad swing bridge we saw from Lake
Pontchartrain to the Gulf.
Going back to the 30th of April; we spent the day motoring up from some lake east of New
Orleans. We had anchored there Friday night and Saturday night due to
bad weather. The anchorage was just a little side river, which
connected us back to the main channel. We stopped there Friday
afternoon early, due to fear of a cold front coming through. The wind
was fairly brisk, so we dropped a heavy plow anchor and a
Fortress. The plow drug right through the black mud but the Fortress
held just great. We wound up riding that light weight Fortress for 2
days, and just left the Plow to swing in the mud. Next morning a line
of thunderstorms blew through, and it just kept on raining all day Saturday.
I kept busy reading my favorite how to sail a sailboat books. We
briefly contemplated backing up to a marina 10 miles in our rear, but
fortunately we decided to wait it out and see how the weather was going to
be Sunday. We lucked out as the only problem was wind - lots of it out
of the east - so we weighed anchor and got out into a rough chop. We
motor tacked on up to Biloxi without incident.
We briefly put up the sails in Lake Pontchartrain, and
took them down at the first bridge where they remain in Biloxi.
Biloxi, incidentally, has great casinos, if you want to
loose some money. I lost about $20 to $25 in a hurry.
The next casino down as seen from our marina
Plans are not firm yet, we may head out tomorrow for Mobile,
Al or hang here in Biloxi for one more day, depending on how we make out
with the weather.
Suppose our intended movement down the Gulf Coast of Miss,
Al and Fl. is to jump from one port to the next, which means overnight
stays will be either at the hook or in some marina. Anchorages are
free, therefore I'm all for that. Marinas can charge from $32 to $175
( a marina I priced in Biloxi), which gets you a warm shower some water,
power and place to secure the boat.
The second day here in Biloxi we decided to hang out and
wait for a better wind tomorrow for making Mobile Day. Spent some time
shopping in downtown Biloxi, and visited a Hurricane Camille Memorial,
dedicated to those who lost their lives in that 69 storm.
Memorial to those who lost their lives to Hurricane
Camille, 1969
Most of the day I spent just walking; with the exception of
one of our friendly marina neighbors who offered a ride downtown to get some
supplies. People at marinas are the best always looking out for one
another.
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