Barataria Waterway to New Orleans June 1

 We awoke to the sound of fast fishing boats speeding by our scenic anchorage near Lafitte, LA.  After retrieving bow and stern anchors at 0615, we and our small tree frog stowaway headed for New Orleans.  The Algiers Lock, preferred by most of the commercial traffic, has been closed for some time, so tows are stacked up and the Harvey Lock, our destination, is on overload.  We saw many canal-front homes as we moved along, and passed numerous beached tows as we neared the industrial areas.  After passing the Algiers cutoff at 0750 and entering the Harvey Canal, we passed the Boomtown Casino.  It is large, seemingly isolated, and the cruising guides that suggest it as a place to tie up overnight haven’t seen the same crumbling concrete and steel bulkhead which I saw and would be afraid to approach. 

At 0820 we reached the Lapalco Bridge and called the Harvey Lock to check in.  We were directed to stage outside the lock behind a tug (“Moose”), and wait a short while.  An eastbound tow in the lock exited into the river, and a westbound tow was locked through.  Then it was our turn.  At 0945 after Moose entered the lock and was secured, we followed.  The lock attendant took our line, passed it around a cleat on top of the wall, and returned it to us to tend.  Secured, the water began to flow in, and we were raised eleven feet.  It was quite an adventure, and at 1007 we exited into the Mississippi River, which was flowing at six knots and full of debris (logs, etc.).  After entering the river and checking in with New Orleans Vessel Traffic Service, we were hailed by a Coast Guard cutter, asked our destination, informed of a security zone around a new Coast Guard cutter being christened this morning near downtown, and told we would be escorted along the route by a small inflatable Coast Guard boat with a large automatic weapon on the bow.  After Kay steered us downriver through the heart of New Orleans and past the French Quarter, we exited on the east side of the river into the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, and after about 10 minutes idling we passed through the St. Claude Avenue Bascule Bridge and into the Industrial Lock. 

The lockmaster insisted that the port side of our vessel be tied to the wall (Harvey had used starboard side tie), so all fenders and lines had to be shifted to the opposite side.  Kay ended up doing most of this heavy work, as I was struggling to keep the boat floating in the middle of the lock until she was ready.  She does not think highly of this lock or its master.  After being secured, it was our turn to go DOWN eleven feet.  We went from a nice, scenic view looking over the levee at the town below us down to that level.  Eventually we were released from our concrete vault, and moved on under the North Claiborne Avenue Lift Bridge and the Florida Avenue Bascule Bridge.  We turned north up toward Lake Pontchartrain and our marina destination for our stay in New Orleans, requiring the L&N Bascule Railroad Bridge to lift for us (as had all bridges east of the river except Claiborne) and then under the higher I-10 and Danziger Chef Menteur Highway Bridges. 

About noon we arrived off the opening to our marina, and after a phone call that was passed to several employees, we received rudimentary instructions.  We tied up, attached electric cables and hose, and settled in to cool off, clean up, and put our feet in the air.  This facility is primarily an RV park with amenities that accompany that type of facility (showers, laundry, pool, hot tub, bar, casual restaurant/snack bar, movie, shuttle to the French Quarter, daily boat-side trash collection, wi-fi, cable TV, etc.).  At least I presume RV facilities usually have such amenities, not having ever stayed in one.  We did sign up for a month-long stay, as that rate is equivalent to 10 days of the daily rate.  With plans to return home to deal with some business issues and attend a family reunion in Central Texas while the boat is in New Orleans, we decided this was the most economical approach.  A number of vintage planes are flying overhead from a small nearby airport, and we are actually enjoying clouds—fluffy things rarely seen in South Texas over the last three years.  We look forward to some days exploring New Orleans.