Cruising between New Orleans and Destin
Robert Spangenberg

This will be random observations based on years of annual cruising and racing along the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Northern Florida coasts.

Before I get specific, I want to recommend that you get Claiborne Young’s “Cruising Guide to the Northern Gulf Coast.” It’s similar to Campbell’s guide to the Texas Coast.  I’m going to try not to duplicate the information in the Cruising Guide. My comments will attempt to supplement it and the charts.

Mr. Young also has a website which records input from cruisers about changes to navigation, marinas, etc. The website is http://www.cruisersnet.net  Click on Northern Gulf on the left side. As you will see, the website has sections that go all the way through North Carolina. Check it often to get whatever updates might be there. And if you find something useful, send it in.

Also, keep in mind that not only were the New Orleans and Mississippi coasts hit hard by Katrina in 2005, but the area east of Mobile Bay to Pensacola was devastated by Ivan in 2004. Don’t assume any accommodations are as described in the Cruising Guide. Please keep in mind too that almost all of my experience comes from the pre-K (before Katrina) period. Many things have changed over the last few years. Always check ahead.

New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain

The two primary New Orleans marinas are the Municipal Yacht Harbor and Orleans Marina. The first is right at the lakefront and was devastated by Katrina. As of this writing (Summer 2007), some derelicts are still on the docks and sunk in the waterway. I believe that the boats that are there are survivors and are simply squatters until the marina is rebuilt. The Orleans Marina is to the south and is operating. You might try for a berth there.

 Southern Yacht Club and the New Orleans Yacht Club are both open and offer reciprocal privileges. Southern’s clubhouse was destroyed in a fire just after the hurricane passed. They are using a doublewide as a temporary. Much nicer than the usual doublewide, though.

Another spot is South Shore Marina, which is a few miles to the east, beyond the Industrial Canal (Inner Harbor Navigation Canal on the charts) and Lakefront Airport. That was also hit hard and I don’t know what its current status is. I’m going to try not to duplicate the information in the Cruising Guide, so I won’t go into the cruising destinations on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain in detail. I’ll just make a few comments.

The Tchefuncte River is relatively wide and picturesque, and Marina del Ray is very nice. To get there, you have to pass under the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which has two humps, at 8 and 16 miles. The 8 mile is higher at 50’ but fixed. The 16 mile is a bascule bridge BUT you have to call and make an appointment to open the bridge. This can lead to delays.

Mariner’s Village at Lewisburg is now too shallow for any but small boats. Mandeville Harbor to the east used to be free to tie up to the docks, with no amenities. It’s a three or four block walk to some nice restaurants. The Pontchartrain Yacht Club is right there.

Oak Harbor Marina, which is between the Hwy. 11 and I-10 bridges on the north shore, is open. There is a good café nearby also. This might be a place to stay if you choose the Rigolets route to the east. More on that below.

New Orleans to the Coast

The first question to answer when leaving the New Orleans lakefront is which way do I go to get to the Mississippi Sound? If you’ve come through the Industrial Locks and you’re not going to New Orleans but headed east, the answer is easy: the Intracoastal. But from New Orleans, you have a second option – go northeast across the Lake and through the Rigolets (pronounced rig-oh-lees), which is one of two passes that connect the Lake to the sea. The Rigolets route has the advantage of being in the Lake for the first 17 miles, so if you have an autopilot, you can take it easy for a while. Just watch out for the crab trap floats. The disadvantage is that you have to go through four bridges, the first two of which are in the Lake. They usually open fairly quickly. The next two are farther on. The first is the Highway 90 bridge at the west end of the Rigolets. A high rise is being built to replace it but that’s some time in the future. The second is a train bridge at the east end. I’ve had bad luck with both of them. It seems that about half the time, one or the other is broken, necessitating a long wait for repairs, or even backtracking all the way back to the Industrial Canal, the second route. Further, even if both bridges are working, the train bridge, which is normally left open, must close if a train is within a certain distance, even if the train is stopped. I have been stuck here many times waiting for a stopped train to start up and leave. If any bridge is broken, you have to turn around and travel for hours to go the other way.

There is a lot of current in the Rigolets. If it’s against you, and it seems to be against me about 75% of the time, stay on the inside of the turns, ie, if there’s a left turn, stay near the left hand shore through the turn. There is less current that way. The annual New Orleans to Gulfport race, which is a feeder race for Gulfport to Pensacola, goes through the Rigolets. When the wind is on the nose and the current is against you, it takes a long time to get through.

The second route is the Industrial Canal to the Intracoastal. There are some bridges but they’re all within the first couple of miles, so if one of them is broken you haven’t gone too far out of your way. The first is Seabrook Highway, which is 46 feet. It’s on Channel 16. All the others , by the way, in the Lake, the Rigolets and on the Industrial Canal, are on Channel 13. Barge traffic east of the Industrial Canal is on 16. The Intracoastal is in a long cut all the way to Lake Borgne and the mouth of the Rigolets.

Just before the Intracoastal leaves the long cut is the Rabbit Island anchorage, which I have seen mentioned in many TMCA entries. It’s the last calm water before the Mississippi Sound. I used to take weekend cruises here when my daughters were young. There are strong currents and it’s deep, so you’ll need to take care when anchoring. Also, since this is the last protected water until the other side of Mobile Bay, the towboats sometimes push up into here to rearrange their barges. You will want to anchor a little beyond the abandoned inland oil platform. We call that platform the Bat Cave because it used to house hundreds of, that’s right, bats, which we could see flying out at sunset. They kept the bugs down, but you probably will find mosquitos here. Also gnats, which can crawl through netting. It helps to spray the netting with flying insect killer. At certain times of the year you may also encounter horseflies, which I read are migratory, oddly enough. The Cruising Guide does not mention bugs so I’ll try to point out those places where I have encountered them. There are a number of otters in and around the Rigolets. If you are up early, you may see one or two on an abandoned barge next to the Bat Cave, which slopes into the water. They will climb up to smash clam or oyster shells on the barge.

When you leave the Rabbit Island anchorage, you’re in Lake Borgne, which has quite a bit of phosphorescence. If you pick up any dolphins at night, you might be able to see their trail in the water when they dive.

As you proceed east, you arrive at Lighthouse Point, the entrance to the Mississippi Sound. Here you can keep to the marked channel or head toward Pass Marianne, which is a little shorter and with less barge traffic. But watch out for unlighted buoys in Pass Marianne at night.

Next we come to Gulfport and Biloxi. Gulfport used to house what was the best run marina I’ve ever been to, the Bert Jones Yacht Basin. For years, the harbormaster was D.J. Ziegler and he kept everything running perfectly. They were as helpful as you could want. Unfortunately, in the summer, the marina was a hellhole. Hot with little wind and no shade. Katrina destroyed it almost completely and there is still almost nothing left. The Gulfport Yacht Club across the way is in a doublewide and doing well.

New Orleans got most of the publicity but at least most of the houses survived. In this area, they were completely blown and washed away. My cousin owned a house in Long Beach and sold it a few years ago. He went back to look for it last summer and at first had trouble even figuring out where it had been. He found the spot when he remembered that he had put down Mexican tile in the kitchen and he located that.

Next is Biloxi. The west entrance channel carries at least seven feet. I know because another cousin has a C&C 40 which draws seven feet and we had no trouble coming in at night this summer. I saw in the Blairs’ log that they stayed in Point Cadet Marina, which still has no power. You might try the Biloxi Schooner Pier, before Point Cadet. I don’t know if they accept transients but their dock was completed last June, after Katrina, and they housed the greatly diminished fleet of racers for the Gulfport to Pensacola ocean race. They did have power and water. They are at approximately 30 23.5N and 88 52.2W. The only number I have is 228-435-6320.

I have anchored in Back Bay Biloxi a few times. It’s quiet, pretty, protected and I never had a problem with bugs. You might consider this spot if you have time or the weather in the Sound is bad: 30 25.66N, 88 54.26N

Ship Island and Horn Island

The Ship Island anchorage is near the excursion boat dock. It’s nice but Horn Island is much better, in my opinion.

Don’t miss Horn Island. There’s an anchorage near the spot called the Horseshoe on the charts. The coordinates of the anchorage are 30 14.209N, 88 39.247W. Horn Island is beautiful – white sand, green trees and lots of wildlife, though I haven’t been there since Katrina. Be careful of the shoals called the Middle Ground to the north and the shoal to the east of the anchorage. The park rangers call that shoal the “sailboat trap.” There is, as the chart indicates, plenty of water between the middle ground and the sailboat trap. The nice thing about this anchorage is that you can get very close to shore, and you can also avoid lumpy water if the wind is from the east. The intermediate waypoints to get you in and out from either direction are in the waypoint database. Even if you don’t have time to anchor overnight, use this route instead of following the Intracoastal north of the Middle Ground. It’s about the same distance. When I cruised back from Florida, I was often pressed for time but I would try to come through here. If possible, I’d anchor even for an hour or two and enjoy the scenery.

If you’re planning on coming in from or going offshore in this area, the Cruising Guide advises that you not use any of the smaller passes between the islands – Dog Keys, Little Dog Keys, Petit Bois passes.  I think that’s good advice. The shoals change weekly here and the charts are inaccurate. Stick to the Gulfport, Pascagoula or Mobile channels.

Moving east, I’ve never been into Pascagoula because it’s such a long way off the path. I’ve read about one or two marinas but I’ve never had the time to look.

I’ve anchored off the western tip of Dauphin Island a few times. It’s pleasant when the wind is favorable. The chart shows an entrance channel leading southeast into Dauphin Island. I haven’t used it in 15 years, but you used to be able to go in tie up briefly, and buy gas, etc  from a Mini Mart. The other channel, on the eastern tip of the island, is used by a ferry and they were never friendly to visiting cruisers.

Don’t leave the Pass Aux Herons channel leading to the Dauphin Island Bridge. It’s very shallow just outside the markers – you know the old saying about not taking your boat where you can see birds walking.

Mobile Bay

When you pass through the Dauphin Island Bridge, you’re in Mobile Bay. This is where the Great Loop cruisers come down on the southbound part of the Loop, to rejoin the Intracoastal. Important Safety Tip:  Don’t even think about anchoring in the area just past the bridge, north of the Intracoastal. Barges come down the Bay outside the ship channel along the western shore to intersect the Intracoastal right before the bridge. Some years ago, a sailboat and its crew disappeared in this area. It was thought that the boat was anchored and hit by a tow that didn’t see them.

I’ve never been up north on Mobile Bay. You’ll have to depend on the Cruising Guide. I have been to the Grand Hotel at Point Clear by land a couple of times. It’s very nice and they do have a small boat harbor.

To get to the other side of the Bay, you can go straight across. You don’t have to follow the Intracoastal dogleg. I’ve never had any trouble cutting through the spoil banks of the Mobile Bay ship channel. I’ve done it on boats drawing up to seven feet. This keeps you away from barge traffic and makes it easier to use the autopilot. There is usually a north or south current in Mobile Bay so be sure you check the gps and compensate if you have to. You can stay north of the Bon Secour channel on the other side of the Bay, to avoid the markers and the barge traffic as well, until you get to marker #118 or so.

Before you go into the cut, which the towboats call the Alabama Canal, there is a marked channel into the Bon Secour River. I went up there once. There are no easy places to anchor and there were a lot of mosquitoes.  There are some repair yards if you need work done. Thise are in the channel that leads off to the south after marker 10.

Halfway down the Alabama Canal is the bridge that leads to Gulf Shores. Just beyond that is a new marina with a bar owned by Lulu Buffett, Jimmy’s sister. I’ve passed by a couple of times but haven’t stopped. There are some entries about this spot on cruisersnet.net. I’ve been told the marina is expensive, as in $3 per foot. But it is as well protected as possible, with floating docks. Something to keep in mind if you’re in the area when a storm is on the way. Farther on, there’s another marina under construction as well.

Perdido Bay Area

When you leave the cut, you’re really in LA – Lower Alabama. From that point all the way to mile 170, you can anchor in just about any spot off the Intracoastal that gives you a protection from the wind. As in most places along the Gulf Coast, the wind direction and strength is determined by the time of year.  In the spring, fall and winter, weather systems are the primary factor. Here, though, in the summer, the wind usually depends on the time of day. At night and in the morning, unless there is a squall, it’s calm. As the sun heats up the land, there is a thermal effect that causes the wind to blow onshore – from the south, until in the afternoon, it’s often fairly strong. If you’re offshore it often happens that within a few miles of the coast, there is breeze. Farther out, the thermal effect weakens and it’s calm. The annual Gulfport to Pensacola offshore race ends at the Pensacola sea buoy 20 miles to the east and it’s often a real crapshoot as to when and where the wind is going to start blowing first. Of course, a summer squall could come from any direction. Despite the gleaming white sand beaches, the bottom is mud.

Wolf Bay is open but a nice place to anchor. The upper reaches have mosquitoes. I have seen Ingram Bayou in a number of TMCA entries. It’s rustic and protected. It can also be crowded for its size. The next inlet on the north side is Roberts Bayou, aka Pirates Cove. There is a pretty good burger joint at the extremely narrow entrance – barely enough width for two boats to pass. I used to carry 5.5 feet through there. That’s also a protected anchorage but my Danforth used to drag on the bottom in there. I never had a problem anywhere else.

South of Roberts Bayou where mile 165 is marked on the chart, is Bear Point Marina. It’s not actually on Bear Point but I guess the name sounds better than Mill Point Marina. This marina took a lot of damage from Ivan but is coming back. We stayed there after the 2006 Pensacola Race and it worked out very well. There is fuel, ice and a small marine store. Dockage is $1.25/foot. Website is bearpointmarina.com. Phone: 251-981-2327. There are fewer marina facilities here than there were a few years ago but these people seem to be doing their best to come back and cater to transients.

Shortly after Bear Point marina, the Intracoastal turns east but there is a marked channel leading west. It takes you to Perdido Pass, which is one of the few outlets to the Gulf. The channel is narrow, and goes almost right to shore in one spot. Also, when you arrive at the Perdido Pass area, you have to go right to the bridge, and run along the bridge to get to a northbound channel that leads into Terry Cove. This spot is a very nice anchorage, with some good marinas and repair yards. If you draw more than 5 feet, be careful. I’ve bumped once or twice coming in here. The water at Perdido Pass is as blue and clear as any along the coast. The channel leading from offshore through the Pass shifts faster than the coasties can keep up with the markers so be very careful about using it.

Back on the Intracoastal, this is one of the prettiest stretches all the way into Big Lagoon. Holiday Harbor Marina is convenient for fuel and ice, at 30 18.78N, 87 26.38W. This is a no wake zone and it’s strictly enforced.

Also, if you have access to a car, there are two good restaurants in this area. The first is the Original Point Restaurant in Inerarity. They have excellent fish dishes – grouper, triggerfish, amberjack, mahi mahi and mullet - fried, grilled or blackened. Try the mullet backbone for an appetizer. It’s unique and delicious. The Point is in Inerarity at about 30 18.86N, 87 26.99W. The other is Trigger’s, which specializes in triggerfish sandwiches. These are also delicious. That’s at about 30 19.25N, 87 24.6W, along Hwy 297.

Big Lagoon

After you pass under the Inerarity Bridge, there is a marina on the right which should be open and which may have space. It should be good for fuel and ice. A little farther east is Big Lagoon, my familly’s stomping grounds for 30 years. This is a wonderful spot. It used to have everything a boater needed, whether all adult or with a family. There were two marinas here, Southwind and Rod and Reel. They were both destroyed by Ivan. Rod and Reel’s property was bought out by a condominium project  which I heard may have gone bankrupt. Southwind is coming back but only has two docks and few facilities. For years, I would keep my boat at one of these marinas for the summer and bring the family for long weekends.  You might try Southwind. If it’s open, it’s certainly convenient for fuel and ice. If you have the option to stay overnight, keep in mind that it’s exposed and somewhat bumpy if the water is choppy. In the early morning, the sportfishermen come roaring by.

A better overnight spot is the anchorage, located east of Redfish Point at 30 19.116, 87 20.549. The anchorage is divided by the marked sandbar, so pay heed to the chart.

Next is one of the nicest area on the Gulf Coast – the Fort McRee Cove, known by the locals as the Sugar Bowl, because when you’re inside, you’re surrounded by white sugar sand. As you approach the  east end of Big Lagoon, you can see a large sand island, shown on some charts as Robertson Island.  The north passage past it is the Intracoastal. The south passage is into Ft. McRee Cove. It’s unmarked but carries plenty of water if you line up straight on the opening. This is a Florida no wake zone so take it slow.

The north side of the channel is used as a protected anchorage. There is current, and if there’s been rain you might get some mosquitoes. Be careful of a point on the south side, just before the cove. At the south end of the cove is where Ft. McRee is located.  This is a fort built I think in the late 1800’s but occupied during WW2. You can climb up there and see where the gun emplacements were. You can also walk through living quarters built into the dune. Bring a flashlight – it’s all unlighted and abandoned.

This is at the eastern end of Perdido Key, and it’s part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. There are no roads or cars. The only vehicle you see is the four wheeler used by the Park Rangers when they come out from the other end of the Key to check up on things.

One of the nicest aspects of this area is that you won’t need a dinghy to get to shore. In the cove and just past it the water is deep right up to shore. So as you turn into the beach you can toss out a stern anchor and get almost close enough that your bow is over the shore.  When our kids were little, we could lower them from the bow onto the beach, while we could watch them from the cockpit, enjoying an adult beverage. You can walk along the beach to Pensacola Pass and keep going to the Gulf. The water is beautiful. In midsummer, though, there can be q lot of sea nettles. On weekends, this area can be jammed so try to get in early. If you’re passing through, be sure to allow some time for the Sugar Bowl.

As of this writing, in the summer of 2007, there was a passage from the Sugar Bowl into Pensacola Pass. But the passage is unmarked and subject to shoaling, so it’s not recommended for anything bigger than a motorboat. To continue east, go back the way you came and go about a half mile west before turning north to pick up the Intracoastal.

Pensacola and Destin

Headed east but off the Intracoastal, Pensacola Yacht Club on Bayou Chico is a great spot to stop for a night or a meal. Their Bushwhackers double as dessert and an after dinner drink.

The Intracoastal takes you into Santa Rosa Sound, which is very pretty, with many nice anchorages. From Navarre Beach on, the bridges are no more than 50 feet high, so larger sailboats have to go outside.

Santa Rosa Sound and Choctawhatchee Bay are both wonderful places to spend some leisurely cruising time. Spend some time looking at the charts and pick what looks good.

The bridge over the passage into Destin is no more than 48 feet high. If you can make it under, turn immediately to port and parallel the bridge until almost ashore, then turn into the channel into Destin Harbor. Destin has become heavily developed over the last 25 years. The Destin Harbor is very crowded but if you like to dinghy in to tiki bars, this is the place for you. The channel into Destin from outside is very changeable. Wait for a boat that knows the channel and follow it in.