Out of the Bayou 2

The cane is still growing,

the chili is heating up, along with the air.  

This is jump-starting the weather,

 and fast-moving winds brings buckets of unforecasted rain.  This rain, not predicted, dropped the temperature 20 degrees in fewer than 20 minutes!

Alligator patrols, by mostly submerged A. mississippiensis, never stop.

You know what they say about “red in morning…”

sailor take warning, I’ll add [and gators come swarming.]

All that has postponed our leaving in the way in the way I anticipated.

Enjoy views of the vessel above the water, and from

below.

Hope springs.

And how did I get out of the bayou this time? With a toast.  The JT Meleck I’ll have to try another time.

I got out by plane.

Google a St James LA map and you’ll see exactly where we crossed the Mississippi heading back NE. 

After some delays, this series will be continued, even if I need to do it this way.

All photos, WVD, who’s happy to be out of the heat dome. 

Out of the Bayou 1

Well . .  or with an accent, I’d say whale . . .  I’m not out of the bayous and sugar fields yet, but it’s getting closer.  When we do leave the dock, there may be several days that not even the robots will be posting, so be patient if this doesn’t update.  Either that, or you could do searches in the archives of  5200+ tugster posts for your favorite photos of who knows what.

Some day soon, we’ll leave the NISDC and the land of … legs, alligators, mullet, gar . . . . and start toward the sixth boro. 

Here are some recent photos of Superior Attitude, Gar, 

beautiful dawns and dusks,

and the neighbors Maggie Kay and 

Red Fin.  The image below inspired me to rewrite the words to wimoweh . . . “in the bayou the murky bayou the gator lurks tonight . . .  ”  and you can imagine or freestyle the rest . . .

All photos, WVD, who posts when possible, with assistance from the robots of tugster tower.

 

Wisconsin, Louisiana, and NYC’s Sixth Boro

Not a frequent visitor to the sixth boro,

it’s Barbara Carol Ann Moran . . .  with barge Louisiana

built in Sturgeon Bay WI and launched a few years ago, heading for GOM via the St Lawrence.

And I see it here on Thanksgiving Day.

 

I hope the galley of BCA Moran smells great with hearty food on this windy day.

All photos and sentiments by Will Van Dorp, who extends special greetings to anybody out anywhere earning a paycheck today.

And if you want to read some corny [not a pun] T’day thoughts, click here.

CB14

The Calumet River exits from southeastern Chicago.  For Mississippi-bound watercraft, it also leads into the continent.  I was thrilled to follow it a bit thanks to Christine Douglas.  

Koolcat was the first tug we saw.  She was shuffling barges, as Amtrak passed above.

Among those barges was strong evidence that we were no longer in the east, in a whole new watershed.

The Calumet flows under the former-Calumet Skyway.  More info on her history to the present can be found here . . .   believe it or not she’s currently owned by a consortium of Canadian pension funds . . . yup.  But I digress.

Here was an interesting sight . . . a Hannah boat, and one that’s from the same WW2 yard as Bloxom.

Mary E. Hannah was hull #537;  Bloxom was #519, launched just over a year before Mary E. Hannah.   Interestingly, hull #538 was alive and well on the Columbia a few years ago here (scroll).

Going downstream from here, it’s a Great Lakes yard, which will be the focus in tomorrow’s post.

Louisiana is 101 years old and still ready to work.  I’m curious about the tug in front of Louisiana, but have nothing to report.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.  Again many thanks to Christine Douglas, more of whose work can be found here.

Random Nola Tugs 3

I wonder . . . if I move here, will I tire of watching the traffic pass?   Sometimes there are familiar vessels . . . like Buster Bouchard, but otherwise . . .

commerce rafts in vessels never before seen . . . like Fu Kang (almost a racy name?) foreground and Caribe Pearl protruding from around the bend, with  Angus R. Cooper, Bollinger, and Algiers Point in between.

Leopard Sea and Miss Sylvia keep the excitement going, with

handoffs to Karen Koby,

Cindy R and Zante,

C. Mack Zito, 

Jesus Saves,

Presager,

J. K. McLean, 

Alice I. Hooker, 

Merrick Jones, 

Louisiana and Angus R. Cooper meeting Qingdao Tower.

The Mississippi never stops, but I will of now, with a note of familiarity, not Dolphin per se–she’s never been pictured on the is blog, I think–but rather the Kirby livery.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

Back to Jesus Saves, is there any truth to the story that somewhere along the Mississippi a nun is master of a tug?

Along Bayou Lafourche Again

Over a week ago I felt all the symptoms of impending illness, Gfever.  I suffer from that affliction quite a lot, as you know if you follow this blog.   It starts when I can’t sit for more than 15 seconds, atlases–paper or interactive electronic–beckon, the ear worms in my head are all about travel .  .  .  the only cure for this fever . . . Gfever  . . . is a gallivant.  And in this case, a Bayou Lafourche gallivant was the only remedy.  So from the airport any direction was fine as long as it was south.  Let’s cross this lift bridge and go . . .  farther than we did last time here.

Of course, bowsprite came along and sketched hither and yon . . . and who could pass up Intl Defender!

There . .  beyond the copse of backup rigs . . . it’s the boom town of Port Fourchon.

And rather than understand first and write later, I’ll just put up a sampling of vessels I saw. . . .  Here’s off the bow of Delta Power (127′ loa) is Dionne Chouest (261′ loa).  A random assortment goes on with

HOS Red Dawn (268′),

Dictator (140′), Candy Bear (156′), and Candy Stripe (130′),

the venerable Stone Buccaneer . . . ex-Eastern Sun.

the brand-new 202′ Capt Elliott,

a cluster that includes from l. to r. . . . HOS North Star, Seacor Washinton, C-Endeavor, C-Fighter, and Miss Marilene Tide.  The stern-to vessel in the foreground . . . I can’t identify.

Looking like they’re aground and on the grass . . . it’s HOS Black Rock and HOS Red Rock, recent builds and each 278′.

There are more and more . . ..

in Port Fourchon, as seen here from the c-store looking over the trucks, the single-wides on stilts, and the vessels beyond.

Many thanks to our guide, Aaron of Crewboat Chronicles, a blog I look forward to read all of. We knew Ben was around too . . . but in a short time, you can’t meet everybody.  Ben . .  catch you later.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.  Let me know whether you’re interested in another post from Bayou Lafourche.