Corpus Christi to Miami, Florida 46 Bertram

[dakno]

I second here most of what has been posted. I made this trip in 15 on a sailboat. Stay in the GIWW till Mississippi Sound. Going around the mouth of the Ms river is a 100 mile detour each way. Your biggest challenge besides fuel and traffic will be the Ms River locks, Harvey and Industrial Canal, then bugs. Its a blast, take lots of video and pics. Have several large bumpers as you are likely to be shoehorned in beside a tug in the Industrial Canal.

[VelascoGuy]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Hopefully someone with experience in the TX-LA section will chime in. I can only know from Pensacola onward. No locks on that section, just bridges.

Sorry to enter this conversation so late. You may already have made your passage.

I did it last fall Galveston,TX to Jacksonville, FL.

Here are my thoughts.

1. Fuel stops are few and far between in Louisiana for non-commercial boaters. Lots of fuel in Galveston, Sabine lake if you can handle the shallows and don't mind losing a couple of hours off the ICW. After that Shell Morgan (Intracoastal, LA) is all that there is until after Houma.

2. Waterway has plenty of depth and is well marked. As always make sure you are following the right markers.

3. Stay in the ICW except for the New Orleans area where it may be advantageous to go around the delta (down the Barateria Waterway rejoining the ICW in Biloxi or Mobile) unless you have plenty of time.

4. Traveling after sunset is strongly discouraged inside or out. I had to do it due to an unexpected lock closure that forced me to sit in Calcshiou until 7:00 PM. I had a very nerve wracking 8 hour crawl to Intracoastal City. I could have easily hit a submerged stump, floating log, or run aground. I went as slow as possible to avoid any serious damage if I hit anything ( I got through unscathed)

5. You have to go outside in the bend where the Florida panhandle meets the main part of the state. Though you can leave from Apalachicola as has been said, Carrabelle is also a good launching off point (Capt. Bob recommends it). I recommend you go from Carrabelle and skip Tarpon Springs - do not re-enter the ICW until Tampa. Tarpon Springs to Tampa on the ICW has a lot of turns and twists. I left Carrabelle just before sunset and went through the night reaching Tampa at daybreak. By doing this I left and returned in daylight (no tricky night time inlets) and the marina was open for fuel and slip assignment. On long runs you want to think about getting in before the fuel docks are closed.

6. I cut across to lake Okeechobee at Ft Meyers so I am not much help south of there except to say that I heard all the channels in the Keys had moved because of the hurricanes. Be careful, or cut across like I did and head south from Port St. Lucie.

7. Expect only barge traffic between Galveston and New Orleans. Lots of "six packs". The Barge Captains are very friendly and helpful. Get to know the radio lingo to talk to them about one or two whistles and slow bells. I didn't have AIS so I bought a Standard Horizon VHF that had a built in GPS antenna and AIS receiver. I wired a 12 volt DC plug to the powercord and bought a Shakespeare Emergency 12" antenna. The whole unit was self contained and alerted me to approaching traffic. It's much easier when you know a barge is there, how fast it is moving, and its name so that you can hail it to alert them you are approaching from the other direction. The whole arrangement was about $500 and was worth every penny.

Good luck