Sailing from Bay St. Louis to Lake Pontchartrain (Newbies)

[Gilligan8]

So this weekend the wife and I or going to move our "new" sailboat from the previous owner's marina to our new future home for her.

We have never made this passage (or any really) but overall it seems like an easy one. If wind predictions stay true we should have a nice easy NE wind which should make for a very simple sail plan.

I was just wondering if there were any areas we should watch out for or anything not on the charts or not represented well on the charts?

Our draft is 5.8' and our depth sounder is not working.

That is one of my top priorities once we have her in the marina.

Thanks for any tips or help!
Gilligan (and oddly enough, I've had that nickname since Highschool!)

[Pearson365Guy]

You should be good if you follow the charts. mostly deepish water the whole trip. I kow navionics is pretty spot on in that area.

[jimbunyard]

If you're new to sailing, and have no one going along to help, I'd motor all the way, staying in the ICW channel until you hit the south end of the Rigolets, and follow the channel markers through the Rigolets closely until you exit the north end. Then follow the channel markers very closely until you get through the I-12 bridge. Once your get into Lake Ponchartrain proper you can pretty much go where you want until you get relatively close to shore, where you should follow any marked approaches.

If you have experience sailing, I'd expect SE winds tomorrow, building in the late morning to about 12-18, really nice sailing wind. I'd still probably follow the ICW (either by sail or power) 'til I got to Lake Ponchartrain proper though, as there is shoaling right outside of the Bay, and other parts of the west end of Mississippi Sound, especially in the vicinity of the eastern perimeter of Lake Borgne. Sat and Sun are harder to predict, whatever 'front' is supposed to materialize doesn't look like much, so SE afternoon seabreeze is still possible.

If you're lucky they'll be at least some wind; if not, the gnats can be very bad, though it may be a little early for them. Bring some bug spray if you don't mind it, or netting and light clothes, or keep moving.

Good thing is that the bottom is mostly sand and mud, though there are a few scattered oyster reefs.