The Cajun Loop

T

texasair

Member
The first 2 weeks in May we are doing a loop from Lake Pontchartrain, west on the ICW, north on the Atchafalaya River and lock into the Mississippi River north of Baton Rouge and south to New Oleaans and back to Lake Pontchartrain. This trip will include a couple of days at the Crawfish Festival on Bayou Teche, in Breaux Bridge, a tour of the Tabasco factory at Avery island. Lyle and Janda from Amarillo on the 16 cruiser "See Saw" are going with us.

Any other Brats interested?
 
I really hope this can become an affair that can happen again next year. My wife will retire by then and can not be off that long this year. We have signed up for the Carolina Loop in may, but love the area you are going. I have spent a lot of time airboating in these areas and have wondered if you could make a loop such as this, was not sure of getting over to the bayou from the river. Please keep us posted on details as you get closer. Good luck on the trip and I shall be a year behind you.
Ron
 
You can lock into the Big River at Port Allen just north of Bator Rouge at mile 228 or at the Old River lock at mile 304 and in New Orleans at miles 98, 92, 88.
 
Thanks for the info. I thought there were ways to get between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers but was not clear on moving between the Atchafalaya and Bayou Teche. Once at Breaux Bridge is there a way to get to Avery Island without going back down to the Intercoastal and over to a bayou up to Avery Island. I had thought of a shorter loop of Atchafalaya River and Bayou Teche. All of this is great country. Wish I could be along on trip.
Ron
 
Ron, We can get into the Mississippi, but at this time I do not have a way from Bayou Teche into the Atchafalaya. So we may have to backtrack down to Baldwin after the Crawfish festival.
 
We love SE Louisana. Cruised some of it in a pontoon, some in a runabout. Keep us posted, we want to go.
PS I make jambalya to die for.
 
We are definately interested. Pretty good chance we are in. One concern I have is fuel. I know we can get fuel at Morgan City. As far as I know there is no marina fuel, except if you go up to the Red River until you get back to New Orleans--any suggestions? Active captain on its charts and tides apps does not have much in the way of fuel either. What do you figure the range we will need for fuel? Also security for trucks and trailers/ parking?

Would you trailer over to Bayou Teche or go there when down near the ICU and Morgan City? We have done the ICW, but thru Vermilian Lake Rim and then Harvey Locks to Miss, then Industerial Locks and ICW on to MS several times on delivaries. Also up the To Avery Island, but not Bayou Teche or further up the Atchafalaya. We had done Avery Island, but was not aware of another connection.

You have me looking up my charts now... The Navionics HD app for Central S. US has all of these waterways on the i Pad chip. Are there Corp of Engineers Electronic charts for Bayou Teche?

This is beautiful country and a great time of the year. Great idea! I would assume that any of the flooding will be gone and any damage repaired.

What schedule are you thinking of--especially for each leg?

Thanks for the great idea and organization!
 
Here is our original rough plan..............
We plan to launch on the Tchenfuncte River near Covington, La Tuesday morning, May 3rd. Cross Lake Ponchatrain to the Industrial canal locks into the Mississippi River. Up the river 6 miles through Downtown New Orleans to the Harvey Locks. Lock out of the Big River to the Barataria waterway. Tuesday Ist night on the water somewhere along the Barataria near Lafitte, La.

Wed. 2nd day west on the Intracoastal waterway to near Baldwin,La where the intercoastal joins Bayou Teche.

Thursday 3rd day up Bayou Teche to Breaux Bridge. Dock the boats in downtown Breaux Bridge on the Bayou just 2 blocks from the Crawfish festival. Crawfish Festival is Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Local music, dancing, food, cajun culture, etc 3 stages, 3 dance areas, 3 bands, all going at once. One day is a lot of fun, but usually enough for me.

Since we have a 3 day envelope to catch the Crawfish festival, we will have the option of going a bit farther west on the ICW to Avery Island and touring the gardens and Tabasco factory. If we decide to do this we can do it prior to or after the trip up Bayou Teche to Breaux Bridge. Depending on our scheduling and interests, there are numerous Historical sites, Plantations, museums along Bayou Teche.

After Bayou Teche, Avery Island and Cajun Country, back east on the ICW to Morgan City.
At Morgan city we go north on the Port Allen waterway 55 miles where we lock back into the Mississippi just north of Baton Rouge at Mississippi River mile 228.
Or...... We take the Atchafalaya River north to lock into the Mississippi River at the old river lock near Simmesport, La. at Mississippi River mile 304. The Atchafalaya north route will add about 150 miles or 2 days to the trip over the Port Allen Route.

Once back into the Mississippi southbound it is 2-3 days downstream back through New Orleans to our trucks and trailers....with a 3+ mile per hour bonus from the river flow.

The main loop is about 300 miles, add 150 if we take the Atchafalaya River north, plus perhaps another 130 or 150 up the Teche and to Avery Island.
It is a good mix of the big River with ocean going ships, sleepy bayous lined with Cypress and moss covered Oaks, Lake Ponchatrain, and cajun Music and culture. There are several places to stop along the way for gas, ice, supplies. First week in May? could be hot with mosquitos, or may be nippy requiring a jacket.

We should be wrapped up around Tues or Wed the 10th or 11th. We need to be on the road back to home on Friday the 13th at the latest, everything in between is flexible, we can go faster, slower, spend a day or two in the French Quarter, take a side trip on the boats into the heart of the Atchafalaya Basin, or what ever.


-Westbound from Morgan City there is marina fuel at Cypremont.
-Northbound on the Atchafalaya there is "foot gas" at Krotz Springs
-Southbound on the Mississippi about 70 miles north of New Orleans there is a commercial facility that will loan a driver and pickup truck to haul gas cans for you to the nearby gas station.

-The marina on the Tchenfuncte River is a safe place for the trailers.
-The most northerly connection I have found is between Bayou Teche and the Atchafalaya is at Charenton.
-The Keystone Lock on the Bayou Teche is now owned by St Martin Parish and I have the name and phone number of the gentleman that will come operate it for us.

We are still planning and have not compiled exact distances yet.
I have 2 land trips scheduled to this area prior to May and will be exploring gas options on those trips
 
If we do it (and the Boss is very interested--so it just depends on health issues)--we will most likely come by boat from Pensacola--only a day or day and a half run in the Tom Cat if we have decent weather. Meet up in Ponchatrain would work for us.

The fuel is a concern for us, mostly up the Atchafalaya and down the Mississippi segment. We carry 150 gallons, but due to a low vent the stb tank will not hold its full 75 gallons. Due to our backs and heart disease we cannot carry gas cans. I would certainily appreciate any information on the specifics of fuel. We have known range of in excess of 200 miles--but I like to have a good reserve for these type of waters.

Thanks for the information--sounds like a great trip!
 
One other thing to remember is that the Atchafalaya is twice as steep as the Mississippi, (Half the length in that stretch--and probably would have been its "normal" course) and normally carries from 20 to 50% (25%) of the volume of the Mississippi--thus the current in the Atchafalaya can be equal or greater than the Mississippi, depending on river stage. The point is that any "savings in fuel" with the down stream current in the Mississippi, might be equal to that or less than what is used going up current in the Atchafalaya.

I have a friend who lives over there, and I think has done this route in his trawler--I'll see if I can get any thoughts from him.
 
Here is some of my friend's advice on the locks near N O:

1. Call the locks on CH 14 and tell them you are a power/sail pleasure boat. 2. Set fenders and or fender boards on the preferred side but have some on the other side for things can change is a
lock, particularly if you go thru with a commercial tow. If a tow is in front of you stay as far back as you can. Do not untie until he is almost out of the gate then you go. His prop wash will push you around. Do not pickup your fenders until you have cleared the wing wall. By the way, NEVER bed your lines down in a lock only take several turns on your cleats and standby it.
3. Use the largest fenders that you have. My wife made me get 12'x 34' fenders. She put it into words that even I could understand. "I am not getting on that boat again until I get 12x34 fenders." Had them shipped the next day! Trust me on this one , I cannot believe how much easier docking and locking is with those fenders.
4. At New Orleans do NOT GET IN A HURRY. I allocate 5 hours for this transit. That is both locks and the 5 miles in the river between them plus the Industrial Canal. I hasten to add that the last 6 transits we have done in two hours or so!! What an improvement over past years. I have done this at night and in the rain, sometimes both at the same time, but I certainly do not recommend it and if it is your first time , don't even consider it.
 
Here is Charles Colutta (a retired attorney who has lived most of his life on Bayou Teche in Patterson, LA:

"The Atchafalaya River or “The Swamp Tour”
THE WIFE and I departed our dock on the famous Bayou Teche, near the Atchafalaya and
ICW intersection and headed into the Atchafalaya Basin Swamp. This leg is about 115 miles
long, again, no facilities at all----great! There are a number of places that one could pull off
the river into bayous to spend a day or a week fishing and communing with nature for free.


Just above the ICW is a good stop at American Pass into Bayou Boutte ( Lat.29-45.86 Lon.
91-15.07) on the right ascending bank. Go up to “Orange Barrel Bayou” and proceed to the
end. Tie up to a tree and spend a few days. This is on NOAA ICW chart 11354 and a satellite
photo chart, in color, from Standard Mapping Services (standardmap.com) for about $17.00.
The photo chart, #41A, is great as it shows exactly what is there. You can even see several
small boats running in some of the canals and bayous.


Possible anchorages on the Atchafalaya are: American Pass, Meyete Point, south side at Mile
95.5; a canal on the right ascending bank @ mile 79.5; Tensas Bay Cutoff Mile 74.5; Butte
LaRose Cutoff at Mile 55; Simmsport Mile 4. The last is just a wide spot in the river where
we anchored between the green buoys and the bank in about 10 feet of water.


There are a number of wide bends in the river that have sandy banks and bottoms that look
good for anchoring. The beauty of this leg is the lack of development. There are areas with
a few hunting and fishing camps (houses –beauty is in the eye of the beholder) but that’s
about it. You will not find the palatial homes that line the Tennessee River nor much industry
save a gas well or so every now and then. Even the towns along the Atchafalaya, other than
Morgan City at the ICW, have no facilities on the River. The towns of Melville and Simmsport,
surprisingly, have nothing at all on the river that indicates that anything is there. What you
do get to see is serious swamp! After all, this is what you came for!


From the ICW to Mile “O” on the Atchafalaya is 117 miles with about a 1.5 to 2 mph current
this time of year. (October, they picked lowest current time) We run 8 mph normally so this leg translated to 6-6.5 mph all the way to
the Old River Lock at Mile “O”. A nice side trip here is to lock into the Mississippi River for a
short trip up to Natchez and Vicksburg Mississippi, it’s well worth the effort, I digress.
 
Bob, I should be able to come up with a solution on the fuel after some scouting,

At the worst case, I have a lead on a couple of healthy LSU College students with a pickup truck that could meet us anywhere along the route with gas cans and strong backs.
 
Love that LSU option--we'll help out with the cost of that! We have plenty of fuel cans--keep plenty of gas on hand during hurricane season!

Here is part of Charles reply: "Up the Atchafalaya is a good idea there are two routes from MC to the lock at Plaquemine into the Mississippi. There is the ICW Alternate Route fr MC through the Basin and the Landside Route on the other side of the levee. The two routes are parallel but the Landside one is more circuitous. Look at them on Google Earth.

There used to be gas on the Ms at Baton Rouge but no longer. Will ck on all that. None as far as I know on the Ms at New Orleans. I guess that you will lock at Harvey back into the ICW, ck with the corps abt the flood gate in the Harvey Canal that leads to the ICW, make sure that it is not closed, if so you will have to use the Algiers Lock further dwn the river a few miles.

See my web page for info on crossing the river at NO some is applicable to your trip as well as the article THE LOCKS OF LA. and OVERNIGHT STOPS ON THE ICW. All on my web page.

 He has a friend who is up the river currently and is asking him to check access from the water side.
 
My friend Charles also recommends: Look at Lake Verrette, just above MC it is a neat place to see, magnificent swamp, rt out of a movie! No kidding and on your way up as well enter east of Bayou Bouf lock at Bayou Bouf, consider it.

I have always suggest that one avoid the Ms from Baton Rouge to NO as there is NOTHING there, nothing. High levees and lots of commercial traffic.
Current is 3-4 mph but that is most of the time.
You might look at the ICW Landside route around Lake Palourde and up through 4 Mile Bayou to Lake Verret , then Grosbeck bayou to the landside route again thru Stephensville and back to Lake Palourde No back tracking on this, but you would back track on the ICW back to NO>
Google Earth this area.
The Bayou Sorrell Lock is undergoing repair and there is a long back up of commercial traffic, call them abt delays for pleasure boats.
OK Gas: half way between Bayou Sorrell Lock and Port Allen Lock See activecaptain
No gas in Baton Rouge
Harvey Canal has gas.
Grosse Marina on 4 Mile Bayou near Lake Verrette
Mosquito Bar on 4 Mile Bayou.
Spunky Monkey bar and marina Belle River
.


Also one time we could not get thru the lock so we went down the River and up Bayou Chene--nice quiet Bayou, with some good anchorage areas
 
Hi Tex,
This is Bruce. I was docked behind you at Guttenberg last fall. I saw your post on the Cajun Loop last night and its been eating at my brain all day. It sounds fantastic! I've always been intrigued by this area. The Crayfish Festival sounds like a gas.
I'm spread a little thin this spring. I'm hosting a big retirement/birthday party for my Sweetie 4/30. The good side of that is she should be free to go. If you are going from 5/3 to 5/11, it might be possible.
I guess this note is to say the wheels are turning up here.
I've been messing with the boat all winter. Maintenance and minor repairs and some modifications I've come to want from using the boat for the first season. I'm going to spend a week on the St. Johns River in Florida at the end of March. I'm anxious to get back on the water and settle into the boat again. I might just be ready for the Cajun Loop!
I'll stay in touch
 
I finally sorted out my shorter loop (not complete loop since it would require securing a vehicle ride of 7 miles from end of trip at Breaux Bridge to start of trip at Henderson,la.) My loop or trip is 96 miles in the heart of Cajun country. Put in at Henderson on the west side of the levee and follow the bayou down through Catahoula and on down through Lake Fausse Point State Park. From there down to the Teche Canal over to Charenton. At Charenton
take Bayou Teche upstream through Jeanerette,New Iberia,Loreaville, St. Martinville, Parks, and finally Breaux Bridge. Could spend the time in Breaux Bridge at the crawfish festival and make the contact for a ride to Henderson for the truck. A Cajun friend of mine that lives on the bayou across the road from the levee about Lake Fausse said this was a good trip and he could provide the ride since he works in Henderson.

Man, what a decision now since this is just a week before the Carolina Loop which my wife and I have signed up far.
Ron
 
Ron,

The ideal way to make this loop would be to launch at Breaux Bridge or Henderson...and end up back at either. It would be then no problem to hitch a ride for the short trip to get the trucks and trailers...or even use a cab from Lafayette. This would avoid the backtrack down the bayou that I have proposed.
To include the crawfish festival the loop would have to start or end on the crawfish festival weekend and my personal schedule will not allow that time envelope.
So I and anyone that goes with me will have spend an extra day backtracking the Teche.


The good thing is that I have found that a river looks quite different from the opposite direction.

We wanted to make the Carolina loop also, but a wedding just before and Med school graduation just after.. and we just could not fit it into the schedule. There is always next year.

We hope next year to make the Carolina gathering, then on to the Chesapeake gathering, and then over to Pittsburg, PA to do the Ohio River.
 
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