COVID-19 has been hell on New Orleans and the tourism industry. New Orleans saw early cases and a peak much earlier than other parts of the country. Out of an abundance of caution, each trip on the books was either canceled or rescheduled. Thankfully folks close to Delta Discovery; our partners, friends, and family are all healthy. Richie took advantage of the lack of trips and quarantine to finish up some projects and begin a few upgrades. One of the highlights was a development and reconnaissance trip to give folks the option for a multiday expedition through Bayou Country. Richie brought New Delta on a 325-mile trip around South Louisiana in search of the perfect route for folks to soak in Cajun Country from the water.

First Day

Starting in Empire, Louisiana at the Delta Marina I made my way over to Grand Isle via No Man’s Land, Lake Washington, and the Gulf of Mexico. The winds were light, maybe five or so out of the southeast. I passed on the bayside of Grand Isle passing a floating oyster farm before heading up to Leeville. 

There’s an old cemetery falling into the water on the point across from the new Leeville Bridge. Two guys were over there fishing so I stopped a bit down the bank. They didn’t have a clue what they were standing on but had a full stringer of trouts and reds. I passed under the bridge heading over to Pointe-aux-Chenes. 

That passage was through some still intact salt marsh carved up by oil and gas canals. There is still a good bit of nicely kept camps on the other side of Leeville. I took Bayou Pointe-aux-Chenes until it petered it. At the spot where the bayou was filled in there was a big steel pipe cross. The top looks like it had more than one lightning strike over the years. I backtracked a bit and made my way over to Point-aux-Chenes.

Point aux Chenes was busy. Lots of folks were fishing and crabbing. When I pulled up, I was like... why are these slips so small? The busy marina I pulled into was a kayak marina. The place was packed with people coming and going. Lisa Mullen, one of the owners of PAC Kayak Rentals, was telling me about how her and her husband moved from Baton Rouge and restarted down here. There was so much energy there. If you’re ever in the area they have a stilt house and houseboat for reasonable rates. I hope they continue to do well. 

After kicking off from PAC I went up Bayou Point aux Chenes to take in the scenery. Lots of folks still live on the bayou there and the boats range from window deep in the bayou to immaculate. After back tracking I went down the bayou to see the wild horses. They look great -healthy and curious. 

After leaving the area I went west to Isle de Jean Charles. I was good on fuel but never wanting to pass up a pump in uncharted territory (I knew there would be about 70-80 miles without fuel later) The guys at the Island Marina were helpful in checking over my route. They gave me some nearby landmarks that really helped, like The Lone Tree. They didn’t have fuel, but I bought some beer and snacks to say thanks. Barq’s root beer and YooHoo remind me of being on the shrimp boat as a kid so I grabbed some. I thanked the guys and kicked off. The whole place had an old school bayou vibe to it. I wish I could bottle that up.

From the Island I headed down Madison Canal and past some camps south of Montegut. This was one of the first floodgates I passed through outside of Empire on this trip. Anyway, I took the Bush Canal over to the bayou that cuts through Chauvin. I stopped for fuel, I really wanted to explore the area more, but I was trying to make it to my campsite by dark. The boats in Chauvin were old school and cutting edge. The people at the fuel dock (half fuel dock, half convenience store) were curious about my boat. When I mentioned the dock attendant looked a lot like someone I know with family in the area the guy sitting at the counter gave me a solid history on the family and filled in details that even I didn’t know from before they made their way over to Plaquemines. I rinsed the boat in the freshwater before leaving completely filled to the brim with fuel. It was the most I ever had in the boat. Probably sixty gallons.

On the way out of Dularge I snuck under a drawbridge, not under the main span but off to the side. My boat has a mast with probably seven or eight feet of air draft, and it was just a few inches of clearance under most of the bridges. The marina store had hot shrimp and crawfish boudin, so I enjoyed that before making the passage over to the next bayou settlement. Lots of folks were fishing on the bank in this stretch.

The local government and citizens are serious about flood control and have taken things into their own hands by taxing themselves, twice, to pay for upgrades and building levees and floodgates at an impressive clip. Evidence of innovative structures and constant improvement was all around. I kept thinking it was progressive, but it should be, this is basic needs for dealing with the immediate impacts of storm surge, sinking lands, and sea level rise.

The five bayou fingers that hang down toward the gulf from Houma are Louisiana’s true bayou country. The people there possess a pragmatic approach to life born of isolation and proximity to the water. Their generosity and willingness to share their knowledge with me were a welcome treat. New Delta was a constant conversation piece. The classic Louisiana skiff brought on many conversations that I’d love to revisit soon.

Lake Boudreaux separates Chauvin from Dulac. I snuck under another drawbridge where there was a big shrimp dock. Around the bend was a Coast Gaurd station. This area had a lot of commercial fishing boats. I got into the Houma Navigation Channel and made my way down Falgout Canal after waiting on a pontoon bridge. There was some heavy iron in the Houma Nav which included a gigantic former McDermott crane barge and some platforms in the process of being chopped up. 

Dularge had a narrow bayou that seemed pretty sleepy. The bayou had a good bit of cattail along its banks when not lined with fishing camps and smaller commercial fishing boats. There were a few homes and churches as civilization slowly tapered off to oyster docks and a few camps at the end of the road. Eventually only power poles lined the bayou. I passed a few oyster boats returning for the evening. The changes in the vegetation gave me clues about the salinity. This stretch reminded me of home in the birdsfoot.

Accessible only by boat, numerous camps were to the south. I made camp for the evening about an hour before sunset. By this time a nice sized storm to the Northwest was dispersing. 

Second Day

Began with a beautiful sunrise and tranquil skies. A nameless oyster boat meandered down through the bayou to the fishing grounds with a couple on the bow. I headed to the gulf where I stopped and ate breakfast away from the greenhead horseflies. There were plenty shrimp boats and dolphins. The boats were stern cabin lugger shrimp boats common to the Houma area. Most were pushing skimmers.

I rode the beach until I made it to a pass that leads into Four League Bay. The sun was starting to get the wind going by this point so I rode the east and north shore of the bay. It was a little longer but more comfortable. The bay was loaded with crab traps. I had to dodge them. The alligators must get an easy meal from the crabbers, three or four big ones approached the boat. All eight foot or bigger.

Four League Bay connects to the Atchafalaya Delta. I watched the depth finder closely as I made my way around in there. It was the one place I was a little worried about during the planning. No problems making it in, though I only had two feet under the boat for a while. Once I got into the delta and freshwater again, I found a sand bar and stopped for a bath. Note: I’ve spoken with several Airbnb owners with adjacent water frontage who are interested in partnering for this route.

There is so much idle iron in Morgan City, Amelia, Houma, and Larose. Entire fleets of new offshore supply boats are starting to fade and rust. Hundreds of boats are cold stacked waiting for better oil prices and increased demand. It was incredible to see. Most any other time they’d all be offshore. I hope they can be repurposed for other uses.

There’s a stretch of ICWW between Amelia and Houma that is cut through some amazing cypress swamps. Houma has a Venice, Italy-meets-industrial-Louisiana vibe to it. Canals go all through the town. There are so many boats of all types to be seen, everything from bass boats to hundred-foot-tall offshore supply boats. 

In Houma I stopped at the municipal marina under the bridge and walked a few blocks for a bowl of gumbo. The marina is well kept with fine docks, landscaping, and shore power set up for transients making their way in the ICWW.  A walked to a restaurant three blocks away for a bowl of gumbo. It was nice to stretch my legs and enjoy a hot meal. Coming back to the boat was something special. Located between two bridges, in a park-like setting, the boat looked better than ever.

About a mile after I got going again, I came across some folks that needed a tow. Their motor blew. I lost about 45 minutes, but the conversation was good and it’s always nice to help folks. Its also an unspoken rule of the bayou. First one to come across someone in distress helps immediately. Karma.

Back on the ICWW the Larose floodgate was closed, I really wanted to go down Bayou Lafourche to Leeville but I didn’t have the daylight to waste waiting on the gate. By the time I would have been able to transit the gate it would have been six o’clock. So, I continued down the ICWW tow boaters refer to as “The Ditch” Before getting to Lafitte I passed through Bayou Perot then down the Barataria Waterway.

Lafitte was once home to the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte. The banks of the Barataria Waterway are lined with elevated homes suburban slab houses with shrimp boats in backyards. A mound by First Nations folks has a modern cemetery built atop it. There is a great restaurant near the water in Lafitte called Voleo’s.

I took some small bays and bayous before going under the bridge at Lake Hermitage and then through Grand Bayou Village. Grand bayou Village is home to about 45 folks who live along the bayou. Residents take a boat to their homes. Up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005 there was still a yellow and black school boat. From Grand Bayou Village to homeport in Empire, Louisiana was about a half hour or so.

That last stretch felt like coming home in so many ways. Throwing the line around the piling at the Delta Marina I couldn’t help but to marvel at how everything went as planned. There were no mechanical issues or groundings. The concept, the navigation portion, was proven. After a few days of reflection I decided this trip should be spread out into a three or four day trip with speakers and elders sharing time and a meals with guests at select stops. It was a navigational test to prove the concept -the culture is the real attraction and I hope to share it with you soon on this trip.

-Richie