New Orleans Locks

[robert.]

We are planning our trip through the ICW for next week and we plan to be in New Orleans for a few days. We are coming from west and hope to make it to the North Shore area to find a dock.

A member told me to plan for 4 hours at the locks. Wow! Is there a best time to arrive so that we can get through a little faster? I know we have the lowest priority. Any other tips about this area? Thanks!

[RTB]

Hey Robb,

So far, we've made it through the Harvey Lock with little waiting. Once, no problems getting through the Industrial Lock, the other time took 2 hours. It just depends on luck, I guess. I've heard others have had much longer delays. Good luck!

We found Pontchartrain Landing RV park and Marina a nice place to tie up. You can catch a shuttle there to get to the French Quarter.

Don't forget to call traffic control while on the Mississippi. (Gretna Light Traffic ?)

Be safe.

Ralph

[robert.]

Thanks for the info, I guess we will keep our fingers crossed. What time of day did you go through?

[RTB]

Mid to late afternoon.

Ralph

[robert.]

Great, that is the approximate time we were thinking about making it through. I was looking on the waterway guide and I saw that there were hours of operation and times that they didn't open certain bridges. I only need 10'. Did bridge openings effect your times or was it an issue?

[RTB]

This from our blog (plenty of info there) -

We are now east of the Harvey Lock - yay, our first goal met! Even though we only traveled about 25 miles today, it took 6 hours. That's because we had to traverse 2 locks (the Harvey lock before and the Industrial lock after the Mississippi River) and 10 bridges. Wikipedia says there are 16 bridges in New Orleans - I hope we don't have to deal with the rest! After 8 days of depths ranging from 8 to 40 feet, suddenly we enter the Mississippi and see depths of 100+. I had envisioned freeway type traffic on the river, especially since we had to check in with their traffic control, but it was actually pretty quiet. We cruised under the Crescent City Connection bridge (see picture) and past the French Quarter. In planning the day, it seemed very complex and intimidating, but it really wasn't that bad. It's just kind of crazy how close some of these obstacles are to each other (like a bridge where you have to request an opening, followed by a lock where you have to request an opening, followed by another bridge where you have to request an opening). After all that it was nice to pull into the Pontchartrain Landing RV park and marina, whose staff come out to meet you at the slip and help you tie up. It's a beautiful place and the staff is really nice. It was great to be able to take hot showers and do laundry, and then go have dinner at their bar/grill. We'll stay here and experience New Orleans a couple of days (or more) before we head east again.

Ralph

[Har2015]

Hope you enjoy our little city Robert! ::thumbs up


Harbor Diving Services, LLC

Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Steel sails]

" New Orleans traffic" is the call sign for VTS ( vessel traffic services) lower Mississippi River.
Mos recreational vessels do not need to call in though it doesn't hurt as a courtesy
You need to check in if any of the following apply
power driven more than 65 ft
Towing
Dredging
100 gross tons for hire carrying passengers
Subject to VMRS user rules
There is a user manual for VTS lower Mississippi available on line from USCG WEB

Regards Paul

[robert.]

I love your blog RTB! You've got a loyal follower. Thanks to everyone for all of the great info. We can't wait to spend time in NO, it is such a great city. Better from the boat for sure!

[RTB]

Originally Posted by robert.hamic

I love your blog RTB! You've got a loyal follower. Thanks to everyone for all of the great info. We can't wait to spend time in NO, it is such a great city. Better from the boat for sure!

Wow, thanks for the compliment about our blog. It looks like you guys are about to leave (reading your cool blog, and watching some of your Youtube). I hope you enjoy the journey as much as we have during the past 3 years. Have fun, and be careful.


We are on our way again in October, so hope we catch up with you out there somewhere one of these days.

Ralph

[robert.]

Thanks for reading our blog. We are so excited to finally leave and get underway! We are going to have fun cruising the ICW but I can't wait to get out to where the water is blue! This has been my dream since I was a kid and I am blessed to be able to live it! I hope to talk to you in the future and please be safe.