Getting Thru the Big Easy

By Capt. Scott Buckley

Position: 30 08' 42'N, 089 38' 30'W
Progress towards destination: 348.0 nm

Getting Accross

Going by boat to the East or West thru New Orleans is not for the faint of heart.  In fact it is likely to involve some heart pounding moments.  The way the canal is set up is with three locks on to and off of the Mississippi river.  This is necessary because the height of the Mississippi is anywhere from 4 to 8 feet above sea level in the New Orleans area.  You enter a lock and the lock is flooded or drain to match the exiting water level.

How the New Orleans Mississippi Lock Work

The Intercoastal waterway crosses the Mississippi with a set of 3 locks to manage the mostly barge traffic and water level differences.  There are 2 locks on the west side (coming into the picture below from the bottom) and one lock on the east side of the river (coming into the center top of the picture below).  The 2 locks on the west side are positioned up and down stream of the eastern lock.  The upriver west lock is the Harvey Lock.  The central eastern lock is the Industrial Lock and the downriver lock is the Algiers Lock.  The lock are arranged this way to save a little energy by letting barge traffic take advantage of the river current.  It would be impractical to have the lock directly across the river from one another on such a heavily traveled river and with no means for some of these large cargo vessels to stop for intersecting traffic.   So if there were only 2 locks and they were staggered then and one of the directions of travel would always be and upstream push once on the river. 

In the picture above the Mississippi river is running from left to right.  So going to the east the first lock you encounter is the most northern lock called the Harvey lock (in the picture the left most lock).  It actually delivers vessels onto part of the Mississippi that is running north.  Why this is confusing will become apparent later.  Once you are discharged from the Harvey lock you proceed downriver to the Industrial locks. 

Confusing Traffic

As you are discharge onto the river you are to make contact with Gretna Vessel Traffic Services (a function of the USCG) on marine VHF channel 12.  You tell them the name of your boat and type and destination.  VTS will ask your location and what bank you will favor; east or west.  Hear is where the confusion enters into it.  I said to VTS the west bank because I assumed the bank of the Mississippi that touches the western half of the US would be the western bank however in area where the Mississippi run to the north the western bank is actually the eastern bank by the compass.  My first mate pointed out that I told the VTS that I would be on the western bank when in fact I was on the eastern bank.  I started to explain my logic but realized the 1st mate might be right.  I started changing sides of the river (no small task is the river is nearly a half mile wide) while VTS started listing very quickly the major ships and tug traffic you are likely to encounter.  They then instruct you to have another marine VHF radio tuned to channel 67 and to contact these other vessels which I honestly could only remember part of the name of one of them (mumble north 46).  I called and actually mumbled something and then said North 46.  I got and answer and we agreed he would pass me on the two whistle side (more on whistles in another post).  I was busy changing side of the river to the actually eastern side and both radios were chattering away and I think I got call a few times and heard other talking about the small sail boat on the river and my mouth was dry and my heart was pounding and the 1st mate is asking me question and I just want to be anywhere but here.  The radios kept chattering and North 46 (a green ship) and South 85 (a black ship) turned out to be these huge ocean going ships, and they both appeared to be heading directly at me.  Along with all the other chatter I realized my first assumption about west bank and east bank was actually correct except I was mostly across the river to the wrong side when I learned this. I had already agreed to let the giant ship behind me pass me to port and I was in the wrong position for this and that guy was coming up fast.  At the same time I heard South 85 (the giant black ship coming up river) was going to favor the bend.  I was assuming that meant he would stay tight to the inside of the bend and not swing wide.  If I returned to the correct side (assuming I could do so before being run over) and South 85 was favoring the bend then that would push me tight against the bank.  I could probably make it but it would leave little room to maneuver and while that ship is beside me would blind me to the rest of the traffic on the river.  Remember I would still need to cross the river to the east bank to get to the Industrial Locks.  I made the decision right then to continue crossing to the eastern bank for better or worse.  That would keep me out of the way of South 85 and I would just have to work it out with North 46.   At about the same time North 46 calls the south bound sail boat (that’s me) and said he had changed his mind and wanted to pass on the one whistle and for me to just stay over on that side.  I don’t know exactly how but things just started to fall into place.  I still had not cleared up the confusion with VTS and decided not to.  They probably would not notice.  Soon we approached the Industrial locks.

Some background about anxiety

Before I move on to getting through the locks I think I should set the whole thing up for you.  Tamera and I had been dreading this part of the passage east from the moment we left.  We were only able to contain the anxiety because we could convince ourselves it was still days away, but Monday night as we sat anchored in Salvador Lake just 20 miles from the locks our tensions were at new levels.  We reviewed again and again the bridges before and after the lock.  What ones we had to call and what one worked in conjunction with the lock.  Some of the bridges had curfews and would not open during certain times for morning and afternoon rush hours. If any of these bridges did not work and our timing was blown what were our contingency plans. 
I went over what I thought would be some difficult situations and said what we would or would not do.  One was being locked up with other big boats and getting bashed around by there prop wash.  Another was to get stuck on the river waiting for a slot into the lock off of the river. For the prop wash problem I would talk to the lock master on site however if we got stuck on the river for a day I did not know what to do.  I tried to find a number for VTS to get advise from them but could not find one.  In retrospect I doubt they would have been able to help.  The tug and barges usually nose the barges into the bank at the side of the river or tie off to dolphins along the shoreline.  This is not really and option for a sailboat and would likely cause more problems than it solves.

The Quiet Before the Storm

So there we are anchored on Salvador Lake the night before and neither of us is getting much sleep.  We arise at 5:30AM and make ready and get underway.  Neither of us wants to eat with our stomachs all knotted up.  Barge traffic is very heavy and much of the way is a no wake zone so progress is slow and warranted the early start. The first mate was so on edge she could not remember how to tie a bowline knot.  Something she can regularly do without even looking but this morning everything seemed more complicated. 

We start encountering bridges immediately after the morning rush hour curfew and constantly drew closer and closer to he locks.  At 8AM I call the Harvey Lock master and explain the situation.  He said nervousness is good.  It will keep you focused.  He reviewed the procedure and told me what he was going to ask me to do and where to tie up. He said he likes to send sail boats thru by themselves.  He told me when to call him on the VHF channel 14 and how he would then give me instructions. It was very reassuring and I relayed it to the first mate.  He said one thing that at the time did not make sense.  He said: “I don’t mind explaining things.  I want things to go smoothly in my lock.  At least I do, the other guys may do it different”.  I did not make much of it then but later his words returned to me.

So the canal was crowded.  We had a big tug in front of us and a barge and tow behind.  As instructed we call the Harvey locks when we were between the Palco bridge and the Express bridge.  The Lock Master immediately answered and said he was going to change things up from what he said this morning.  He wanted me to pull up and tie off to a slanted part of the line up walls into the locks.  Understand there is a road bridge and a railroad bridge immediately in front.

That low dark bulkhead just to the right of the bridges in the picture above is where he want us to tie up an wait.  He had a tug in the lock and wanted the barge that was behind us to tie up to the wall on the left side of the bridge.  He had a large tug wait on the side of the canal.  He was going to put all three of us into the lock together.  Remember one of my dreaded situations.  However the Lock Master instructed us to pull in second after the barge had tied off and pull forward to the second pin.  That way when he opens the lock gates to the river I could be the first to leave and not get hammered by the prop wash of the bigger boats.  I was starting to like this guy.
So all three of us were staged up out side the locks.  We did not have to call the lift bridge or the railroad bridge because they worked in conjunction with the lock.  When the Lock master sounded his horn the lift bridge and railroad bridge took that as instruction to open.  It made sense.  The railroad bridge was being worked on so there was some delay as they got the men off of it before they raised it, but raise it they did and out came the tug.  We got a couple of scratches as the tug went by but otherwise did OK and proceeded into the lock after the tug got tied up.

We got tied up to the correct pin without incident.  The 1st mate was an awesome line handler.

The last tug was brought in.

The lock gates were closed and the water level rose about 4 feet.  The lock master told us when he blows the horn that we are to proceed out first.  He warned; “don’t delay”.  When I heard the horn we cast off and left.

The above picture is the view of the Harvey lock after we left and proceeded into the river. 

Remember the previous bit about checking in with the VTS and having to talk with the other vessels.  This is a picture of “tense me” with two radios, steering the boat.  In the background you can see North 46 coming up from behind.  I am looking for someplace to hide or wishing I was anyplace but here.  The 1st mate was feeding information about boats and movements around us the whole time.

Seeing New Orleans this way is pretty neat.
The short story is working together we made it down river to the Industrial locks and started calling for the Lock Master on the Marine VHF channel 14.  No Answer. 

Nobodies Home.

Turns out that the tug and barge (The Polly P) we were lock with was also waiting on the same lock.  He was pushed into the bank waiting.  He called me on the radio and said the lock does not appear to be answering the radio or telephone.  The 1st mate gave me the lock phone number and I tried to call and was only able to leave a message.  The 1st mate tried the office and they assured her the locks were operating and the Lock Master was perhaps occupied with personal business.  We were instructed to continue trying to reach him on the radio and telephone.  I relayed the message to the Polly P and we both continued calling the lock for the next 30 mins while we drifted around in the river.
Finally the Industrial Lock Master answered the radio calls like nothing is out of the ordinary and when I call him he said for me to come ahead.  The rest of the time he is answering calls from the 29 waiting tugs that have been waiting to get thru the lock.  I say 29 because I overheard him up date the status on tugs turn as 11th, then 6th and also I heard a 29th. 
We proceeded toward the lock and I could see the lock gate was being opened.  No horn was sounded and there was a draw bridge between the me and the lock.  I called the Lock Master again and asked if I need to call the bridge or was that some thing they coordinated like the Harvey Locks.  The reply was; “This ain’t the Harvey, you call em”..  Tamera knew the name (The Claude St bridge) and I called them and asked for them to open.  No answer.  I called again and they said they were closing the traffic barriers now to just cool off.  I was stopped in the channel drifting towards the bridge while we waited for it to get open.  What is amazing is this bridge sits right next to the lock gates and I am stopped in the channel on the other side of the bridge and the lock gate are open and the Lock Master told me to come into the lock and the bridge operator did nothing.  They all monitor the same marine VHF channel 14.
We proceeded into the locks alone and the gates were closed.  In this case we locked off of the river alone.  In this lock there are no pins to tie up to.  The Lock Master will throw you a line to hold onto.  This Lock Master gave no other instructions.  The doors were open and we proceeded out. 

Immediately after getting out of the lock you need to call the Claire borne St. bridge.  It also is not coordinated with the lock even though there is no place to go between the lock and the bridge.   called the bridge and got a garbled response.  I was not even sure it was the bridge that responded.  I waited a bit and watched the bridge for evidence the bridge operator was making ready to open the bridge.  I saw no indication traffic was being stopped and called the Bridge to confirm the request.  I got an angry reply that she was putting down the barriers now, to just keep my britches on. 
At the next bridge (Florida St bridge) I called again.  I was told to stand by.  So we waited and waited and drifted down towards the bridge.  I called again to find out how much longer to stand by so I could move the boat away from the bridge and into a clearer area if it was going to be much longer.  Again I got the angry reply that the barriers are going down now.

You can see both the Claire borne and Florida (closest one) street bridges in this picture.  There is a striking difference between the west bank locks and the east bank locks.  I have been thru these locks twice.  I have talked to the Algiers and Harvey locks and they have been very helpful and given me the information I needed to get thru the lock successfully.  The adjacent bridges are coordinated with the lock thru horn signals.  You are free to contact them but they are going to remind you they will open by command from the Lock Master.  The east bank lock and there is only one of them and maybe that is the problem does not answer the phone and when he finally does answer gives instructions that short and non-descript.  The bridges are not commanded by the Lock Master and operate begrudgingly to radioed requests.  You may have to suffer some attitude but they do eventually open and let you thru.
We were thru the Big Easy.

This is the NASA facility on the way out of town that built the shuttles' engines and in the 1960’s built the engines for the Saturn 5 rocket.