Sounds like a typical Lake Pontchartrain sail! Ed Levert C&C 34 Briar Patch New Orleans
Sent from my iPhone > On Sep 12, 2022, at 8:47 PM, Todd Williams via CnC-List > <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > > > Wow! I have never seen WEEDS like that. It is a jungle! > > Up here in New York we get marine growth from the lake bottom that reaches > the surface about this time of year. Apparently this weekend we had five > boats that collected enough weeds to foul their propellers and render the > boat inoperable. Two couldn’t coast to the dock and needed to be retrieved > with another vessel. The talk from the wise ones is that this year the weeds > have been the worst ever. > > Some marinas have a device to trim the weeds with a big set of shears like > you would use for a Marines’ crew cut and a conveyer belt to hoist the > cuttings on to a barge. Agricultural runoff pollution is often to blame for > the prolific growth. > > Fun times! > > TODD > Indigo Out We Go > Sodus Bay, NY > >> On Mon, Sep 12, 2022 at 9:33 PM CHARLES SCHEAFFER via CnC-List >> <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: >> Wild story. Smart solution. >>> On 09/12/2022 9:15 PM Dennis C. via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: >>> >>> >>> Touche's slip is on Bayou Castine on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. >>> Fairly tropical most of the year. >>> >>> Monday I went for a nice sail on the lake. Well, nice if you don't count >>> the biting flies and love bugs. If you don't know about love bugs, Google >>> them. They're disgusting creatures whose only natural enemies are >>> Kenworths and Peterbilts. They occur in spring and late summer. >>> >>> Just out of my slip I saw a 5-7 foot alligator then another about 8-9 feet. >>> >>> >>> The bayou has developed a prolific growth of water weeds. As I came to a >>> tight spot in the bayou, the weeds forced Touche' and a Catalina 34 to pass >>> close aboard in a narrow section of the bayou. >>> >>> When I returned to the slip, the weather was deteriorating and I wanted to >>> get Touche' tied up before the storm hit. Oh, crap! A large island of >>> weeds had drifted across the entrance to Touche's slip. I tried to back up >>> to it, grab it with a boat hook and move it out of the way. No luck. The >>> storm was approaching fast so I just powered into the slip bow first >>> pushing the weeds in with me. The island of weeds wrapped around the bow >>> and keel. I normally back in. The dock lines worked and Touche' was >>> safely tied up when the storm hit. It was raining hard and I was reluctant >>> to get wet to retrieve the shore power cord to fire up the air >>> conditioning. All that was missing was for The Rock to show up in his >>> Jungle Cruise costume. >>> >>> During the storm, I sweated and pondered how to clear the weeds. >>> Fortunately, the storm killed any wind. I backed out of the slip, motored >>> around to the far side of my pier, tied Touche's stern to the pier and used >>> the propwash to blow the weeds out of the slip and into the bayou. I could >>> then pull back around the pier and back into the slip normally. >>> >>> The harbormaster said he'd contacted Wildlife and Fisheries to come spray >>> the weeds. Estimated 2-3 weeks. What joy! >>> >>> Here's pictures: >>> https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qIsKMu82fMUa_zSF_QhDqLjBycwYQCx2?usp=sharing >>> >>> >>> The one titled "Weeds blown out" shows using the propwash to clear the slip. >> >>> -- >>> Dennis C. >>> Touche' 35-1 #83 >>> Mandeville, LA
