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 >
