Sailing is fun in Madisonville Louisiana, we love the sleepy – old school charm of the place. Main street runs right along the river sporting massive oak trees reaching out with limbs the size of a mans body. Moss filled trees provide shade for the grassy shore, the city maintains 30 amp hookups all along the bank…. it’s a neat place to keep the boat. From our marina we break out onto the Tchefunte River – heading North we have 10 miles of cypress lined river to run, heading South it’s only 2.5 miles down the river to Lake Pontchartrain.
Lake Pontchartrain is 28 miles across and about 30 miles long, we have sailed the main lake twice now. Both trips were highly satisfactory…. the wind filled in just after noon providing enough pressure to surpass 8 knots on both outings. The morning was calm so there were no “left over” waves on the lake. Waves only formed as the wind filled in…… making for a very pleasant sea state.
Madisonville has several water front boating options; several bars and a few restaurants that offer very fine seafood and drinks. We like to call in a seafood platter to go, and snack on it as we cruise around. Weekends are great on the river…. there are lots of boats yet it’s not too crowded… the best of both worlds. There’s a sandbar to wade around on.. you can chat with your neighbors in waist deep water or flop down in a short legged lawn chair, sipping on a nice cold drink……
At some point we will take advantage of our geography and make a run to Destin Florida, we are now only a day and a half away! Half the Gulf of Mexico run that we used to dread so much is no longer a factor heading toward Florida. Soon we plan to make a trip across the lake to New Orleans and stay for the weekend. There are many options yet to explore here in Madisonville on the North shore of the Pontchartrain.
Sea Yawl Later !! Rusty