Cruising in Louisiana

Water writes the map of Louisiana: the Gulf Coast, a maze of bayous, wide wetlands, and the Mississippi River Delta pushing mud into the sea. For a recreational boater, that means range, you can chase game fish offshore in the Gulf on Saturday and idle under cypress limbs on a bayou Sunday morning. Lake Pontchartrain, the huge estuary north of New Orleans, and the fish-rich waters of Barataria Bay anchor much of the traffic, opening both inshore and nearshore water.

These waterways carry more than boats, they carry the culture. Tie up in Slidell, Grand Isle, or Houma and the seafood restaurant and the live music are usually a short walk from the dock. The charter fleet runs deep, especially for fishing: local captains put visitors on redfish, speckled trout, and offshore game fish that would take years to find alone. Sailors, cruisers, and paddlers all get their share of this water too.