We've been out on the Gulf of Mexico quite a bit lately (and just for
Tim, the first OBROFF - the fishing has been fairly good - Red Snapper,
Tuna, Cobia, 'jacks, etc., but this past week/weekend had some pretty
rough water out in the open Gulf - enough to green up a couple of girls
on two fair good-sized boats), and on the most recent return trip in, we
stopped to overnight at one of the barrier islands, Petit Bois. It is
about 10-11 miles/16-18 KM due south of Pascagoula, MS. We had a 15'
fairly narrow canoe on board (for use as a dink and shallow-water
platform when in such areas), so I decided to really put it to the test.
We launched it, loaded it with my SO, our youngish dog (who had never
been in such a canoe), a little gear, and set off from the anchorage to
the island. With the dog moving any old way and the SO playing with the
dog, it felt a little unstable casting, but I could easily do so without
tipping it over.

Does this mean that I think anyone can just jump into a canoe and get
after it? No. It does mean that someone with some moderate
boat-handling skills can easily do it. And FWIW, the dog had her
lifejacket on, as did my SO, and I had my ripcord belt on. All can
swim, the water was at anchorage only about 7 feet, rapidly decreasing
in depth as we approached the beach, and the water early-morning calm,
but I didn't wish to take any chances, and I'd recommend the same to
anyone.

Katrina was now about 10 months ago, and the barrier islands have had a
number of clean-ups, but there are still things floating around and
washing ashore. To give those unfamiliar with the weird, awesome power
of such storms some idea, we found some things that were perfect
examples, namely, a 10' section of dock with attached pilings (ripped
right out of the bottom), several red "fascia" bricks (a few still
mortared together), a several-hundred gallon fuel tank on the middle of
the island (probably from a ripped-apart shrimp boat) and the strangest
of all - what appeared to be a bathroom wastebasket, placed upright and
still containing its waterlogged trash high upon the beach by recent
heavy seas. It had obviously been in the water for a while, as it had
some barnicle growth to one side, but it otherwise appeared just it must
have when the house that once held it was ripped to pieces.

We also found a large pine "driftwood" stump, fairly recently washed in,
with a bar of bath soap that had obviously been resting upon it for a
fair period of time. Given the location, etc., it's possible that
someone, rather than nature, placed it there, but either way, I choose
to look at it as a symbol of what will hopefully be a clean, fresh
beginning upon the destruction.

TC,
R