The protected Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) route arcs 870 miles from Pensacola to the Rio Grande. Expect to encounter a variety of conditions, ranging from open water on Mississippi Sound to narrow, sometimes cramped, canals and waterways. Lagoons and bayous often alternate with long and sometimes tedious land cuts. The route runs past historic southern cities rich in antebellum history, such as New Orleans, to coastal towns that cater specifically to boaters like Kemah (Clear Lake).

Weather

Summers are hot but tolerable in the Gulf states; otherwise, this is an exceptional area from April through November. The area is semi-tropical and influenced heavily by the Gulf of Mexico, which creates warm, moist air flowing generally northward from spring to fall, bringing relatively high temperatures and rain. New Orleans can be soggy and humid, while coastal waters in Texas often experience strong gales.

Fog is an occasional problem in the Mississippi Delta region westward to the mid-Texas coast in springtime but seldom drops visibility below 2 miles. In these cases, be especially cautious of the commercial traffic that is more frequent in this area than in other parts of the Gulf Coast.

Dockage & Anchorage

In many areas of the western Gulf Coast, marinas and fuel stops are scarce and often hold irregular hours. Keep a sizable reserve in your tanks and call ahead to fuel docks as soon as you are in range. Because the GIWW was once strictly a commercial waterway, many facilities remain geared to commercial vessels. In Louisiana and Texas a cell phone is a necessity as many facilities geared to pleasure craft no longer monitor the VHF.

Commercial Traffic

Many commercial ships run offshore in the Gulf of Mexico heading from port to port or serving offshore oil rigs. Gulf Coast waters are also worked intensively by large fishing and shrimping fleets as well as by the ever-present sportfishing vessels running in and out of the many passes. Once inside, the GIWW is often crowded with tugs and barges. Barge rigs can be enormous, exceeding 1,000 feet in length in some cases. Vessels of this size must swing wide in turns and need up to a quarter mile to stop. Moreover, they usually travel together. Commercial craft expect yachts to stay clear and give way under all circumstances.

Most of the professional captains working these waters are valuable sources of information and normally happy to help visiting boaters. It is hard to overestimate the importance of VHF radio. Call captains to find out when it is safe to pass, what traffic lies ahead and the best way to pass. Know the whistle signals; you will be told to pass on one whistle, two whistles or not at all. Call towboats on VHF Channels 13 or 16. In areas with heavy commercial traffic, you may want to leave your VHF on Channel 13.

An Automatic Identification System (AIS) is also useful along this coast. When linked to a chart-plotter or tablet navigation system, AIS accurately pinpoints the location of all transmitting vessels and greatly improves safety when navigating the inland waterways. Most commercial vessels utilize AIS while running the rivers and when docked at their destinations. In addition to locating tows, AIS will generally report other pertinent information: the vessel's name, length, draft, heading, speed and current status. We recommend AIS that both transmits and receives, thus enabling other vessels to see you as well.

For more information on navigating the Western Gulf Coast, purchase a print Waterway Guide Gulf Coast Edition or a Waterway Guide Subscription.