The TMCA “French Peekneek” Cruise is coming soon!
First of all, some may have seen that I recently posted on TMCA’s Facebook page a document describing the history of this cruise, a history written by the actual creator of this event back in the 90s, TMCA’s Commodore in 1995, Don Thomson. And in case you missed it on Facebook, here is the link to it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1v6ykpu6t044pyz/French%20Picnic%20History%20%28PK%20edit%29.pdf?dl=0
Secondly, I have recently been sharing on Facebook some links to “French Peekneek” photo albums which are located on my Flickr site, this in an attempt to show viewers unfamiliar with the event what it has looked like in the past, and perhaps then to gin up some interest in making it happen again!
Thirdly, there are several TMCA members who I am aware of who are interested in doing such a cruise over the weekend of November 26-28, although due to several years of flagging interest, this cruise will NOT look like some of the big “Peekneek” extravaganzas of years past! What it can be however, and what I hope it will be, is just a simple two-night cruise to the “Pasture” along the East Fork of Double Bayou, a long-standing favorite TMCA destination which, like the “Peekneek” event itself, has been quite neglected in recent years! I always call the “Pasture” (private land which we have permission to use…) kind of a “magical” place, and it really is for many reasons, and y’all need to come out and rediscover its charms!!
So I am proposing just a very simple cruise over on Friday (weather permitting of course…), and then just a weekend of fun and relaxation along the shores of this scenic waterway. The important things to bring with you are your chairs, a table of some kind if you can handle that, dishes to share for both Friday and Saturday nights (and they don’t even need to be French unless you want them to be…), a bundle or two of firewood (very important!!!), and the usual flashlights, mosquito spray, and your Pasture gangplank! (more below on the gangplank thing…) It is also a great place for dinghy exploring further up the bayou, and also flying kites, so consider bringing those also!
As Don’s History document describes, even two months after hurricane Ike totally devastated this immediate area, we still had a very simple “French Peekneek Cruise” with a dozen or so boats participating, and if we were able to do that then, why not now??!!!
For those newer TMCA members who have never been to Double Bayou, everything that you need to know about navigating to this destination, and then also what you need to know about how we tie up there (including all about those gangplanks) is contained in two files: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uupfjt43f3cqh2k/Double%20Bayou%20Navigation%20%28Pasture%20version%29.pdf?dl=0 and also https://www.dropbox.com/s/morh4ja5t35he7s/DB%20Pasture%20mooring.pdf?dl=0, and I will be more than happy to answer questions about any of it. And for those other members who, perhaps from a not-so-good past experience, are maybe a bit unnerved about getting your vessel up the Double Bayou channel, and avoiding those shallow spots, from my own experience of three trips over there this year (and four in 2020), I just have to say that, with careful navigation, there is no reason at all that 40 and 50 ft powerboats, and sailboats even with drafts in the 5++ft range, can’t make it in there! Towboats and workboats with drafts of 6 and 7ft make it in and out of the Double Bayou channel every day, helping by their passages to keep the channel open just for the rest of us, and so let’s take advantage of it!
We did of course have to cancel the recent Chili/Halloween Cruise to Job Beason Marina due to the huge norther that recently roared through and blew all the water out of the bay, and that certainly could happen again, and so we’ll just have to see what happens. The “predicted” tide levels are mostly favorable however, although a very early start on Friday morning would be suggested due to falling water levels as the day wears on.
Disclaimer: Because I happen to be posting this write-up some might consider me to be the Cruise Leader for this event. And that is fine if you want to call me that! But other than what I have described above about making this just a very simple weekend cruise to the “Pasture”, I am not organizing anything!!! I do of course hope for some good weather, and it would then be great if we could get 10 or 20 boats over there, but we’ve got to start somewhere!!!
There will be a Registration starting on the website very soon. There is plenty of room over there for even dozens of boats, but this sign-up is just so that you can see who else is planning on going, a tactic that sometimes all by itself generates interest amongst other cruisers! So please do register for this cruise as soon as you can!
Fair winds to all…
Philip Kropf
s/v Silhouette
"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust our sails."
