October 12th, 2024
Nearly a year after my trip with the British Seagull 40 Plus I set out again with a four stroke 2hp Honda a friend gave me. It was another beautiful day… a slight chill in the air and not a cloud in the sky. I launched at the local boat ramp around 9am and started up the river. The goal was to find the right fork and explore further into the swamp since I didn’t have any specific time to be back home.
I didn’t take any pictures on the way up since it really felt like a continuation of the trip from last year. I saw the same guy fishing on his dock under the transmission lines, got stuck in the same place, and even ran out of gas 130 yards apart!
Here’s where I made a left and was able to continue two miles further up into the Dragon Swamp. Unfortunately it was right at low tide so the channel was narrow and downed trees were an issue.
Last year’s trip in yellow vs this year in green.
It’s hard to convey how beautiful it is back here. Everything was this vivid full green color with hints of fall colors in places. The river water was dark from leeching tannins of the 140 square mile swamp, yet clear enough that more than once I freaked out thinking I was about to hit a submerged tree yet it passed well under my centerboard. Sometimes it was hard to spot the next bend from the reflection of all the trees.
It got narrower…
and narrower…
And in a few places blocked entirely by guys fishing. One turn I took way too close to the inside trying to get around a pair of boats and I ran aground. They looked at me like I was nuts, but raising the centerboard and poling off with an oar had me free again in a few seconds.
Eventually I ran up on a fallen tree and could go no further. I bet at high tide I’d be able to get over it, so maybe next year. It looks like there’s 40-50 more miles of river that kayaks and canoes can navigate.
Look at all those cypress knees just waiting to rip your hull open!
On the way back down I swung over to check out the crane on the sunken barge. It’s a Northwest lattice boom crawler that I assume was used for dredging. Funny enough the radiator fan was still spinning in the breeze.
I ended up going 31 miles in 6:10 at an average of 5 miles an hour. I kept the throttle at the start position, or about half throttle. For fuel economy, I averaged 8.16 miles per 1 liter tank which works out to 30.89 miles per gallon or 0.16 gallons per hour. Nearly twice as efficient as the two stroke British Seagull.
I saw bald eagles, osprey, herons, kingfishers, pileated woodpeckers, a red tailed hawk, squirrels, a long nosed gar, and various other large fish I don’t know the names of. Not a bad day for $4.10 in gas!