OT: Ship Island

[Snowman79]

Anyone have any experience taking family there?

[Political Hack]

take your own boat and being your own food and drink. don't go on a big weekend if it's a family outing.

south side of the island is like the Florida beaches IMO.

[PassInterference]

Which is why they should have let them go after Katrina. Rebuilding barrier islands is such a Larry Tempelton move.

[BeastMan]

Best kept secret in ms. Best ms beaches by far. Take the big boat from Gulfport and there are 2 drop off and 2 pick up times. Take a cooler with wheels. Rent an umbrella and a couple chairs. There are bathrooms and showers to clean up out there. Also concessions and a civil war fort. Great time

[Bothrops]

Been there twice about 20 years apart. Last trip was a couple of years before Katrina, and the boat ride took about 35-40 mins each way. I was a kid the first time and remember breaching dolphins swimming along side the boat. The beaches were nice but not Gulf Shores quality. The water was fair, low surf, but a lot better than water at Biloxi Beach. That may have improved some since Katrina.

[Political Hack]

the only issue with taking the ferry out is that it leaves on a schedule so you may be trapped for a little while with the kids out there before you can leave. just check the schedule closely before taking it. I prefer to have my own transportation out there because you get there and back a lot faster... plus you can drop anchor on the north beach and wade in.

[Cabo32]

If you're implying that the barrier islands are the reason for our not-so-Florida beaches, then you're wrong...it's that big ole river to the west

[Johnson85]

Anyone have any experience taking family there?

It's a good trip whether you have your own boat or take the ferry. Going on your on boat will shorten the trip out there and give you flexibility on when you go and come back. It will also let you anchor on the south side on a calm day, avoiding the trek from the south to north side, although a lot of people just anchor and stay on the north side regardless. With the ferry, if you take the early morning boat, by the time you trek to the south side of the island, I think you have like an hour and a half at the beach before you need to head back to catch the first ferry, which may not be as long as you want to stay. But if you wait for the second ferry, it's like another 4 hours later or something. So you are either out there for a short day or a long day.

The plus side to the Ferry is that you don't have to worry about your own boat. No worry about mechanical failures or getting caught in a thunderstorm that pops up or even getting beat up if the wind picks up. No trailering or cleaning up your boat afterwards. You can have some drinks without worrying about driving your boat. If it's not a crowded day, the ferry ride is actually pretty comfortable. On crowded days, it's not.

[BeastMan]

Hack, I think the boat drop offs are 8 and 10 and the pickups are 2 and 5. So 10-2 is the shortest trip and 8-5 being the longest. I go minimum once a year and I'd say they are hands down the nicest beaches in ms.

[Political Hack]

yeah... I remembered it being several hours between departures. usually not ready to leave by 2 and always wanted got leave before 5. I haven't been out there in several years, but it's always a lot of fun. We used to go to deer island too, which is still crappy water but it's a remote beach within eyeshot of the Biloxi harbor and was a great place to throw a party. we'd take jet skis back and forth.

[Political Hack]

If you're implying that the barrier islands are the reason for our not-so-Florida beaches, then you're wrong...it's that big ole river to the west

I think it would help some... but you're probably right. having that amount of sediment dump that close to the beaches is probably going to leave the water dirty no matter what is done with the barrier islands.

I've always wondered why the MSGC doesn't do more with the islands though. They're easily the nicest beaches near New Orleans. Seems like they'd be able to capitalize and commercialize them a little more.

[Johnson85]

I think it would help some... but you're probably right. having that amount of sediment dump that close to the beaches is probably going to leave the water dirty no matter what is done with the barrier islands.

I've always wondered why the MSGC doesn't do more with the islands though. They're easily the nicest beaches near New Orleans. Seems like they'd be able to capitalize and commercialize them a little more.

I'm not sure the difference would even be noticeable. The Pearl River, Biloxi/other river I can pronounce but not spell, and the Pascagoula all dump out right there and all send water inside the barrier islands. There'd be some smaller amount of sediment if the barrier islands didn't hold the water in, but I'm not sure you'd get a meaningful increase in visibility in the water.

Also, my understanding is that the barrier islands wouldn't go away if we stopped maintaining them, they'd simply migrate as there was some erosion and some accretion. I think the justification for maintaining them is that dredging the shipping channel and the ship traffic actually change the pattern of migration, as dredging takes away sediment that would offset some of the erosion if it stayed in place.

[FISHDAWG]

If you're implying that the barrier islands are the reason for our not-so-Florida beaches, then you're wrong...it's that big ole river to the west

roger that ! ..... it's known as the Mississippi Gulf Outlet and it throws silty water everywhere and as far out as a 100 miles in some places .... ship is on the eastern edge of the current .... if you have your own boat I would stay east of there ... maybe Horn or Petis-Bois .... water there is more green than brown and on occasion, I have seen blue water creep in for a while ...... water is much nicer on the Eastern islands

[Political Hack]

Mister Go ruins everything!

[Bothrops]

I think it would help some... but you're probably right. having that amount of sediment dump that close to the beaches is probably going to leave the water dirty no matter what is done with the barrier islands.

I've always wondered why the MSGC doesn't do more with the islands though. They're easily the nicest beaches near New Orleans. Seems like they'd be able to capitalize and commercialize them a little more.

Probably the fear of hurricanes, which could rearrange any of the islands if hit. I believe Camille split Ship Island in half in '69.

[Political Hack]

it did. ripped right through it. But cheap cabins would be easy to build and rent out. the repair and replacement costs would be minimal. Also, having a cheap doc out there for multiple boats with something like the boathouse bar in Destin out there would be cool. the casinos could run party barges out there and they could also float barges for stages out there for more musical performances and stuff. they do it sometimes, but it could be like crab island in Destin with even more stuff to do.

[PassInterference]

Army Corps Plans to Restore Miss. Barrier Islands
By The Associated Press Saturday, April 5, 2014 6 a.m. CDT Upvote0
#BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to shore up Mississippi's Barrier Islands by pumping in some 20 million cubic yards of sand.

#The corps disclosed plans at a public meeting Thursday in Biloxi.

#The corps plans to close the Camille Cut and restore the southern shoreline of East Ship Island. Those two projects will encompass about 1,500 acres. The work will be done in five phases.

#The restoration on Ship Island will cost about $363 million. The southwest corner of the island has already been restored.

#A project to restore dunes and the beach on eastern Cat Island, which hinges on the federal government buying that part of the island from BP, would cost $20 million.

#The corps also will try to correct mistakes that were made as the Pascagoula ship channel was dredged and that work could help replenish the island chain.

#"There is sand that migrates along the system, you might hear people talk about the littoral system," said Justin McDonald, chief engineer on the project. "The zone along these islands where sand moves actively, regularly."

#When the channel was dredged, about every 18 months, some of that sand was dumped outside the system and eventually built up what is known as Sand Island.

#"One of the purposes of this project is to not only put sand back into the system, but also take a look at how we're disposing of our dredge material to ensure we're putting in the right place to be benefit the long-term health of the system," McDonald said.

#Sand Island will remain, the corps promised.

#Corps' official Susan Rees said the corps should start moving sand for the restoration projects late this year.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Johnson85]

Army Corps Plans to Restore Miss. Barrier Islands
By The Associated Press Saturday, April 5, 2014 6 a.m. CDT Upvote0
#BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to shore up Mississippi's Barrier Islands by pumping in some 20 million cubic yards of sand.

#The corps disclosed plans at a public meeting Thursday in Biloxi.

#The corps plans to close the Camille Cut and restore the southern shoreline of East Ship Island. Those two projects will encompass about 1,500 acres. The work will be done in five phases.

#The restoration on Ship Island will cost about $363 million. The southwest corner of the island has already been restored.

#A project to restore dunes and the beach on eastern Cat Island, which hinges on the federal government buying that part of the island from BP, would cost $20 million.

#The corps also will try to correct mistakes that were made as the Pascagoula ship channel was dredged and that work could help replenish the island chain.

#"There is sand that migrates along the system, you might hear people talk about the littoral system," said Justin McDonald, chief engineer on the project. "The zone along these islands where sand moves actively, regularly."

#When the channel was dredged, about every 18 months, some of that sand was dumped outside the system and eventually built up what is known as Sand Island.

#"One of the purposes of this project is to not only put sand back into the system, but also take a look at how we're disposing of our dredge material to ensure we're putting in the right place to be benefit the long-term health of the system," McDonald said.

#Sand Island will remain, the corps promised.

#Corps' official Susan Rees said the corps should start moving sand for the restoration projects late this year.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Where is sand island? Never heard of it. Are people fishing off of it or hanging out on it? why do they care if it remains?

[Johnson85]

it did. ripped right through it. But cheap cabins would be easy to build and rent out. the repair and replacement costs would be minimal. Also, having a cheap doc out there for multiple boats with something like the boathouse bar in Destin out there would be cool. the casinos could run party barges out there and they could also float barges for stages out there for more musical performances and stuff. they do it sometimes, but it could be like crab island in Destin with even more stuff to do.

There was talk about a ferry to deer island. Problem is the water isn't really any better than the beach there.

Somebody with money like the casinos could support something cool on Deer Island or Ship Island, but the problem is they don't want a permanent attraction to compete with. They might sponsor an annual event like the old ship island blowout, but I don't think you can get it permitted any more. I think it was a huge headache for the USCG and I think the parks service hated it because a lot of trash was left out there. The casinos could probably get it done if they wanted, but something like that doesn't really bring a lot of traffic to their floors, so I'm not sure it makes sense for them to care that much.

The thing Crab island has going for it is that it's so easy to get to. Even tourists without much boating experience can rent a pontoon and get there. On the Coast you either have Deer Island, which is easy to get to but doesn't provide nice water, or something like Ship or Horn, where you really don't want somebody that doesn't know what they're doing going 10 miles off shore and you don't want them doing it in just any boat.

[BeastMan]

The thing Crab island has going for it is that it's so easy to get to. Even tourists without much boating experience can rent a pontoon and get there. On the Coast you either have Deer Island, which is easy to get to but doesn't provide nice water, or something like Ship or Horn, where you really don't want somebody that doesn't know what they're doing going 10 miles off shore and you don't want them doing it in just any boat.

Can you imagine a rookie boater, in a rented pontoon boat, getting caught in 2-3 seas on the way back from Ship Island? The coast guard would have a lives to save