Mile 11.5 - LBD Baptiste Collette Bayou
11.5 LBD Baptiste Collette Bayou
(9 miles to reach Gulf of Mexico. Heavy traffic. Not recommended.)
- Fimbel Pass
- Emeline Pass
- Heavy Traffic
- Numerous Oil Derricks & Platforms
Everyone knows that the Mississippi River flows south to the Gulf of Mexico, right? Wrong! Not always, anyway. The Mississippi flows towards all points of the compass in its 2300 mile journey. Now, as if intent on dispelling this myth of the southerly flowing river, here at its first major pass it turns a 180 degree half donut spin back to the north, and spills its muddy guts northward into Breton Sound!
Baptiste Collette Bayou is your first big pass splintering off the Lower Mississippi River. You have been paddling past other passes and canals leading to the ocean, but none this big, and none with this size of traffic. Baptiste Collette is heavily used by crew ships and supply vessels for the hundreds of derricks and oil platforms scattered through this part of Breton Sound. Watch for fast moving vessels with sleek prows carving the water, and big waves following. They normally slow down for smaller craft, but they don’t always see you. BTW: great camp sites possible on either side of the entrance to Baptiste Collette.
If you are comfortable with waves and heavy traffic you could paddle 9 miles down Baptiste Collette Bayou to reach the open waters of Breton Sound. There are many beaches towards the end of Baptiste Collette, but they are difficult to get to. We do not recommend ending your trip here. But if you insist, your best plan would be to go to Google Earth and closely inspect route first for best navgation and turnaround place.
-1.9 RBD Emeline Pass
1.9 miles down Baptiste Collette you can turn into Emeline Pass and paddle another 6 miles to Gulf via Breton Sound, but be forewarned, no sandy beaches are to be found.
-2.5 RBD Fimbel Pass
Fimbel Pass is found 2.5 miles Baptiste Collette Bayou. You can paddle down Fimbel Pass 5 miles to reach Breton Sound, but it is very busy with oil industry traffic, and there are no beaches.
-6 to -8 Baptiste Collette Jetty
From -6 to -8 a long jetty lines both sides of Baptiste Collette Bayou making it very dangerous for paddlers, and impossible to reach beaches and points of interest behind.