We had been told by friends we met at the marina in New Orleans (they sail Chick a Lou) that we could make it from Cat Island to New Orleans in a day. But it would require an early start and coordination/luck at the Rigolets railway bridge. We tried calling the bridge the day before as recommended to find out about maintenance, but we could not get through to anyone. We were on the fence about whether to go for it, but set our alarms for before sunrise just in case.
But ugh, I did not sleep well! And I was anxious when we got up because I'd heard the wind whistling in the rigging all night and I was worried we'd experience uncomfortably rolly waves all day like we had between Ship and Cat Island--or worse. We finally got going around 7am. We put up the sails right away and had a nice start. We had shallow waters ahead, so we decided to duck into the ICW's channel. The charts showed a couple of spots with 1 foot depth and names like First Key and Pelican Key. (We learned at Fort Massachusetts that sailors of old had to seek the assistance of the famed Jean Lafitte to navigate the shallows past Cat Island and on to New Orleans). We motor sailed to keep up the pace and to keep steerage. And, the waves were not bad.
When we made the bend onto a more westerly course, we could switch off the motor and sail. So many crab pots to dodge all day. It was kind of fun actually--something to do! We saw a couple of boats picking up/laying out crab pots, which we'd never seen before. 
And the sail was amazingly nice--we were going 6 even 7 knots at times and yet it was comfortable (not heeling too much, not rolling or slamming on waves). How funny, I thought, to have a couple of nice sailing days like this as our journey comes to an end. Eventually though, the wind died down and we had to switch to motor sailing and eventually take the sail down.
As we approached the Rigolets railway bridge around lunch time we tried calling ahead on the VHF (calling for the Rigolets Bridge, which is what is named on our charts). No response. Maybe we were too far away. Finally as we got close, we had the idea to call for the railway bridge. That time the bridge tender responded. We've had this situation before where the bridge tender will not respond at all if we don't use the right bridge name--except its not clear how we are supposed to know the right bridge name because it does not match what we have on our charts. It was around 12:55 p.m. and the bridge tender said he'd open the bridge after the train passed. The train didn't pass until an hour later!!! Meanwhile we were just circling around slowly--nearly losing our minds with boredom. At least no one got sea sick.
We continued on through the Rigolets by motor. We had been hearing coast guard reports on the VHF that the Hwy 90 bridge was closed to maritime traffic and we were hoping it was not the crossing that we had to go under (there are several Hwy 90 bridges--once again, it seems like a consistent and published set of unique bridge names might be useful!!). No problem getting through.
Should we try and motor--possibly sail if the wind picked back up--all the way to New Orleans? With the bridge delay it looked like an 8:30 p.m. post sunset arrival. Jason wanted to go for it! But as we approached the Highway 11 bridge and asked for its next opening, we realized that the adjacent railway bridge was about to close. Who knows how long before the train would pass through. We decided to turn around and spend the night at the Oak Harbor Marina in Slidell. We were all ready to relax, so this was the best choice. Plus, we soon started getting texts about a storm with street flooding in New Orleans--it would not have been a great homecoming!
We got started around 7:30 on Saturday April 26. There was no wind, which made for an easy launch from the dock. But, it also meant we had to proceed under motor the whole way. The waters were calm, the temperature was pleasant, and motoring was not too bad. No problems getting through the Hwy 11 railway bridge. 
Our trouble this day was bugs. We noticed a bunch of gnat like bugs all over the boat in Slidell. As we motored along it just got worse!! The girls didn't even want to come out on the deck. We had to put the screens in (which we've never had to do while underway before). And at the helm I was either using a towel to flick away the bugs or keeping an eye out for crab pots. The bugs ended up in our hair and all over us. By the time we got close to the South Shore, the bugs literally blanketed the solar panels, the back of the mast, and the flag. Yuck! At least they didn't bite. 
We arrived at the New Orleans Municipal Harbor marina just before lunch. With so little wind it was easy to stop by the pump-out station and moor at the transient dock. As we did so, our friends on Chick A Lou called out to welcome us home, and as we tied up our old dock neighbors on Summer Wind passed by headed out for a sail and called out a welcome. Home sweet home! We ended our journey as it began, with pizza at the Fuel Dock. I think we'll be reflecting on and remembering this adventure for years to come!