S/V Pura Vida: Transiting the 1000 Foot Cut (as submitted for TMCA)

The Sabine lake, located between southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas, has two major entrances. From the south, the lake is accessible from the Sabine Pass channel and under the Route 82 bridge. From the north, the best access for boats with drafts greater than 3 feet is through the 1000 foot cut. I assume the cut is so named for its length. My best guess is it is approximately 75 feet wide and 7 to 8 feet deep. Over the years it has been marked by PVC pipes, anchored floats and even floating barrels but because of storms and barge traffic they don't last.

Often members of the PAYC, including myself, are contacted for coordinates through the cut. Last week I was contacted by TMCA and again a few days ago while underway and returning from Lake Charles for the coordinates. I texted the caller the picture below of my MFD listing those coordinates.

Over the years several waypoints have been shared. Most have been pretty accurate but for some reason don't always work. Sometimes they are keyed inaccurately into the GPS, because of the three different input options; degrees, minutes and decimals; degrees, decimals; and, degrees, minutes and seconds. I prefer to use degrees, minutes and decimals as recommended by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Below are pictures of my MFD showing my waypoints and pictures while transiting through the cut. I tried to take those pictures while at each waypoint. They are not exact but they are close. Also notice the depth and direction as verification as I was transiting north, out of Sabine Lake. However, I have put the pictures in reverse order below hopefully to be useful entering the lake from the ICW.

5 wpts on chart

The picture to the right shows the waypoints with a slight curve to the east while traveling north.

The two pictures immediately below list the waypoints on my MFD. All 6 waypoints were not visible; thus, two pictures.

Please select any picture for a larger view.