Tag Archives: Bayou Grand Caillou

For Dulac crabbing family, Hurricane Ida leaves destruction and strain

November 9, 2021   Gulf of Mexico, National

With Hurricane Ida’s unrelenting winds clocking more than 170 mph, Shane Luke questioned his decision to stay aboard his 38-foot shrimp boat in Bayou Grand Caillou. Outside the tiny windows, he watched helplessly as the rollup door to the family’s concrete crab-processing building flapped in the wind like a piece of paper in front of a fan. As the mast cracked like wooden matchstick, he took refuge in engine room, hoping it would be a final line of defense against Ida’s wrath. Three hundred miles to the east in Kehmah, Texas, Trudy Luke huddled with her husband, Timmy, and the rest of her family, worrying about her son as well as what would remain of her business upon return. photos, >click to read< 11:06

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“We felt safer on the boat” – Families on Bayou Grand Caillou left homeless after Hurricane Ida

September 5, 2021   Gulf of Mexico, National

Ida’s intense winds pushed the home mother-to-be Mauldin shared with her boyfriend and his family from its 4-foot concrete pillars onto the ground. The foundation broken and metal roof peeled away, the house appeared to be a complete loss. “Hopefully we can rebuild and start all over,” Verdin said. “I’ve been here forever. This is the first storm for us as homeowners that was this bad.” The family of six rode out the storm in a shrimp boat. Verdin’s husband, Manson Falgout Sr., has been a commercial shrimper for 30 years and captain of the F/V My Dad Whitney for at least a decade. “We felt safer on the boat,” Verdin said. “It’s all iron, and if the water rises, it floats. Thankfully we didn’t stay home. We lost our home.” Photo’s,  >click to read< 11:14

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Back on the Bayou: Local shrimp boat blessings return after a year lost to COVID

March 28, 2021   Gulf of Mexico

In a decades-old tradition, Catholic churches in fishing communities throughout south Louisiana lead the blessings in hopes of a safe and prosperous shrimp season. This year, the Rev. Antonio Speedy of Holy Family Catholic Church said the Blessing of the Fleet in Bayou Grand Caillou will look more like normal but will still have to keep the pandemic in mind. “It will be mostly family units on the boats, and it’s an outdoor event, so there will be plenty of wind blowing around, but we still have to stay prudent.” >click to read< 10:02

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