Princess Louisa Inlet

We arrived in the legendary Princess Louisa Inlet after we passed through Malibu Rapids.  The approach to the end of the inlet is similar to what we had seen passing through the rest of Jervis Inlet – high, steep mountainous rock faces with towering cedars and firs clinging to what little root space they can dig themselves into.  We passed waterfall after high, tumbling waterfall, but once we cornered that last point and finally beheld the wonder that is Chatterbox Falls, only then did we know that we had most certainly arrived.  Couple that with the steep and towering cliff face directly above our anchorage and the crew was a bit gobsmacked as we entered the marine park.

After checking out the Provincial Park dock and finding no room, and after also finding no good anchor spots near the mouth of the falls, we tucked ourselves into a nice little corner of the inlet with a little waterfall of our own.  Our anchor went down in the dusky light of the evening.  We spent the whole next day floating and dingying around, hiking around the base of the waterfalls, and just soaking up the amazingness of the the British Columbia coastline.  What a truly special corner of the province.

Day 5 & 6 - Pender Harbour to Malibu Rapids

For 2 days, Cap’n Adam and his helpful assistant Shawn tinkered with that port-side engine.  The motor keeps sputtering and dying because it seems that somewhere in the labyrinth of hoses, hose-clamps, screws, and filters between the diesel tank and the engine, air is getting into the fuel line.  The Cap’n identified a few suspect junctions and tightened ‘em up.  There was a stripped screw hole that needed proper sealing.  A washer or two were replaced.  And so we set out, cautiously optimistic that the port-side engine, which could idle healthily while tied up to the dock, would be somewhat functional.

After leaving Pender Harbour & docking at the fuel dock with Shawn down in the engine room furiously pumping the fuel primer ball, we had to decide whether or not to continue our journey on predominantly one motor.  Either that or try to rig the primer ball so that it was outside the engine room and on the deck with the rest of the crew.  Since our destination was not a desolate part of the coast, and since it is definitely the busy boating season in BC and we wouldn’t risk being stranded somewhere, we decided to go for it.  Plus, the wind seemed to be heading the same way we were, which seemed like a good sign. 

With genniker hoisted and jib unfurled on complementary sides of the boat we sailed our first such “wing-on-wing”; a lovely and efficient use of wind and sail which enjoys an almost poetic reverence amongst sailors.  Using this harness of nature’s power we hit a maximum speed of 8.4 knots, quite a bit faster than using both engines when we average about 5.5 knots.  We soared up Agamemnon Channel to Dark Cove just south of Goliath Bay on the coastal mainland, and dropped the hook for the night.  Continuing our journey the next morning we sailed up Jervis Inlet through Prince of Wales Reach, Princess Royal Reach and finally Queen’s Reach, where we got to Malibu Rapids and the mouth of Princess Louisa Inlet.  This used to be the site of a private resort, but now it is a Christian youth camp.  

We made this journey under mostly hazy skies but almost perfect winds.  We missed the warmth of the sun a little bit however the majestic scenery of the mountainous coastline made up for it.