New Anchorages

Our early morning start paid off and we were rewarded with one of the best sail days we have had in a long time! Our journey up into Princess Louisa Inlet was rumoured to be a slow one and we anticipated having to motor most of the way… boy were we happy when the wind gods gave us 15 knots from behind and we were able to sail downwind right up into the entrance of Malibu Rapids.

Malibu Rapids sit at the mouth of Princess Louisa inlet and are known for currents that can rip at speeds of more than 10 knots. Using Point Atkinson as a reference and then adding 25/35 minutes based on the ebb or flood, we timed our arrival at the rapids for about an hour before slack. That way, we were able to bob around outside the rapids and watch as the current settled and boats started to transit through. We took the time waiting to wash our hair off the back of the boat and it wasn’t long before the other boats waiting around started to make a move. We snuck through behind a big motor vessel and Splash did great! It is definitely a squishy little pass and I was glad to have the rapids behind us as we made the final push to the head of the inlet.

This spot took our breath away. Steep mountains plummet into the ocean below and waterfalls rain down sheer faces of rock around every corner. To see the mountain tops, you have to crane your neck overhead as they climb rapidly into the alpine and touch the sky. We anchored in 90 feet of water — a new record for us — and after a couple tries the hook finally caught and we got a stern line to shore to settle in for the night. Before hunkering in for dinner, we took the dogs to shore and walked the short trail to Chatterbox Falls, an impressive waterfall that tumbles down from high above into a massive cascade of water that meets the ocean at roaring speeds. The inlet was completely quiet save for the subtle rumble of Chatterbox Falls on the shoreline. 

We spent two beautiful days at Princess Louisa enjoying some walking, paddle boarding, and swimming. On our second evening we had drinks to Zach and Becka from S/V Teulu, a young couple who has sailed their 40’ Colvic Viktor sailboat to Canada all the way from the UK. They were kind enough to share with us their favourite spots from their time in the Sea of Cortez and offer us advice for exploring the area. We also spent a wonderful evening with Emmanuel and Saxony from S/V Maddy, a couple from Comox who were out sailing for ten days and had a ton of local knowledge on the area. We swapped sailing stories and enjoyed the feeling of meeting other people who share the same passion for living closely with nature, travelling, and adventure. Our hearts were so full, and we left the next morning excited for our upcoming week with friends, but sad to leave such a special spot. 

We exited Malibu Rapids with no issue (although arrived early enough to have to wait for the literal rapids to settle — crazy what a narrow window it is to pass through safely) and were greeted by a 20 knot breeze. We raised our main feeling hopeful we might be able to sail out, but that hope was snatched away when we turned the first corner and it started to blow at 30 knots directly onto our nose, accompanied by big waves rolling at short intervals agains the current. Yuck! We attempted to sail upwind for a whopping five minutes before I got spooked — even with a reefed main and jib, Splash felt overpowered and I had zero interest in sailing head on in 30 knots for 35 nautical miles. Thankfully Brad agreed, so we furled everything up, turned on the engine, and buckled in for a long motor out and over to Harmony Islands. It was not a relaxing day… Splash was tossed around by waves that came up over the bow and were blown by the wind into our spray dodger. Going against the wind and current meant motoring at 2000RPM at a varying speed of 1.9 to 2.7 knots (in calm conditions, 2000RPM would get us 6 knots). We toughed it out and by the time we got closer to Jervis Inlet, things settled down and we were able to focus on getting to Harmony for the night.

Happy to finally reach our anchorage at 8pm, we were feeling pretty defeated when it took us nearly 45 minutes to get our anchor to catch and get a stern line to shore. Last time we were at Harmony Islands with Eric and Cheryl they struggled to get good holding as well and boy did we feel their frustration as darkness fell and we were soooo ready to be done for the day. We got the dogs to shore eventually but with no trails, it meant a bit of a bushwhack and all four of us were relieved to tuck in for the night. The next day we would travel north to Powell River to re-provision and pick up Natalie and Allen the following morning. 

We were greeted by more and more mountains as we travelled closer to Princess Louisa

Happy Brad at the helm.

Heading into the head of Princess Louisa Inlet

Beautiful forest walking.

You can see the speck of our mast on the far left hand side!

It's easy to start feeling pretty small in a place like this.

Cinna enjoys a nice cool down swim every once in a while! She is doing so great for 13.

Lhotse and Brad also enjoyed a cool down swim after our walk!

I'm not surer we can beat these paddle board views!