Princess Louisa - Tuesday August 23 - Wednesday 24, 2011

The Way There

Some have said that entering Princess Louisa Inlet is like entering a cathedral.  Others claim it is the holy grail of the cruising world and still others say nothing at all, as they are left speechless at it's beauty and grandeur.  We fall into the last category.  And yet, I am going to say a lot.

Cruising through the inlet

Chatterbox Falls

Princess Louisa was created by glaciers millions of years ago.  It is surrounded by mountains that are 7,000 feet high and the water is approximately 200 feet deep - rimed with trees and  granite walls that are covered with waterfalls - the largest being Chatterbox Falls, dropping 120 feet, at the head of the inlet.  The first thing you notice when you enter, well, the first thing is of course the beauty,  the second-first thing is the scent.  It smells like Christmas times a zillion.

Fjords in the distance

Princess Louisa can only be reached by boat or plane.  The cruise there starts with approximately 30 miles through a  remote inlet that is also lined with mountains and trees.  We leave at 10 AM as we must be at Malibu Rapids for slack tide at 4 PM.  Malibu Rapids marks the entrance to the actual inlet and is a narrow, "S" shaped channel and boats at one end can't see boats at the other end.  Currents run about 9 knots so passing through can only be done at slack tide.

Once we are "inside" Princess Louisa there is limited space for docking.  There is a public dock but only for boats 50 feet or smaller so we must anchor! Yikes!  Our first anchorage in the Pacific Northwest.  Our first anchorage in this boat.  And..., the water is over 200 feet deep.  We cruise close to shore, very, very close, and finally find water 60-90 feet deep and lower the anchor.  Neither of us is convinced we are actually tethered to the bottom so we spend a sleepless night fretting - actually, I fret, Jim calls it "Anchor Watch" - same thing.



Celestine anchored at the foot of the Fjord

Night falls rapidly as we are encircled by 7,000 foot mountains on 3 sides. Even though it is only 6 PM, it is already dark.  The sky is a small hole above us - like looking through a tube.  It's as if we have fallen down the rabbit hole.  This is no place for claustrophobics.

 Seals are frolicking all over the inlet and it is startingly still.  We have dinner on board, in the dark, and proceed to check tide tables for our departure time the next morning.

No on sleeps much, except the cats, even though the anchor does hold.  We know every inch of shore, having scanned it repeatedly during the night with a spotlight to see if it was getting closer - or further - away.



Morning Fog at the Dock

Morning brings fog which makes us feel like we are in a sci-fi movie.  We have calculated our departure time for 10:30 AM - the time for slack tide listed in the Canadian Hydrographics table, even though this is in contradiction to our cruising guide, based on the American tide table, which states it is at 8:30 AM.  At 7:45 AM we see other boats headed out and realize we need to assume the Canadian tide tables are incorrect.  We must leave immediately, but first we have to raise the dinghy and the anchor.  We do so at record speed.  Bringing the anchor up is easier that letting it down. 

It is my turn to run the boat -  of course Jim brought us through the rapids yesterday during slack high tide  when the channel was 40 feet wide.  I get to maneuver us through the curvy rapids at slack low tide when the channel is significantly more narrow which makes for a white knuckle departure. Jim deals with this scary situation by taking a shower while I take us back to Pender Harbor.

Leaving Paradise

The sights have been remarkable, a journey well worth making.

Garden Bay in Pender Harbor Saturday August 20 - Monday August 22, 2011

Another 0700 hours departure - I don't like getting up for anything except early morning get-aways.  It is so peaceful in the morning when it's just us, the seals and the otters up and about.  So I am ready to go at the scheduled time and we reluctantly leave Bowen Island where I could actually spend even more time.  But beauty awaits us elsewhere and we heed it's calling.

Bowen Island to Pender Harbor

We cruise north along the west coast of the BC mainland in the Straits of Georgia.

Just Us and Nature

  The weather is again warm and sunny and the waters are calm.  For a Saturday in August, there are few other boats.  In fact, the further north we get, the fewer there are and about 3 hours into our five hour run, we are the only boat at all.  So imagine our surprise when another boat appears behind us and Jim says "I think that's Billy and Sally's boat."  Billy and Sally are a couple we met last August in Victoria and we spent a fun couple of days with them.  We have not seen them or talked to them since.

Jim hailed them on the radio and sure enough, not only was it them, but they were going to Garden Bay too.  And this is one of the great things about cruising, catching up with other people you've met along the way.

Our Home in Garden Bay

Ready for the summer  cold

We finally arrive at the SYC outstation in Pender Harbor, the "Sunshine Coast", so named for the dry, sunny and warm summers.  As soon as we dock, clouds roll in and it starts to sprinkle.  This is the first cloudy, wet weather we have had in four weeks.  The drizzle stops and the next day a storm pushes through with 20 - 30 mph winds.  The boat threatens to pull the cleats out of the dock and by the time it's all over, our boat is covered in timber and debri from the nearby forest. 

 Pender Harbor is called the Venice of the West Coast because it is full of small harbors and everything is accessed by dinghy.  When it finally clears enough to launch the dinghy, we head out for dinner with Billy and Sally. Fifteen minutes and many twists and turns later, we arrive at The Painted Boat, an unexpected gourmet restaurant where we have fine wine, fabulous food and great conversation.  The trip back in the pitch dark is a little challenging but after all the wine we've had, we are undeterred and confident of our navigation skills even though it takes us several false turns to get out of the tiny harbor. 

                                    Traveling to Dinner in Style with Our Friends



Our dinner destination - The Painted Boat

The weather finally lives up to it's name, the sun does make an appearance but so do the bees and mosquitos.  Jim denies their presence - in spite of the fact that they have siphoned so much of my blood I look like Morticia.  He claims they are carnivorous fruit flies, which have also been plaguing us. 





Jim on Bee Patrol

We are adjacent to a park and nature is everywhere.  Loons can be heard in the morning and of course there are bears on the mainland and daily we run into someone while we are out running who has seen the bear, that day.  So now we are dodging stinging bees, biting  mosquitoes, buzzing fruit flies and bears.  This is a very dangerous place.  But the view is great so I'll just stay locked in our boat and enjoy it.

Sunset from our boat













Bowen Island, BC - Monday Aug 15 - Friday August 19,2011

Entering Queen Charlotte Channel

Mid-day Monday we depart Vancouver for Bowen Island, just around the corner of  Horseshoe Bay and across  Queen Charlotte Channel - we make it in an hour and a half.  Again, on this week four of our adventure, the weather is perfect - blue skies and low 70,s, as it has been every day we have been out.

The Marina Grounds

We enter  Snug Cove Bay - now who wouldn't want to be somewhere called Snug Cove? - the most beautiful island yet. The fjord's tree covered mountains rise out of the sea surrounding us 360 degrees.  The historic Union Steam Ship Marina is our new home for a few days.  It is surrounded by 600 acres of park land. 

Jim and the Dogs

No dog leashes are required and Zippy runs wild with the marina dog, a Jack Russell named "Marina."  There are a ton of hiking options and we tackle many of them, including a 5 mile walk around a lake but we don't climb the 2,408 foot mountain.  We have gotten too soft from all the Vancouver food.

Crab dinner on board

A mother otter with her three babies swim around our boat and tease the dogs by squealing at them from under the docks.  One morning we wake up to see the mother otter  pull a large salmon out of the water and onto the rocks on shore, where her babies  wait for breakfast, and tear into the fish like, well, like wild otters.

On Thursday, the day for departure, we decide we must stay another day and we do.  A couple from Salt Lake City docks behind us and we have drinks and trade cruising stories.  On Friday, we decide we really should stay yet another day.  We are now part of the Frequent Docking program, stay 6 nights and your 7th one is free.  One more night and we will have achieved our gold status.

This is why we can't leave

But What a View Once we Do Leave

Vancouver, BC - Friday, August 12 - Sunday August 14

Smooth Waters of the Straits of Georgia

Happily, we depart Ladysmith at 0700 - that's early, darn early in non-marine time - as we have to reach Porlier Pass at slack tide to avoid the 9 knot currents and high tides that will send us crashing into the rocks lining and  littering the channel. We actually get there 1 1/2 hours early and wait with all the other boats queuing up.  Our reward is a smooth passage and then we head out into the Straits of Georgia for the two and a half hour run into Vancouver.



Grandville Island, the Pike Place Market of BC, is our destination.  To call it an island is using that word loosely as it is seperated from Vancouver by a ditch which you cross on a boaradwalk. We enter the harbor with the beautiful skyline on our left. 

Vancouver BC skyline

Our Pelican Bay Marina is directly at the foot of the only hotel on the "island" so this is where all the big city action takes place.  It will not be a quiet stay but after the sleepy islands we have visited, we embrace the hub-bub. 

The Market - Which survived our raid

We spend our time provisioning the boat with what is purported to be our last chance to find fruits, vegtables, wine or any other quality food.  Since the market is irresistable to a food lover, we stock up with more goodies than we can cram into our freezer and frig.  We are ready for whatever awaits us further north.

The Boys Paddle Out

The three days pass quickly.  There is kayaking in the harbor, long walks and longer naps.  We find a sushi restaurant and wonder whether we should actually leave this place.  But the big city glamour can't  beat  the small island charm so we shove off.

Our Parting View

The Gulf Islands - August 7 - 11, 2011

Once we dropped off the kids at the airport we made a 36 hour stop at home to nab the pets and pack the things we had forgotten.  My closet at home is now completely empty, the cupboards are bare and  I am loaded down like a pack mule with all the additional supplies while Jim is still  operating with a half-full duffel.

Henry Island

We head back to Anacortes, spend a few days on chores including lowering our 400 foot anchor chain and painting it alternating red, white, blue and gold every 25 feet so when the time comes to anchor - which I hope is never - we will be ready to calculate depths. We move on to Henry Island in the San Juans for a few days of vegging. 

On my birthday we have dinner at Roche Harbor which is notable in that sunset and lowering the colors (flag) is celebrated by a loud horn followed by the playing of the Canadian anthem, Bristish anthem and then Taps - piped through a sound system throughout the harbor and restaurant.  At the conclusion of this dramatic symphony, the officers of the Roche Harbor Yacht Club line up on the dock in full uniform and at the count of three, jump into the 58 degree water.  Well, the women leap in,  the men step back from the edge.  After boisterous boo's from the spectators, the guys reconsider,  take a running start and, to redeem their cowardly ways, somersault off the dock- fully clothed - into the water.  Apparently this is one of those charming rituals performed periodically.

Quaint Montague Harbor

In spite of all the entertainment at Henry Island, we  cruise to the southern Gulf Islands on Sunday, August 7, 2011.  First stop,  Montague Harbor in Galiano Island.   Population 1,000,  made up of hippies, retirees and vacationers - and never the thrice shall meet.  We decide to hike to "town" for a beer at the pub.  The hike is actually over 5 hilly miles and the town is really just a ferry landing, a grocery store, ice cream parlor and the beautiful Galiano Inn.  But they serve beer and have a shuttle to get us back to the other side of the island.

The next day we rent motor scooters

and drive to the other side of the island crossing the 49th parallel. 

Road Hogs

We end our stay with dinner at the Inn, and a beautiful view.

Dining with a view





Thetis Island

On August 9, 2011 we cruise  two hours west to Telegraph Harbor on Thetis Island -population 350.   A marine mechanic runs this harbor and we need to get parts shipped to us by ferry.  Unlike Galiano Island, there is no "town" here, but there is a pub and liquor store. 



Party Barge on Logs in Telegraph Harbor
Heading to the liquor store no doubt



Our last stop in the Gulf Islands is Ladysmith,on the east coast of Vancouver Island.  The marina is next to a logging operation and construction company so our 24 hour stay is big on dust and low on charm.

Time to leave the islands behind and head for the big city, Vancouver.



Logs going to market = broken propellers

The Suan Juan Island Shuffle, July 23 - 30, 2011

Our second summer - it all started so smoothly. We picked up Chris, Peter and the grandkids at the airport, got them settled on the boat and cruised off to our first stop - Port Ludlow. Safely docked, we watched a seaside wedding take place just yards from our boat, we walked through the serene woods to a picturesque waterfall and had an outdoor dinner. Who knew what awaited us just 36 hour later when we crossed the Straits of Juan De Fuca.



Up and ready to make the crossing, we first prudently  listen to the weather forecast. There are small craft warnings but surely they don't apply to us. A kakyak yes, a row boat certainly, a dinghy  definitly - but Celestine can handle 25-30 kt winds - "It's like a carnival ride!" Matthew said as we started bucking. I think that was the last thing he said. We rode the waves like a rip-roaring  rollercoaster, a three hour long-hang on for your life-there goes breakfast kind of roller coaster ride. Let’s just say that Matthew and I were the last ones standing. And even we were a whiter shade of pale.

We survived!!!!

The Girls in Gear

 Once we landed in Friday Harbor in San Juan Island and everyone found their footing on dry land,  we headed for another adventure.  Instead of a water ride, we strapped ourselves in for a zipline ride.  Fifty feet above the forest floor and across a pond we zipped at 25 mph to tree house like landings in the pines - platforms that were not much more steady than the boat bobbing in the water. We traversed the woods one zip line after another, tree to tree, at dizzing heights and dazzling speeds.



Chris Zipping

Now both wobbly and whirling, we head back to the boat for some R&R.

 Someone suggests a dinghy ride across the harbor and Peter, Matthew, Emily and I jump at the chance. It looks like rain but heedless of the weather conditions – again – we head out. The 10 minute ride to the other side of the harbor goes well and we avoid colliding with the ferries and pleasure craft zooming by our tiny tender. On the way back the sky darkens, the waves roll up and the spray washes in our dinghy. Then it starts raining. Emily and I are in the front so we get wet from the top down and the bottom up as we are sitting in sea water.




Peter and Matthew - stunned to be riding in the rain

Emily with life jacket over her head - for rain protection?

The next day we decide to have a relaxed sight-seeing tour of the island by mopeds. They are all rented so in the excitement of the moment we instead, irrationally, rent bicycles for the 22 mile  round trip ride over rolling hills. Six people who have not biked in ????  Still, we believe this is a good idea and will be “lots of fun!” Five hours later, we are now, wobbly, whirling and have noodle legs and raw rumps.

Having exhausted ourselves and all the death defying activites San Juan Island has to offer, we hop in the boat for a short  evening cruise to another island, Orcas.  We arrive in Deer Harbor, eat on board and collapse.

We opt for  milder entertainment on Orcas Island.  Matthew learns to sail and Emily and Matthew master crabbing.  There is plenty of kayaking, hiking and even some reading.

The Three Crab Catch

We wisely drive up to Mt. Constitution on Orcas Island instead of hike (2,409 ft elevation) where we marvel at the 360 degree view of the islands and US and Canadian mainland.

Emily getting some rays

We wisely drive up to Mt. Constitution on Orcas Island instead of hike (2,409 ft elevation) where we marvel at the 360 degree view of the islands and US and Canadian mainland.

Mt Constitution, The Islands and us

We end the week with no more risky activities than eating great food and slurping yummy ice cream cones ( OK- there is that cholesterol hazard). 

For our last dinner on the island, we walk ten minutes from the boat, through a field and up to a bluff for a beautiful sunset dinner on a patio overlooking the harbor while rabbits frolic in the yard beside us. 



Lady Gaga & her last island ice cream

We regretably leave the San Juan Islands on Saturday July 30, 2011 and cruise to Anacortes on the mainland so we can rent a van and return the Moores to the airport.  The crossing is unremarkable but the Moores all have their sea legs and can take a wave on the beam like the true sailors they now are.  Although I think I did hear one of them say they would never cross the Straits of Juan de Fuca again.







The final boat ride