Pender Harbor to Princess Louisa Inlet

Monday 8/6/2012 - Pender Harbor to Princess Louisa Inlet

We set out early in the morning. Pender Harbor, especially at the entrance, is filled with crab pots. Geralyn stood on the bow with the radio to help me navigate through the mine field of pots.  We made it through without any problems. The sunrise was beautiful!

We motored all day and made great time. We even slowed down to take in the amazing sights of Jervis Inlet.  Majestic peaks covered in snow outlined the inlet.  We arrived early at Malibu Rapids around noon and saw some other sailboats taking a peek at the rapids. We took a look ourselves and saw enough turbulence to make us wait a little longer until slack water. A few other boats arrived and they all decided to wait as well.  While we were waiting we had a nice lunch and relaxed in the sunshine with the motor off.  We waited for about an hour, and decided to start approaching the rapids for our crossing at 1336 (slack water). As we were approaching the rapids, another boat took a peek but did not go through.  We decided to go. We were the first boat to enter the rapids and found more current than we expected. The current was against us, so we had to rev the engine to 3000 rpm to maintain about three knots through the rapids. Once inside, we heard someone on the radio asking us to report the conditions in the rapids for the other boats waiting to go through. Once we felt we were out of the strongest part of the current, we reported on channel 16 that the current was about four knots in the rapids.

We motored up the inlet in awe.  It was breathtaking. There are several waterfalls inside the inlet and a large waterfall at the end called Chatterbox Falls. You can anchor right in front of the falls, but you need to keep an eye on the depth sounder.  One sailboat anchored too close to the edge and had run aground. He had to wait for the tide to fill in.  We found the area in front of the falls a bit crowded and busy, so we found a spot on the end of the dock near the falls and tied up. After we were settled we hopped in the dinghy and did some exploring around the inlet.  We found a pretty area not far from the falls with mooring balls.  We decided we would move there the next day if the area in front of the falls was too crowded.  It started drizzling while out in the dinghy so we headed back to the boat to make dinner.  It rained all night. 



5:25 a.m. Jervis Inlet
 

Jervis Inlet

Grounded - a bit too close to the beach.



Looking back towards Malibu Rapids

Chatterbox Falls