March outing

Winds were forecast decent this weekend so we've torn ourselves away from playing with our new truck to take the boat out for a couple of days. Took these photos a few minutes ago (about 1700) from the little cove we're in which is a 2 hour run from Bellingham. First shot is looking north out of the cove towards BC. Second shot is the cove itself behind us. Albi wore himself out retrieving sticks off the beach. We are the only boat here which is the way it should be.

Your're breaking my heart. You're 4 degrees further North and our boat is stuck on the hard covered with a foot of snow. Spring launching is still a distant dream.

Well done Marin! We noticed that you were away from the dock this weekend. We were at the boat but only for a couple of hours.

Very nice.

Well done! And for your latitude, I salute you! We are 4 days away from splash in North Carolina! Yes!

Beautiful Place! Great weather! I guess it might have been a bit too Sunny for your taste-- but most of us are envious.

Enjoy JohnP

Don't let Marin lead you too far astray. Friday we had 2" of snow an hours drive from Marin's boat and every morning since it's been frosty ... as in freezing. Yesterday I worked on my cars and OB boats and wore a jacket all day while I was working.

Here's my step daughter arriving from Alaska (via ferry) w her snow.

We are a little further north at Maple Bay BC. First Capital City Yacht Club cruise of 2013, 33 boats in attendance.Great fun!

Mike-- We first visited Maple Bay two years ago and really liked it. We had visited Genoa Bay a couple of times before that, and we really like that, too. It remains to be seen if we'll get that way on our fall cruise this year as our tentative destination is Princess Louisa (flown the plane in there several times but never taken a boat in). But Maple Bay is a great spot to be.

Marin said:

Mike-- We first visited Maple Bay two years ago and really liked it. We had visited Genoa Bay a couple of times before that, and we really like that, too. It remains to be seen if we'll get that way on our fall cruise this year as our tentative destination is Princess Louisa (flown the plane in there several times but never taken a boat in). But Maple Bay is a great spot to be.

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Maple Bay Marina is always our first club cruise each year, the marina does everything in there power to make sure it is a success and the Shipyard restaurant does the same for our Saturday night dinner. We also have two or three club cruises to Genoa Bay, always a favorite destination.

You will love going to Princess Louisa on your boat, great scenery along the way but it opens to God's country when you transit Malibu Rapids. Last time we were there we spend 7 days at the dock and hiked all over the place, the view from the "trappers cabin" was well worth the hike. Enjoy!

Nice pictures Marin!! We are hoping to get a little boating in this coming weekend. Supposed to get close to 60F for a couple days!!!

Great photo Marin, reminds me of the south end of Cypress Island.
Keith Olive

Time for chocolate?

rochepoint said:

You will love going to Princess Louisa on your boat, great scenery along the way but it opens to God's country when you transit Malibu Rapids. Last time we were there we spend 7 days at the dock and hiked all over the place, the view from the "trappers cabin" was well worth the hike. Enjoy!

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Princess Louisa is indeed a beautiful spot although by SE Alaska standards it's pretty run-of-the-mill. Right, Eric?

It might be a seasonal thing but I believe today boats are limited to two or three days only at the dock. So the turnover is pretty high which is good as it's so popular. Hopefully by the time we go the crowds will have died down although I still expect there will be plenty of boats there.

My wife and I have flown in there several times, crossing Malibu about 300 feet up and dropping down to 50' or so all the way in around around the bend at which point we'd touch down. So we "sort of" know what the approach looks like from the water although 110 mph is a tad faster than 8 knots.

Marin said:

It might be a seasonal thing but I believe today boats are limited to two or three days only at the dock.

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It was 3 nights max at the dock when we were there early September, 2011. The BC Parks site ( Princess Louisa Marine Provincial Park - BC Parks ) says "Dock use may be limited to 72 hours during the high-use season."
But there are other options within the inlet, including mooring buoys at McDonald Island. We did the dock for 3 nights and then had the island all to ourselves for another 2 nights. Chatterbox is very, very nice but the solitude at the island was the highlight of our trip.

We will be proudly flying our Princess Louisa International Society burgee when we return this year, probably on our way back from points further north.

Marin said:

Princess Louisa is indeed a beautiful spot although by SE Alaska standards it's pretty run-of-the-mill. Right, Eric?

It might be a seasonal thing but I believe today boats are limited to two or three days only at the dock. So the turnover is pretty high which is good as it's so popular. Hopefully by the time we go the crowds will have died down although I still expect there will be plenty of boats there.

My wife and I have flown in there several times, crossing Malibu about 300 feet up and dropping down to 50' or so all the way in around around the bend at which point we'd touch down. So we "sort of" know what the approach looks like from the water although 110 mph is a tad faster than 8 knots.

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Marin, I've always had the impression that you prefer anchoring to avoid people. Me too pretty much. That's why we decided to anchor rather than tie up to the dock in PLI. We anchored several hundred yards west of the falls and there were only 2 or 3 other boats around. You can then watch all of the commotion at the dock from your the comfort of your own boat (I think you mentioned one time that you like to do this at Friday Harbor).

It was easy to anchor, but you do need a stern tie. And, if you like the sound of water and can't hear Chatterbox, there is a small waterfall (less than 6' and hard to see because of the trees) over there also.

If you prefer the dock and it's full when you get there, just wait until about an hour before the next slack at the rapids and 1/3 - 1/2 the boats will leave. Plenty of room then. Happened like clockwork for 3 days when we were there last year.

Nsail--- Thanks for the tips. As I said we've only been in there in the plane before and the sight of a P&W R985 headed for them always always seemed to motivate the boaters at the dock to make room for us. I don't think our beater GB will have the same effect.....

One reason we'd like to be on the dock is that the couple who will be with us on this cruise have minor mobility issues so it will be easier for them to get to shore via the dock than via the dinghy. We're aware of the moorage by the little island and may well try it if we decided to stay in the inlet long enough.

I've talked to friends who've anchored in front of the falls and let the stream current hold them off. That would be fun to try, too, if those couple of spaces are open.

The only part I'm not really looking forward to is the long slog up Jervis Inlet to Malibu and back. It's boring in the plane at 110 mph. The same journey at a glacial eight knots is going to be trying at best I think.

In front of the falls was open the entire time I was there. It may have to do with the dampness caused by the falls as shown in this photo. When we went close by in our kayak it was fairly wet. Obviously, if there's wind blowing toward the falls it'll be no issue.

rochepoint said:

We are a little further north at Maple Bay BC. First Capital City Yacht Club cruise of 2013, 33 boats in attendance.Great fun!

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Can't help but notice the most prominent boat in your picture on post 8 is duplicate Tolly to ours!