Our original Itinerary - a few adjustments were made along the way
Departing April 30 from Bellingham, WA, on our bareboat charter, a 50ft LOA DeFever trawler-style vessel (7knots average speed), we headed straight to Sidney, BC on Vancouver Island to clear into Canada.
We stayed for 2 days at Port Sidney Marina, (over)provisioning for the 2 weeks ahead and visiting the beautiful Butchart Gardens. On May 2, we headed to Ganges, Salt Spring Island, to visit with my sister-in-law Andrea Locke and daughter RhiAnnon. That was our last marina night.
On May 3 we crossed the Straight of Georgia to Keats Island (not marked on the route plan) and on to Green Bay the next day - a teeny (1-2 boats) and superbly protected anchorage between Pender and Egmont.
On May 5, it was a 41nm rainy passage through 2,000ft-deep channels surrounded by the plunging coastal Rockies, shrouded in clouds and mist. I call them “fjords on steroids”. The goal was to arrive at Malibu Rapids (the entry into Princess Louisa Inlet) at close to slack current - about 4pm that day. At max current, you face, or are pushed by, 9knots of white water rapids through a narrow S-shaped channel with scant maneuvering room.
5nm further in, Chatterbox Falls and the public dock greet you at the head of PLI - after passing some 70+ glacier-fed waterfalls. We had almost 3 blissful days there, interrupted only by the brief visits of a seaplane and two small tour boats (there is no access by road). On our last day, a single sailboat made it to the dock.
Retracing our steps on May 8, with an overnight stop in Pender Hbr, we forged on to Montague Hbr, and cleared into the US at Friday Harbor on May 11. We spent one more, very windy, night in Blind Bay on Stuart Island before returning our boat to Bellingham on May 13.
We stayed for 2 days at Port Sidney Marina, (over)provisioning for the 2 weeks ahead and visiting the beautiful Butchart Gardens. On May 2, we headed to Ganges, Salt Spring Island, to visit with my sister-in-law Andrea Locke and daughter RhiAnnon. That was our last marina night.
On May 3 we crossed the Straight of Georgia to Keats Island (not marked on the route plan) and on to Green Bay the next day - a teeny (1-2 boats) and superbly protected anchorage between Pender and Egmont.
On May 5, it was a 41nm rainy passage through 2,000ft-deep channels surrounded by the plunging coastal Rockies, shrouded in clouds and mist. I call them “fjords on steroids”. The goal was to arrive at Malibu Rapids (the entry into Princess Louisa Inlet) at close to slack current - about 4pm that day. At max current, you face, or are pushed by, 9knots of white water rapids through a narrow S-shaped channel with scant maneuvering room.
5nm further in, Chatterbox Falls and the public dock greet you at the head of PLI - after passing some 70+ glacier-fed waterfalls. We had almost 3 blissful days there, interrupted only by the brief visits of a seaplane and two small tour boats (there is no access by road). On our last day, a single sailboat made it to the dock.
Retracing our steps on May 8, with an overnight stop in Pender Hbr, we forged on to Montague Hbr, and cleared into the US at Friday Harbor on May 11. We spent one more, very windy, night in Blind Bay on Stuart Island before returning our boat to Bellingham on May 13.
Notes on Cruising Conditions
Overall, the weather was mixed, but with some timely dry and sunny spells to fly my drone in PLI for some overhead footage and to enjoy several wonderful sunsets at anchor. The seas were accomodatingly calm (nothing over 1-2 feet) and temperatures seasonably cool between the mid 40s at night and low 50s during the day. We encountered very few boats underway and anchoring was either solo or with few boats and lots of space to maneuver and swing - the main advantage of those “shoulder seasons” in early May and late September. Due to the watchful eyes of our dear friend and crew-member, Andrea Wistar, we never came close to hitting any of those randomly floating logs for which PNW waters are so notorious.
Our charter company, NW Explorations, could not have been friendlier or more organized, and they respected our years of boating and live-aboard experience (and Linda’s USCG Captain’s qualifications) by dispensing with tedious check-out procedures. The boat itself, “Hele Mai” a 50ft LOA full-displacememt trawler-style DeFever was a delight and exceeded our expectations in terms of comfort, spaciousness, fit and finish and overall condition. From our three years cruising our Nordhavn 55 at 6-7 knots, we were fully familiar and comfortable with the 7-knot average speeds of this vessel.
Our charter company, NW Explorations, could not have been friendlier or more organized, and they respected our years of boating and live-aboard experience (and Linda’s USCG Captain’s qualifications) by dispensing with tedious check-out procedures. The boat itself, “Hele Mai” a 50ft LOA full-displacememt trawler-style DeFever was a delight and exceeded our expectations in terms of comfort, spaciousness, fit and finish and overall condition. From our three years cruising our Nordhavn 55 at 6-7 knots, we were fully familiar and comfortable with the 7-knot average speeds of this vessel.
Green Bay anchorage off Agamemnon Channel before heading to PLI
Docked off Chatterbox Falls in Princess Louisa Inlet
This is what the Malibu Rapids look like with the current running:
A few photos of our 2-week cruise:
