Monthly Archive for April, 2005

2005 May 27: Princess Louisa Inlet – Cox Family Cruise

Photo Gallery. Dorothy’s sister and her family joined us in Victoria for a week of cruising. Five adult guests are the most we have hosted aboard ADAGIO, and we had a wonderful time. A few days in Victoria allowed us to gain our sea legs and accommodate to life aboard ship. Butchart Gardens was a hit.

A scenic and quick trip up through the Gulf Islands and across the Strait of Georgia brought us to Jervis Inlet on the British Columbia mainland coast. We craned our necks amazed at the soaring glacial valleys and snowy peaks. The weather was bright and sunny so we could see all of the snow fields on the tops of the surrounding mountains. The peaks were about a mile high and the water was 1500 ft deep. Talk about fjordland! Waterfalls tumbled down the mountains. We could sometimes hear a waterfall before we saw it. The cascades at the shoreline were tumultuous and the “bridal veils” down the bare, glacially polished rock faces were nearly a mile long.

It was a luxury having several extra sets of eyes to stand log-watch from ADAGIO’s bows. Our only complaint was the risk of sunburn. Our destination was Princess Louisa Marine Park, a small inlet at the head of Jervis Inlet. The Sailing Directions say, “Malibu Rapids flows through a narrow gorge. It is suitable for small vessels and should be negotiated at or near slack water…. tidal streams in Malibu Rapids attain 9 knots on the flood and ebb on large tides.” An “S” shaped turn is required to stay midchannel. You cannot see other boats entering the rapids from the other side. Steve steered us into the entrance to the rapids ten minutes before official low slack tide. A contrary current of 4 to 5 knots opposed our progress, and there were flat whirlpools but no strong rips. Three other boats passed us in the middle of the passage, even though we had announced on VHF channel 16 our intentions to enter.

Inside Princess Louisa Inlet, waterfalls surrounded us, and at the head of the inlet, lovely Chatterbox Falls roared and sprayed high into the air. We found a space for ADAGIO at the floating dock where numerous power cruisers and sail boats were barbequeing lunch, smoking fish, and sunbathing. Extra hands were on the dock ready to take our lines, and later complimented Steve on his maneuvering, saying that he did not really need any help.

We were quick to hike up to the base of Chatterbox Falls, where the spray flies high into the air, creating its own wind, and lightly moistening all who come near. One of the other cruisers told us that there had been much less water coming over the falls in the morning, and that as the sun warmed and melted the snow on the peaks, the flow of the waterfall at least doubled in volume. My sister and I botanized through the forest, identifying wild flowers and other Pacific Northwest plants.

Our transit out through the Malibu Rapids in the morning was beautifully uneventful, with broad whirlpools and a much wider channel at high tide.

We had planned to take our visitors to the vicinity of Powell River to catch a bus and ferry back to Vancouver. We were surprised that none of the marinas could accommodate ADAGIO, at such low tides. We altered course and headed for Cortes Island to the north. The new plan was to berth at Gorge Harbor where our visitors could catch a ride to the ferry to Quadra Island, and then another ferry to Campbell River. There they would rent a car and drive to Vancouver via the BC Ferry from Nanaimo.

Our weather had been extraordinarily beautiful. Dolphins joined us abeam of Copeland Islands, and seals lolled on the rocky islets. When we arrived at Cortes Island, we anchored in Cortes Bay, where we found our friend Joe on KATIEKAT and invited him to join us for dinner. The next morning we motored around the south end of the island and into Gorge Harbor, from where the marina owner generously drove our guests to the ferry terminal at Whalesong Cove.

2005 Apr 17 – Pacific Northwest Cruise Summary

Alaska is Spectacular! Having come south through the Inside Passage from Sitka, Alaska last autumn, this year we decided to travel quickly north so we could spend the best of the summer months in Alaska. The scenery and wildlife have been sensational, and we have not seen the best of it yet. Alaskans are friendly and relaxed. The atmosphere is that of a big small town, steeped in history, surrounded by enormous wilderness. The native Indian presence and influence have enriched our experiences, as we meet them and learn about their sophisticated culture, connections to the natural world and inventive technologies and enjoy their beautiful arts.

We departed Bainbridge Island, Washington on April 17, and mostly-motored 1,520 nautical miles to Juneau, Alaska in a little over two months time. This included 22 days in Port Townsend, Friday Harbor and Victoria and a detour of 300 nautical miles and 13 days back down to Victoria to repair our starboard engine saildrive after hitting a log north of Seymour Narrows at the end of the third week of our journey. When we were making good time we would gain one degree or more of latitude north per day, sometimes traveling as much as 85 nautical per day. The long daylight hours allowed us to travel for 12 hours or more each day if we wished. Why do we care about daylight? Because these waters are full of dangerous logging debris, which can only be spotted by 100% attention to the water in front of the boat (no more 24 hours a day sailing up here). As it turns out, had we not been delayed, we would have found ourselves much wetter and colder farther north. But we still managed to stay ahead of the thundering summer herds of boats from Seattle and Vancouver.

With the luxury of waiting in port for favorable weather, which for us means less than 15 knots of wind, sometimes rainy, but no storms, we have had many opportunities to see the local sights. We have had plenty of sunny days for photographing the scenery and wildlife. When the winds are howling offshore, and water becomes rough in the main channels, the minor channels can be placid. What wind there is follows the channel. The prevailing spring southerlies have brought us mostly following breezes. Visibility has almost always been good. Our only fog was in the Juan de Fuca Strait. The Pacific High has seemed slow to move north this year, but that could be changing.

We follow a flexible schedule, asking visitors to come to us, by float plane if necessary. We change our plans and destination, delay our departure date or choose a different anchorage, at a moment’ s notice, if the weather conditions do not support our original plan. We NEVER travel after dark (logs). We always have alternative anchorages noted on the chart.

Another hard and fast rule is that we ALWAYS look out for logs! If we cannot, then we stop the boat, until we can. The necessity of having to stop the boat quickly to avoid hitting a log, crab pot float or fish net just about eliminates the desire to actually unfurl sails.

Compared to British Columbia, there are fewer hazards to navigation in Alaska, but icebergs and bergy bits float around in the northern inlets and sometimes out into the channels. In addition to floating logs, fishermen set crab pots marked by red or white floats, by the dozens, often in the middle of a channel, and sometimes they are submerged by high tide or carried under by strong currents. Fishermen also set their nets out into the main channels. In the harbors we dodge float planes taking off and landing, kayakers, tourist boats, racing sail boats, and huge ferries.

It requires a close study of the tide and current tables to ensure safe transit through the numerous narrow channels, rapids and passes at slack tide. Tide rips, eddies and whirlpools become strong and fast at max flood and ebb. We have been entertained watching the gyrations of another boat as it attempted to pass through a rapids before slack tide, as the force of the water spun the boat around and threw it off course. When we could take advantage of favorable currents we boosted our speed over the ground by as much as 4 or 5 knots.

Cellphone coverage has been about 90% this year – since Steve installed a high gain CDMA antenna before leaving Bainbridge. This is particularly useful for calling ahead to marinas, as VHF range is very limited due to the surrounding mountains. Similarly due to our high gain 802.11b antenna, we have had useable wireless internet access in most marinas, and even a few anchorages, very useful for downloading weather forecasts.

We have made it safely to near the top of SE Alaska, and have slowed our pace to savor the glaciers, forests, waterfalls, whales, eagles, orcas, sea otters, puffins and bears. We made the right decision to hightail it to Alaska.