Return to Princess Louisa Inlet

My friend, Ian Costanzo and I have spent several weeks, over the years, cruising together on sailboats. This year we decided to spend a 9 day 'week' visiting Princess Louisa Inlet. We planned to sail up the inlet and attempt to locate and hike the path up to a plateau above the inlet that I had read about in the 'Curve of Time'. Thanks to Ian for joining me on this trip and for providing some of the photos below.

Motoring up Jervis Inlet

We sailed from Maple Bay on 'Swamp Angel' our 1968 Nicholson 32, reaching Nanaimo the first day. Here, we warmed up for our potential hike by walking a circuit of Newcastle island. The next day we pushed all the way across the Strait of Georgia, beating into 15 to 20 knot headwinds and then motoring into Jervis inlet to the Harmony Islands. Day 3 was a motor to the head of Princess Louisa inlet 40 miles away, stopping en route for some kayaking at Soda Falls. At Princess Louisa Inlet, we anchored just to the left of the falls with a stern tie to an enormous boulder.

Ian kayaking at Soda Falls in Jervis Inlet - we took turns playing in the surfy water, letting Swamp Angel drift off the falls.

Swamp Angel at anchor in Princess Louisa Inlet next to Chatterbox falls.

Kayaking at Chatterbox falls - photo by Ian

On day 4 we climbed up to the Trapper's cabin where Rani and I had hiked a few years ago. On that occasion we were literally soaked to the skin and waterlogged by the time we descended. This time, we were grateful to have sunny weather. We made sure to leave very early because we hoped to reach the 6000 foot summit plateau and return in one day. From the trapper's cabin we crossed the stream, taking off our boots and traversed a short way south until we reached another stream. Here we got off trail for about 40 minutes, following, by mistake fall line flagging tape. We retraced our steps and found a roped route up a rock face where someone had pulled the rope up and tied it to a tree at the top. I climbed up and dropped the rope and we donned our packs and ascended beside the rock face.

Rooty climb - photo by Ian

Letting down the rope to assist in the climb - photo by Ian

From the top of the rock the trail crossed another 2 creeks ascending fairly steeply to another rock face where again we lost the trail for a few minutes. Turning left at the rock face, we dropped down to a 4th creek at somewhere around 3000 feet elevation, where we climbed through a cave (using a provided rope) and on up the creek bed to a further wooded ascent. The mosquitos got gradually worse as we ascended and we stopped to Deet up.

Ian looks back at the falls by the Trapper's cabin

View from about 3000 feet where we came out into the 4th creek bed. Princess Louisa inlet is just visible from here but hidden behind Ian's back

At the top of this ascent we found the north traverse we had read about in one of the blogs. Here was a nice level walk through woods and by tarns where we encountered the only really muddy section of the trail.

Walking along the north traverse - photo by Ian

The trail climbed a bit further until we reached a ridge with fantastic views to the north and west. We entered a snow filled gully, which in a week or two would probably have been clear of snow. Near the end of the gully, a clear path dropped down to the north to a campsite and our lunch spot at somewhere around 4000 feet elevation. This overlooked a couple of small lakes that were still choked with snow and ice. 

Climbing up the snow filled gully - the trail is under the snow here.

Photo from the lunch spot showing the base of the climb to the plateau we reached after lunch and the actual summit plateau to the upper left.

Enjoying a much deserved beer

Panorama above lakes near lunch spot

After a break for a much deserved beer and hummus and veggies we climbed back up and continued off trail up the gully and onto a series of rocky slabs and snow filled depressions. We reached about 5000 feet where we came out onto a plateau facing back down Princess Louisa inlet. I left Ian to enjoy the view and nurse a sore knee and climbed up to a local height for a panoramic view at about 5300 feet. We would not have time or energy to reach the final summit plateau above, which would have required slogging over snow filled dips and across rocky slabs.

Climbing up to the plateau

On the plateau - photo by Ian

View back to Princess Louisa Inlet. Our boat is the small white dot at the lowest point of water.

Panorama from the highest point reached

Panorama from the lower plateau - photo by Ian

We returned to the trail by retracing our steps and came across a party of 4 younger people off a small sailboat who intended to camp out above the lakes. They were surprised we were making a day trip of it, but I think that they likely had a harder time of it than we did with their heavier packs, even spread over 2 days.

Steep but manageable with the provided rope

Most of the trail is in the woods - this section was beside some lovely massive mossy rock bluffs

The descent was steep but manageable and we reached the boat in time for a late swim in the chilly ice cooled waters below the falls.

I guess we should have read the sign before we went up! - photo by Ian

GPS track of the route - the red mark is roughly where the first rope climb is found, top right is our lunch spot near the lakes and far right is the highest point reached.

After we returned to our boat, the Azura anchored beside us. It is 40 meters long and was made in Australia. It had no port written on it, so I am not sure if it is Canadian or a covert international boat here despite the Covid-19 restrictions. 

The return trip out of Jervis inlet was a pleasant motor with a few hours of sailing and we made it to Pender Harbour in time to avoid the south east winds that had been forecast for the next day. We rested there one day, exploring the harbour's many bays by kayak. Two days later, broken up by brief overnight stops on Jedediah and De Courcy Islands, we were back in Maple Bay.   

We anchored near a ship wreck storage area in Pender Harbour called Whiskey Slough - photo by Ian

Leaving Pender Harbour we were reminded of what can happen so easily if you let your guard down or are just unlucky - photo by Ian

A nice flat walk on Jedediah island on the way home. The island is a park with several lovely trails through woods and old pasture.

Desolation Sound in a Nicholson 32

In late November I purchased Swamp Angel, a Nicholson 32 sailboat, built in England more than 50 years ago. She is a full keel blue water boat that has seen a few adventures including a transit of the Panama Canal, sailing the Atlantic seaboard, and a trip to Mexico and back. By coincidence we had met the previous owners, Greg and Lorraine, in early 2009 when we arrived in Mazatlan Mexico on our first Ladybug.

Nicholson 32 Plans

Swamp Angel as we bought her

Rani returned from the UK in December after nearly a year away from home and after a bit of arm twisting agreed to accompany me to Powell River where Swamp Angel is currently moored. (We will keep the new boat in Powell River until we can sell our other boat, Drifter) 

We brought along plenty of food, sleeping bags, and lots of reading material and headed north to Desolation Sound the day after we arrived. The winds were light and following for much of the trip north so we ran under diesel until we entered the sound where we had a light NW wind that allowed us to sail for an hour or two. The Unwin range at the head of the sound was wreathed in cloud but we were happy to catch glimpses of peaks as we sailed in.

Rani on the foredeck heading into Desolation Sound

Unwin Range

We had a weather forecast that promised reasonable weather for a day or so followed by a day of rain and near galeforce winds followed by calm weather. So we decided to find a well protected anchorage on day one and stay there for three nights. We selected Melanie Cove in Prideaux Haven because it is extremely protected and also offers some nice hiking. We were happy with our choice and saw almost no wind in the anchorage despite high winds in the Strait of Georgia outside. We saw no other boats for the three days we were there nor were there any visible from the places we hiked to.

Peaceful Melanie Cove

Lots of water in the creek at Laura Cove

On our second day we hiked the trail out to Melanie Point as well as the one to Laura Cove and beyond up another lightly used trail where we came across the remains of a squatter's camp. The trails were a bit wet and there were a lot of wind fallen logs, which have not been cleared probably because the trail is unofficial and not maintained by the parks people.

Interior of Swamp Angel showing the diesel heater - a great comfort on this trip.

View of the Unwin range from the end of our walk past Laura Cove

Melanie cove was also packed with jellyfish. I remember this was true also on the one other occasion I have been here (in May 2005) but this time there were much larger ones as well as the 2 to 4 inchers I remembered.

Moon Jellyfish - Aurelia Aurita - Not easy to photograph, but the video gives a better idea

The trip home was also done mostly under motor and we were treated to mountain views as well as sightings of a humpback mother and calf. The whales swam so close to the boat that their breathe spray settled on our faces. We were too busy enjoying the experience to take any photos!

Swamp Angel under sail. Note the wind generator and vintage solar panels.

A summer of drifiting

I ended up spending much of the summer on Drifter, a 24 foot C&C sailboat. In total, since I bought her near the end of May, I have spent more than 7 weeks cruising the Gulf islands, visiting the US San Juans, sailing down to Victoria to meet up with old friends, crossing to Vancouver to visit my brother, and sailing up to Desolation Sound and the Discovery islands to cruise there with my friend Ian. The following map shows this summer's trips.

In June I added a nearly new 6 horsepower Tohatsu motor bought second hand in Port Alberni. It is specially designed for small heavy boats, rather than dinghies or runabouts, with an extra long shaft and a small battery charging magneto as well as a modified propellor. I tried to sail the boat without an engine for two more trips totalling 8 days after her first delivery voyage and concluded that the engine would make things enormously easier, especially in the very light airs of the Gulf Islands.

Drifter in the boat yard at Maple Bay with fresh bottom paint

Old farmhouse Jedediah Island

Tranquil anchorage in Malaspina Inlet

In July I hauled the boat out and cleaned and painted the bottom, which made a huge difference in her speed. She was like a different boat after this both under power and sail. In this time I also replaced the compass, fitted a depth sounder, and added an anchor roller and chain deck pipe so that the anchor can be easily raised and lowered, with chain and rope rode storage in the forepeak. I also added a 50 watt solar panel and charge controller to top up the battery and additional support under the mast compression post.

Sunset and quiet water

Drifter ghosting along

The first major trip was only about 80 miles in total - a visit to Cadboro Bay in Victoria. However due to light winds, a somewhat fouled bottom, and having no motor, it took me 6 sailing days to cover this distance. One night I had to sail out the anchor when I woke in the night to find the wind had come up and set me onto a dock in the bay in which I had anchored. The boat did not respond to the helm as I hauled up the anchor and I had to gybe her around and run her in very close to the beach to get her under control. What followed was a stressful night that ended at 2 am after three hours of downwind sailing, navigating using a small scale paper chart with occasional fixes from my cell phone GPS. I had to locate an anchorage I could enter under sail in the dark without the benefit of depth sounder and chose the shoaling water on the north end of James Island near Sidney as my 'landing spot'. The return trip was equally exciting when I ended up drifting into the ferry lane near Schwartz Bay around dusk after a day of painfully slow progress. I was forced to anchor in very deep water to avoid becoming a hazard to navigation because I could not fight a 2 knot current with my sculling oar. I ended up accepting an offer from a kind person on a passing sailboat to be towed into a better location. All this decided me to fit a motor. Perhaps if I had cleaned and painted Drifter's bottom before this trip, I might not have made this decision, for she would have made much better progress in light air.

Jamie Orr's Orkney Lass near Montague Harbour on Galiano Island

Chuck Godfrey's Blue Moon

Her first larger trip with the motor took me down to San Juan island in the US for a visit to friends Gary and Beth who have a house on the island. Rani and I had met this couple in Mexico where we cruised together for a couple of weeks. I anchored in Garrison Bay off the English Camp historic site (where the British army stationed a garrison during the so called Pig War - a border dispute between the colony of Canada and the US). This is a well protected anchorage and I felt comfortable leaving the boat there for a couple of days. After this I took Drifter to the Small Boat Rendezvous at Sucia Island that my friend Jamie Orr organizes every year. You usually meet interesting people at this kind of event - the type of people who are not afraid of traveling long distances on small boats. I met one fellow on an 18 footer who has sailed and rowed his craft in the race to Alaska a couple of years ago. No mean feat for a healthy 30 year old, but he was into his 60s at the time. From the San Juans I cruised in company with Jamie in Orkney Lass - a small wooden schooner, and his friends on Blue Moon - a 34 foot Pacific Seacraft. We sailed up into the Gulf Islands, parting way at Pirates Cove on De Courcy island from which I sailed to Vancouver to visit my brother's family. I anchored Drifter in False Creek and spent a few days ashore hiking and rock climbing and took the family out for a sail around Stanley Park and under the Lion's Gate bridge. I returned via Gabriola passage with a short stop to visit my friend Andy who has a house on Ruxton island. This trip was two weeks long.

The longest trip of the season (22 days in total)  took me up to Campbell River, via Nanaimo, and then on to Jedediah, Lasqueti, Hornby, and Savary islands.  It took about 6 days to reach Campbell River following this route and I particularly enjoyed a tranquil but spectacular anchorage in little Bull passage between Jedediah and Lasqueti islands. The trails on Jedediah Island (which is a park) were excellent walking and there is an old farm to explore on this island as well as lovely woods and rock formations. The anchorage at Tribune Bay on Hornby island is open to the south and was too exposed for a comfortable sleep so I headed round the corner to a more protected anchorage after a few hours ashore walking the beach and trails. Savary island looks like it should have a good anchorage protected from NW winds, but I found that an annoying swell wrapped around the west end of the island and set Drifter rocking back and forth for several hours.

Ian Costanzo enjoying breakfast on Drifter

Ian and friend on Quadra Island near Rebecca Spit

Ian on Drifter with Don Selden's Grampian 26 in the background

I met Ian in Campbell River, docking at Fisherman's wharf for a day to make this easier. We provisioned and headed off for 6 days cruising in the  Discovery Islands. En route we met Don Shelten who was also sailing a smaller boat - a Grampian 26. Don had spent nearly 10 years restoring his boat and she was clearly a work of love. Together we cruised the coasts of Read and Quadra islands, seeing humpback whales almost every day and enjoying pot luck meals on both boats. Back at Campbell River, I dropped Ian off and met some more small boat cruisers on an Alberg 30. Mick and his daughter Mathilde and son Tristan were nearing the end of a 3 month cruise and we decided it would be fun to sail together to explore some of the anchorages on Cortes Island. Video below courtesy of Ian.

Don's 'Little Blue Boat'

Old fishing boat in Hjurth Bay, Read Island - just needs a lick of paint to put her in order

Mick was leading an interesting life and seemed quite fearless to me, having driven down and around central and south America on various small motorbikes, usually with his son or daughter on the back. He had a doctorate in waste water management and managed to make a living in between adventures consulting for clients mostly in the US. Mick and family had lived on board a 23 foot sailboat one summer at Mansons Landing on Cortes island and made excellent tour guides when we visited this island.

Mick's wife was joining the boat at Gorge Harbour on Cortes, so I parted with them and headed south, stopping to visit friends in Powell River and on to Garden Bay in Pender Harbour. Here I met up with Paul Scott who had sailed his Contessa 32, 'Wind River' to Pender Harbour to attend the Chamber Music festival that has been held here every year for 15 years. We had met Paul and his wife Susan in Mexico 10 years ago when we sailed there on Ladybug. I managed to get last minute tickets to the Sunday concert and really enjoyed the experience of world class music in such a beautiful setting. Paul and I left the next day for a rough beat to windward down to Nanaimo. The 3 foot chop and strong winds made for a tiring day and had the only incidents of the trip on this day - a dinghy rescue under sail when the painter (towing rope) chafed through, a lost winch handle (non-floating) during this rescue, and some dings to the bow when the danforth anchor broke free from its clips.

All in all it has been a great summer on the water and I am very pleased that Drifter has turned out to be a good little cruising boat.