Sept 29, 2009 -- In Princess Louisa Inlet

We slept like rocks during the night, with light drizzle off and on.  The morning brought more beautiful sights.  Looking back down the Inlet, we could see the low clouds and the perfectly calm water.  It was very quiet, with an occasional seal's head sticking out of the water.  Here's the view:

Looking the other way, towards Chatterbox Falls and up the hill, we could see the effect of last nights rain.  There were dozens of small waterfalls, and Chatterbox was more active:

After breakfast, and in spite of an off-and-on drizzle, we decided to gear up and go for an "explore" in the dinghy.  Here's Bill, "geared up:"

And here's Ruth, dressed the same:

We had a fun time roaming the shoreline, looking at the birds and seals.  Back at the dock, we had to have a picture of this strange rusty bouy at the end of the dock.  We couldn't figure out why it was there.  Note it was still drizzling:

A tradition for the NW Explorations flotillas is to gather at sundown at the MacDonald Lodge and enjoy a fire, a couple of "sundowners" and share tales.  Capt. Brian has a unique way to get the fire started (uses expired distress signal flares).  It works.  Here's King Brian holding forth:

And King Bill imitating him.  Note the nice fire:

We all packed the beverages, snacks and ourselves back to the boats for supper.  Today had been one of those days of great fun and complete enjoyment of nature.

Sept 28, 2009 -- Bargain Bay to Princess Louisa Inlet

We spent a quiet night anchored in Bargain Bay.  Bargain Bay is lined with nice homes and, being not far from Vancouver, BC, is a popular area for weekenders, vacationers and residents alike.  Here is one house that was a bit unusual, in design and location:

You can see the docks along the bottom of the cliff.  It is low tide now and that adds a little drama to the sight:

Now, here's the routine for breaking the raft and getting underway.  First, Grand Adventure (us) casts off and floats nearby, then Victoria casts off and floats nearby:

Then, Brian and Carol hoist their dinghy aboard (Brian already took the pups ashore):

Then, Deception weighs anchor:

And we are off, headed for Princess Louisa Inlet -- reputed to be one of the loveliest places in the Pacific Northwest.

We had an eventful trip on the way to Princess Louisa.  First, we passed this cargo barge being towed to a little village up the reach:

Then we spotted one of the fishing boats common in these parts:

Soon, we noticed a big fishing boat just drifting...then we noticed splashes near her.  The splashes were from a large humpback whale that was breaching and slapping his/her pectorial fin on the water.  Apparently having great fun.  We were too far away to get a good picture, so look hard.  Here they are.  First, right after sounding:

Next, breaching:

Then the pectorial slaps:

Those white spots really are a whale.  We may get a chance to "doctor" the pictures to improve the viewability....

Anyway, at each turn up the reaches toward Princess Louisa Inlet we were awed by the grandeur and beauty.  Here are a few pictures to show you what we mean:

 

After a few wonderful miles of scenery, we finally came to Malibu Rapids, the entry to Princess Louisa Inlet.  At the mouth of the Inlet is Malibu Club, a youth camp that is very popular with groups like Young Life.  This is the camp:

 

And here is a little closer look:

Yes, the entry is named Malibu Rapids and there are swift currents to some seven knots in the pass.  However, due to the careful planning of our leader, Brian, we arrived at slack water and had no current of any amount.  Now, we were in the calm Inlet and we were slack-jawed at the view:

Looking back down the Inlet, it was just as pretty and pristine:

As we neared the end or head of the Inlet, we could see we weren't alone (but almost alone).  A large yacht was anchored to the left, and several sailboats were moored at the public dock on the right:

 

Looking upward, we could see several streams rushing down the rocks:

The sides of the Inlet were very steep.  It was hard to believe there were trees capable of clinging to the sheer cliffs:

 

As we drew closer, the famous Chatterbox Falls came into view:

And a slight turn to the right brought the falls full front.  We were silent:

 

Victoria (on this side of the dock) and Deception (on the far side) were waiting for us:

 

We got tied up and decided to go for a walk to the falls.  The surrounding foliage was quite lush:

 

The ferns in the trees love this climate -- cool and damp:

 

This is a shelter built by Parks Canada in honor of James F. "Mac" MacDonald, who gave all the land around Princess Louisa Inlet to Canada so all could enjoy it.  The area is now a marine park.

 

Here's Bill at the foot of Chatterbox Falls:

 

And here's Ruth...sorry, it's a little dark:

 

Back at the boat, we put the dinghy in the water for the first time.  Boy, was it easy with the electric davits.  Here's Bill by the dinghy, checking the lines for the night:

 

It soon started to drizzle.  The first rain we had seen since leaving Paducah, KY 13 days ago!  Even in the drizzle, it was a beautiful area:

 

It had been a long day, so we made an early evening of it.  We would stay here and explore tomorrow.

Sept 27, 2009 -- Ganges to Bargain Bay, BC

Today's forecast called for strong northwest winds and we were supposed to cruise across the Strait of Georgia, a rather open body of water behind Victoria Island.  The Strait is oriented northwest to southeast and we were headed north.  That puts the seas on our port (left) bow.  It was going to be rough.

For the first part of the run, we were protected by the Gulf Islands, particularly Galiano and Valdez Islands.  But, as we stuck our noses out through the pass, we saw the breakers were really there:

Well, as they say, if it rains, look for a rainbow.  In our case, the rainbow was in the splash of the waves as we cut through them:

And we were pitching and rocking.  Sadly, it is hard to capture the motion in the pictures:

The big BC ferries were not bothered at all:

Here is a common sight.  The tug on the left is towing a "flat barge" of logs, sometimes called a log boom.  Look closely to the left of Victoria to see the mass of logs:

Well, of course we made it across the Strait safely enough and pulled into a little bay named Bargain Bay, not far from Pender Harbor on the British Columbia mainland.  We "rafted" the boats together with Deception's anchor holding us all.  This is Deception and Grand Adventure laced together:

The routine of the day was for Brian to take the dogs ashore for their break twice a day (or more).  Shortly after we got settled in Bargain Bay, Mikey stood by for the dinghy ride:

That night, Deception hosted a delightful dinner for us all.  It was great fun for all, although Carol did all the work, of course.  And Brian washed dishes.  Yes, they are workaholics!  Here are Carol, Brian and Josie:

And Josie, Harry and Bill ready to dig in (Ruth was taking the pictures):

Of course, Mikey and Meisha were standing by for any dropped morsels:

We were all sort of tired after the rocking and rolling of the day, so turned in after supper.

Sept 26, 2009 -- Underway Bellingham to Ganges, Salt Spring Is., BC

We awoke early to greet the last of the perfect weather days (we had had 10 beautiful days in a row).

Allow us to introduce you to the flotilla boats and crews.  First, Brian and Carol Pemberton, our lead boat owners, owners of NW Explorations and serious workaholics:

Brian and Carol's boat is "Deception," a 49 foot Grand Banks Classic:

Also aboard Deception are Mikey and Meisha, Brian and Carol's special dog-people.  They are very sweet and great boat pets:

Next is Harry and Josie Clark.  Harry and Josie are charterers from North Carolina:

Harry and Josie will be aboard "Victoria," a 42 ft. Grand Banks Europa model for the cruise:

And here we are (had to include everybody):

And "Grand Adventure," our charter boat, a 42 ft. Grand Banks Motor Yacht (the full aft cabin makes her a "motor yacht" -- a marketing gimmick).  We had to copy this picture off the internet site:

OK, we were underway at 8:00 a.m. (or so), and passed by "Deception" still in her slip (Brian and Carol were helping the rest of us get underway):

We passed by "Northern Song," the 84 foot steel "ship" owned by NW Explorations.  This boat is chartered as a crewed charter and carries eight passengers with four crew.  They go to Alaska and Mexico:

We headed westward to thread our way through the San Juan Islands of Washington.  Soon, we spotted our first eagle on this small island.  Look closely:

Since we were traveling together, we cruised in a loose line behind Deception.  This was our typical formation for the entire trip.  Here is Deception, then Victoria and our bow in the picture.  Note the perfect weather:

Of course, since we were going into Canada from the U.S., we had to clear customs.  The customs station at Bedwell Harbor, BC was our stop.  It was very busy with boats checking in:

We finally got an empty space at the dock in front of the customs office.  We cleared by phone:

The terrain as we passed through the Gulf Islands of Canada was impressive, reminding us of Georgian Bay in Ontario, only this was on salt water.  The homes at the top had a great view:

We arrived at our marina for the night in Ganges, on Salt Spring Island in the Gulf Islands.  Everyone, except Bill, went in Deception's dinghy to the little town of Ganges.  Ruth snapped this sculpture along one of the streets:

Back at the marina, Josie and Harry fed the local swans:

They (the swans) were really pretty:

We shared supper aboard Deception and had a lot of fun getting to know everyone better.