We decided to get up to Desolation Sound, so just one night in Pender Harbor. Anchorage in Garden Bay was great! We got an early start around 7am and proceeded to get the crap kicked out of us in the Strait of Georgia. After a bit of that we turned right to find better water, which put us in Jervis Inlet. Water flying over the boat one minute and smooth as a baby’s bottom the next.

So, didn’t go to Prideaux Haven after all, but moved on to Princess Louisa Inlet. Ya’ gotta be flexible in this world of boating!

Beautiful cruise up Jervis Inet.

We arrived at the entrance to Malibu Rapids a bit early, so waited with four other boats for the right timing. Sea Glass decided to go first, and radioed that the water was still moving strongly. She “had to use full power” and suggested we all give it another 20 minutes to a half hour. In about 20 minutes, Joan Lee decided it was time. We had paced this boat all the way up the inlet so decided to follow them. Still strong water but doable.

Last time we were here, we were with a Ranger Tugs group and stayed on the dock. This time, we headed for the buoys tucked in behind Macdonald Island, about halfway up Princess Louisa Inlet. Four out of the five buoys were open so we snagged one. It was just us and one other boat for three nights.

Hardly any water movement (no wind, little current), so no chine slapping, no bumping against the buoy…so quiet! There is a private camp here, don’t know if it’s an offshoot of Club Malibu or what. They get a little noisy at times, jumping of the dock and swimming – plus gathering in a circle and doing something…also noisy.

We’ve taken a few good paddles, visited the falls, walked to the lookout near where we’re buoyed, took a picnic dinner to the falls, some dinghy rides. Watched the wildlife. Read books.

We’ve used our phones to connect to satellite for texting. Pretty cool feature!

Yesterday it was time to say goodbye to PLI. (They request that each boat stay just three nights – it’s a popular place with limited space.) We followed the two sailing ships that came in the day before, Pacific Grace and Pacific Swift, built and operated by SALTS out of Victoria.

Here they are anchored near the falls:

And their skiffs on the shore:

Fun to watch these boats navigate the rapids. It was high slack, so going out was easy.

Saw three orcas on the way back down Jervis Inlet. Smooth sailing.

We are trying to make some plans but as our request for moorage at Quayside Marina in Vancouver is pending, we are going to bide our time a bit working our way there. ToG is back in Garden Bay, and we’ll see where we go from here.