New Year’s Day at Princess Louisa

We left Wallace Island by 8am on Saturday (New Year’s Eve) and headed north. We arrived at Dodd Narrows and had just over 4kts of current against us, which was no big deal. The Strait of Georgia was 15-20kts and mostly a nice ride until the last third or so when the wind picked up to 20-25kts and we had a bit of chop.

We stayed at Green Bay on Saturday night…a quiet anchorage off of Agamemnon Channel/Nelson Island. It snowed on our way up the channel!

Private homes/cabins dot the shoreline and private property signage is plentiful, but we never saw any lights on in any of the cabins. There’s a big shoal in this bay that’s unmarked on most charts and chart plotters. Sam flew the drone over it in the morning to get a better look.

A little bit of frost on the grill cover on the back deck:

We cooked dinner on Sam’s boat (salmon with horseradish cream sauce, asparagus, and some roasted potatoes) and managed to stay up until midnight for a casual champagne toast to the new year.

On Sunday morning (New Year’s Day), Sam made breakfast and then by about 10am we were headed for Princess Louisa. The cruise from Green Bay up Jervis Inlet to Princess Louisa is about 35 miles to Malibu Rapids and then 3 more miles to Princess Louisa. The wind was HOWLING! Right off our nose (the whole way…it just funneled down the inlet whichever way it zigged or zagged) and at first we were surprised when we saw over 30kts, but we started seeing gusts over 40kts and then even one gust to 51kts. (Fifty one knots!!!) But it wasn’t a bad ride at all. The waves weren’t large (3ft or so), and they were right on the nose mostly, so it was just a bit of pitching, and a whole lot of salt water over the bow, interrupted by some of the most beautiful scenery you could ask for.

Sam took this photo of Airship at a particularly wet moment:

We arrived at Malibu Rapids about a half an hour after low slack and had maybe a tiny bit of current with us going in. More gorgeous mountain scenery inside Princess Louisa Inlet:

As we approached Princess Louisa and Chatterbox Falls, I binoc’d the dock, which was covered in snow.

We tied up behind Safe Harbour and then went to explore a little bit and get a closer view of Chatterbox Falls.

The falls aren’t frozen, but there are definitely some little icicles on the rocks surrounding the falls. It’s about 32 degrees F here, and windy, but clear and crisp. We made dinner on Sam’s boat (homemade pizzas) last night, and when we walked back to Airship (high-steppin’ it through the snow) the sky was black and clear and full of stars.

We’re staying two nights here because the wind is supposed to die down a bit by Tuesday, plus…it’s just so cool to be the only ones here in this incredible place. More fun tomorrow!

Happy New Year!