September, 2005 Holole’a John & Marion Rodall's Cruise Ladysmith to Princess Louisa Inlet

(If you like, you can skip down through the prose and go straight to the pictures below!)

Marion and I did a wonderful 2 week cruise during the last 2 weeks of September, from Ladysmith to Princess Louisa Inlet.

Our I-36 Holole’a was accompanied by Kluane (named after a Yukon Lake). She is a lovely Sceptre 36 from Ladysmith, owned by John and Marnie Craig.

To make a long story very short, we met with John and Marnie, who were already in Gibsons, on the Sunshine Coast. We then meandered up the coast to Smugglers Cove, and then on to Egmont, which is the last provisioning stop before the long 35 mile trek up Jervis Inlet, which is surrounded by mile+ high mountains, and has nearly 2000 feet of depth!

Malibu Rapids guard the entrance to Princess Louisa Inlet, and they must be entered near slack water. Chatterbox Falls are the reward at the end, and there is an excellent free dock very close to the falls. In late September the cruising crowd is pretty laid back, and there is room for everybody. We had spectacular clear weather for nearly the whole trip, although not much wind. In late summer the falls are not nearly as spectacular as in May or June, but still very worthwhile.

The stars are stunning far away from civilization, and we even enjoyed a jam session on the dock one evening. As long as the wine kept flowing, the music kept playing! On the way back we spent some time in the Harmony Islands, meeting again with some folks from Tacoma on a J40, AJA, whom we had met at the falls.

We stopped at Musket Island Marine Park at Hardy Island, and I was wishing I had wet suit, the water was so clear compared to summer. Then on to Madeira Park in Pender Harbor, followed the next day by a wild reefed-down sail back to Smugglers Cove where it howled all night. I managed to hook an old tire with my anchor, which held the anchor very well overnight, and happily the tire is no longer in Smugglers Cove.

The trip home across Georgia Strait was mostly a cool weather, downwind lazy sail, and as soon as we got home, fall and rain really set in. It was a great time of year to cruise, with laid back fellow cruisers, mostly good weather, and the gong show of summer long past.

Cheers,

John and Marion Rodall
jmrodall@shaw.ca

Departing Ladysmith	Gibson's Landing	Spinnaker on the Strait	Evening at Smuggler's Cove
Morning at Egmont	Vancouver Bay, Jervis Inlet	Entrance to Princess Louisa (Malibu Rapids) in distance	Chatterbox Falls
MacDonald Memorial Lodge	Moss and ferns	View back to the dock	A faster way to travel
John and Marion at the falls (not much water in September)	Malibu Princess	Harmony Islands	Hardy Island (Islander 36, Sceptre 36)
L-R Marion, John, and friends John and Marnie	Scenic shoreline	John and his stonefaced Inukshuk buddy	Cooler crossing the Strait going home