Sailing in British Columbia and Princess Louisa Inlet
Between 7/1/2023 - 7/14/2023, we embarked on an adventure to sail the coast of British Columbia in Canada with the goal of making our way to Princess Louisa Inlet. I had been dreaming about sailing to this remarkable destination for over 3 years, regarded as the mecca for sailors in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), and am still at disbelief that we had the privilege of spending 3 days there. We chartered a 34 ft Jeanneau from San Juan Sailing in Bellingham for our trip which was quite comfortable for the three of us; I’ll post my review of the boat separately.
Here is a quick summary of our trip. Over the course of 14 days, we sailed from Bellingham to Bedwell Harbor on S Pender Island where we cleared customs, Montague Harbor on Galiano Island, Mark Bay in Nanimo, across Strait of Georgia to Garden Bay on Pender Harbor, overnight at Backeddy Marina in Egmont, and through Jervis Inlet to Princess Louisa Inlet. We traced back the same route except opting for one additional day at Princess Louisa Inlet and skipping Egmont on our way back.
Day 0, 6/30 - Preboarding (Highly recommend doing this for all charters)
We took the day off on Friday to pack and leave for Bellingham by noon to avoid the long weekend traffic. Over the years, we’ve learned to pack light with one large duffel bag for each person and have dialed down our packing lists as well as provisioning needs (see other blog posts for details). We got to Bellingham in time and enjoyed some lunch before heading to San Juan Sailing to check into our boat. By 4pm, we got the keys and started our checkout process and getting familiar with the boat, eventually provisioning at Whole Foods for perishables. We went light on the provisions since we were planning to head into Canada and there are restrictions on what foods can be carried across the border (always check what foods and alcohol quantities you can bring across the border). After settling in, we slept soundly on our boat at the docks in the soothing (eyeroll) sounds of the seagulls that call the marina home.
Day 1, 7/1 - Sail to Bedwell Harbor on S Pender Island and clear customs
Our first day started early at 6.30 am as we got ready for an early morning on-water instruction for the boat. Our boat had a twin rudder and no bow thruster which means there is no prop walk and limited steerage in tight spots at low speeds. Our instructor spent an hour with us and showed us a new docking technique which we practiced. I insisted we rotate responsibilities (as I often like to do) so each member on the boat could understand the full process, how each person’s actions (e.g. on helm, bow, and midship affects the docking) and every member is capable of playing different roles. As a skipper, I believe a well informed and rounded crew is better than having crew which focuses on only a few things / roles as it builds more skill, creates redundancies, and also drives more ownership and confidence for everyone. We dropped off our instructor and made our way towards Hales Passage, and sailed towards Bedwell Harbor. The day was long and we reached Bedwell around 4pm surprised to find the custom docks fairly empty. We docked and I made my way to clear customs by phone - this was a new experience but very straightforward and smooth. After getting our clearance number (which must be placed on a visible location in a portlight on the boat), we went further into the bay and anchored for the night, making sure to steer clear of the rocks. It was a long day, and we enjoyed the calm of the evening and our delicious meal before tucking in for the night. The night saw some wind gusts from the NW but our anchor held well. Even though we have been anchoring for several years now, I always wake up in the middle of the night (and also wake up Josh in the process) and we check on things. Going forward, I’ll set up the anchor watch.
Day 2, 7/2 - Montague Harbor (large, well protected, busy, and beautiful)
Montague Harbor on Galiano Island was BC’s first marine park and is outstanding. We took advantage of the NW winds to sail from Bedwell Harbor to Montague Harbor, steering clear of the no-go zones protected for whales and marine life off the SW side of S Pender Island. We got familiar with the boat, fixed up some of the the goofy lines and rigging and arrived at Montague Harbor late afternoon. While there are 35 mooring buoys, they all fill up quickly early in the day and we found anchorage on the south side. After settling in and enjoying our home cooked dinner, we watched the sunset, marveled at the rising moon, and took in the beautiful anchorage. Montague Harbor is well protected and despite strong NW winds, the waters were quite calm through the night.
Day 3, 7/3 - Nanimo through Dodd Narrows
The morning of Day 3 kicked off with a dinghy ride to the local marina and general store, and a stroll around the marine park. We took the advantage of the low tide to explore the white beach and the sun kissed rocks. After a quick breakfast, we planned our passage through Dodd Narrows at slack. Our boat had a top speed of 5.6 kts so the 10+ kts current in Dodd Narrows presented risk, if we didn’t cross close to slack times. The Ports and Passes guide is a great reference to have at all times (I buy the printed book each year) and also cross reference with the Tide and Currents in my Navionics phone app. We took advantage of the NW winds to sail through the day to arrive at Dodd Narrows at slack and arrive in Nanimo around 6pm. The crossing is quite uneventful if timed close to slack and it helps to announce intention to pass with a Securite call on the radio (keep settings to low on Channel 16). The pass is wide enough for boats to pass on both sides though watch for power boats and some commercial boats (e.g. small tug boats) rushing to get pass at high speeds which disturbs the waters. If you see a boat in a rush to cross, best give way and wait for their wake to pass as it results in waters bouncing on both sides of the pass, creating unnecessary stress. On the radio, we heard several boats passing up to 2 hours before/ after slack which is also an option if you want to take advantage of the currents or have a powerful engine to counter the currents. In Nanimo, we ducked the many sea planes (steer clear of sea plane zones) we chose to grab one of the last mooring buoys in Mark Bay over anchoring as we expected high winds, felt some exposure to Strait of Georgia, and the anchorage was quite crowded. In some cases the boats anchored too close to park mooring buoys making them not good options. An alternate option is the marine park dock space or one of the many marinas in Nanimo. After settling in, we dinghy’d over the the Dinghy Dock Floating Pub on Protection Island for dinner and drinks and watched the sunset. At night, we took in the beautiful views of the full moon and the lights of the city in the distance with the sounds of the many sirens going off in the distance. Overall, we felt accomplished having made the first of our crossings of Dodd Narrows on time and enjoying a fun day sailing.
Day 4, 7/4 - S. Pender Island through the Strait of Georgia
One of the aspects of this trip which gave us some sleepless nights was the crossing of the Strait of Georgia. Similar to Juan De Fuca, the Strait of Georgia is a body of water that demands respect, careful planning, and courage. We tracked the weather in this area since the beginning of our trip and saw “strong wind advisory” in the strait with gusts up to 30 kts for the preceding few days. However, on 7/4 afternoon the wind was forecasted to become lighter (NW 15-20 kts) and we planned to take advantage of this to make our crossing. I checked Environment of Canada for weather info and also the trusty Windy app on my phone. When crossing over from Nanimo, make sure to check for if the Whiskey Golf area is open or closed as this is the spot where the Canadian Navy performs regular operations/ exercises. WG was open to all marine traffic that afternoon so we planned to make our way via the Newcastle Island Passage towards Departure Bay (watching for BC ferries and seaplane traffic) leaving Hudson Rocks and Five finger Island to our port. To our delight, the NW winds were steady and we remained on a single tack with a smooth sail across the Strait of Georgia. Four hours later as we completed the crossing, the winds dropped off and we motored into Pender Harbor, opting to anchor north of Calder Island and East of Garden Bay which was a bit crowded. Pender Harbor is so well protected and beautiful that we opened our special scotch and took in the beautiful sunset before tucking into bed for a good nights’ sleep. The mental strain and anxiety from the planning/ execution of the crossing of the Strait of Georgia had taken a toll on all of us, and Pender Harbor offered the most relaxing and calm conditions for a comfortable sleep.
Day 5, 7/5 - Egmont through Agamemnon Channel
Today we expected a short sail up to Egmont which I expected would take ~2 hours and I wanted to time our arrival at the Backeddy Marina close to 4.30 pm (more later) which gave us plenty of time in the day to explore Pender Harbor. We woke up and explored all the bays (Garden Bay, Hospital Bay, Madeira Park, Gerrans Bay) riding our noisy little dinghy, and marveling at the beautiful boats and homes. After travelling backwards, we realized that the currents in the Rock Gunboat Passage to get to Gunboat bay were too strong for our 2.3hp outboard on our dingy and retreated to Madeira Park for some food and provisioning. Unlike previous trips where we tried to provision for the full duration, this time we opted to provision for only a few days at a time and take advantage of the local stores for provisioning. At Madeira Park, we docked our dinghy (dinghy doc next to the boat ramp) and walked over to Java Docks for some grub and the IGA Market for groceries and supplies. After picking up much more than what we probably needed, we made our way back to our boat to prepare lunch and make our way to Egmont. Egmont is home to the world famous Skookumchuck Narrows connecting Sechelt and Jervis Inlets where currents can run over 15 kts and kayakers travel from all parts of the world to challenge themselves in the standing waves. Egmont is also the last town/ option before making the 35+NM journey through Jervis Inlet to get to Princess Louisa Inlet and we decided to spend the night at the Backeddy Resort Marina. During peak summer seasons the marinas can get quite busy so highly recommend making a reservation in advance which we thankfully did. The Backeddy Marina is on the back eddy of the Skookumchuck Rapids and therefore the currents can also be high making docking challenging, in addition to a rock at the SW end of the marina. Our boat being a twin rudder with no bow thruster would add to the challenge so I opted to arrive at the Marina close to slack. We fueled up at the fuel dock (which closes at 5pm) with help from the dock hand and fellow boaters in the marina, and docked in our assigned spot. We treated ourselves to well deserved and much needed showers, and tried out the Backeddy Pub which has been one of the highlights of our trip. The food, desserts, views, and service was phenomenal (best fish and chips handsdown), and their portions and flavors left us so fulfilled. It was a delight and we highly recommend this restaurant. During our meal, we enjoyed the view of the marina and could see the currents building up and carrying boats with them. We decided not to hike up to view the Skookumchuck Rapids after much deliberation as we had an early morning the next day to give us enough time to catch the afternoon slack at Malibu rapids. We put this in our bucket list for another time, took in the sunset views of the beautiful mountains we would travel between the next day, chatted with fellow travellers, and slept early (10 pm was earlier than our usual).
Day 6, 7/6 - Princess Louisa Inlet through Jervis Inlet and Malibu Rapids
I spent the whole night tossing and turning wondering if we’d wake up in time, if we’d make our way to Malibu Rapids in time to catch the slack, if we’d have a smooth journey, if everything would go ok. The anxiety mixed with excitement of finally making this journey and the anticipation led me to have a sleepless night. By proximity, Josh had a sleepless night as well. I woke up to our alarm at 6 am, woke the crew, and we left the docks close to 6.30 am. We saw other sailboats, who we’d cross paths with again later and strike up many conversations, just ahead of us. It gave us a lot of relief to know that we had accomplished the first step of starting the journey towards Princess Louisa Inlet in time. As the morning sun came up, we found ourselves spellbound by the majestic fjord we were passing through that was carved by time and nature. Each view was special and we felt overwhelmed by the beauty of our surroundings. I’ve heard people describe travelling through Jervis Inlet and Princess Louisa Inlet as a spiritual experience and understood what they meant, but could not explain it even if I tried. I found myself inspired and brought out my sketch book which was new for a few years and tried to capture the fleeting moments and views. To our surprise, we were making much better time and would get there earlier, so we decided to explore Vancouver Bay and Deserted Bay on our way, bring out the sails, dance to some tunes, make lunch, and eventually arrived at Malibu rapids 30 mins prior to slack. We knew we were close to Malibu rapids when after several hours of silence our radio was broken by Securite calls from boats making their way to and from Princess Louisa Inlet, and we saw a few boats (mainly sailboats) waiting to time their passage. As slack time approached, the air seemed to shift as one after another boats announced their intention to cross the narrow S-curved pass where only one boat can cross at a time. The pressure built up on us to make our passage along with the other boats but we erred towards caution and waited till a few mins after slack (as it was the low water slack) to make our way. Excited and nervous, we announced our intention to cross and with one of us closely watching the chart plotter, rocks, depth, and course. Once we committed, it felt like an arrow had left the bow, and it went by swiftly. Once through, a calm came over us mirroring that of the waters in Princess Louisa Inlet. Towering mountains with rock and trees competing to inspire on all sides and deep waters beneath, we could not contain our excitement and feel relief at getting within 5 NM of our destination, Chatterbox Falls. Our last challenge was to find a good spot to tuck in for the night and fortunately there was ample dock space at the base of Chatterbox Falls. Our backup option was to grab one of the mooring buoys behind McDonald Island or anchor which requires stern tie. We secured our dock lines and set off to explore the Chatterbox Falls, finally being able to soak in the beauty around us without any other worries or agenda to meet. With no cellular connection and distractions, we were fully immersed in this special place.
Day 7 and 8, 7/7 and 7/8 - Stay at Princess Louisa Inlet
We decided to spend the next two at Princess Louisa Inlet to truly make the most of our time here. The next morning we saw some boats leave and took the opportunity to find a different spot on the dock with a full view of the Chatterbox Falls. We spent our days kayaking, swimming, beachcombing, enjoying the falls, hiking around, exploring with the dinghy, conversing with the other travelers, reading, sketching, sleeping, enjoying our meals, and being present in the moment.
Day 9 - 11, 7/9 - 7/11, Making our way back to Pender Harbor, Nanimo, and Montague Harbor through Strait of Georgia
Day 9, 7/9 Pender Harbor through Jervis Inlet - We started our morning early at 5 am so we could catch the 6.30 am slack at Malibu Rapid instead of the later slack close to noon to make most of our journey to Pender Harbor in the first half of the day and beat the heat. This turned out to be one of the best decisions as the early morning sun hit the calm waters of Princess Louisa Inlet and inched its way over the towering rock faces reflecting back in the deep waters. As we got further along, we were greeted with some good winds in Jervis Inlet filling up the sails and helping us get to Pender Harbor by late afternoon. As we found connectivity, we saw the winds building up and that some rough weather awaited us at Strait of Georgia the next day.
Day 10, 7/10 Nanimo through Strait of Georgia - Despite a strong wind advisory, we decided to cross Strait of Georgia so we didn’t need to rush the rest of our trip. We timed our crossing during the reduced winds but it was still the worst sea state we’ve experienced. With high winds, high waves, and strong currents the passage was very challenging. We dared not raise our sails and motored across (thankfully Whiskey Golf was not operating so we could cut straight across). As we took the wake at an angle bow first with Josh at the helm and got sprayed head to toe, we took relief in the slow progress we were making towards Nanimo. At the end of the afternoon, we finally arrived in Nanimo where we opted to pick up a mooring buoy (after 4 attempts in the high winds). With Princess Louisa behind us and having completed the most complex and challenging part of our journey, it finally dawned on us that our trip was soon coming to an end. We took the dinghy across to Nanimo Port Authority to shower, clear out our trash/ recycling, and head into town for a well earned meal at Nana Sushi which turned out to be absolutely amazing! A quick stop to the Thrifty Store for groceries and supplies kept us well stocked for the remainder of our journey.
Day 11, 7/11 Montague Harbor through Dodd Narrows - We took the morning to explore Mark Bay and the various hikes in the marine park, taking our time as the only other item on our agenda this day was to make the 11.30 am slack time at Dodd Narrows. Our second time crossing Dodd Narrows was quite different from the first time as we knew what to expect and the familiarity put us at ease. Once past the Narrows, we raised our sails and took our time sailing towards Princess Cove, our original destination. However, by the time we got there the stern ties were all taken and the open spots were hard to get to given the winds that evening. We opted not to anchor and cover more distance that evening towards home, ultimately anchoring at Montague Harbor and spending a relaxing evening reminiscing about the trip thus far.
Day 12, 7/12 - Sucia Island, San Juan Islands
We woke up at our anchorage at Montague Harbor to a loud sound to find a small log floating away from our boat. Wrapping up our breakfast, we made our way towards Sucia Island through the Navy Channel South of Mayne Island as we had missed the slack tide across Active Pass. With high winds, we opted to reef across sailing south of Saturna Island and keeping safe distance from the protected whale zone south of Saturna. We continued sailing and had a new experience clearing customs using the CBP ROAM app on our phone. We signed up as trusted travelers and completed US customs via a video call with the officers, as soon as we crossed back into US border and had cellular connectivity. We first tried to get a spot at Patos Island but for the sixth time in a row did not see any open spots as there is only one mooring buoy and only couple of spots to anchor. With the winds from the South that evening, and Fox Cove and Shallow Bay crowded, we picked up a mooring buoy on Echo Bay knowing a tumulus night was ahead of us. We brought out the dinghy as soon as we settled in and explored the shore on Ewing Cove with the sun dancing on the rocks, said hello the many seals, and surfed the waves on our way back.
Day 13 - 14, 7/13 - 7/14, Chuckanut Bay and return to Bellingham
Day 13, Chukanut Bay - We spent the morning exploring the hikes on Sucia Island before making our way south to Chuckanut Bay in Bellingham. We motor-sailed our way through Hales Passage and to Pleasant Bay where we dropped our anchor for the night. A word of caution in Bellingham Bay- on 2 separate instances, power boats headed straight towards us did not give way or change course even though we were sailing and had right of way. We did the prudent thing of bearing away to avoid any collisions despite being the stand-on vessel. As we approached Pleasant Bay in Chuckanut Bay, we took down the sails and turned on the motor which covered our angry words for the distracted powerboaters. We dropped our anchor, made sure it was set and proceeded to relax. Pleasant Bay is one of my favorite spots to watch the sunset and watch the moon rise. We packed up our bags and organized our things so we could have a quick checkout the next morning.
Day 14, Return boat and back home - The last day of our trip started with an early morning to pack up and arrive early in Squalicum Harbor in Bellingham so we could top up the fuel tank and water, and empty the holding tanks. Arrival at the marina was challenging with negative tide and strong winds but we managed it and docked well in advance of our check-in time. We quickly loaded our cars getting more efficient with each trip we take, and getting a hearty lunch at Fiamma Pizza, before making our way south to home in Seattle.
Post-trip reflections
This trip was very special, not just in the destination but also in our learning. We went further on this trip (300NM+) than we ever had, spent more time on the boat (2 weeks) than we ever had, sailed better individually and as a team, and accomplished more. We had long 8+ hour long days several days but the spirits were always high and when one person tired, another stepped up regardless of their duties at the helm, galley, or as crew. We dreamed this trip together and achieved it together, and in doing so got the courage to be more bold and explore further. Our next adventure awaits.
