Hi,

Just came back from a short/long trip to Princess Louisa Inlet. Short in
"elapsed time" (4 days), long in how we felt after the trip: it was like being
in Desolation Sound for 3 weeks.

My Lady, James and myself headed out in Far Cove with her almost-broken-in
engine at 8am Friday, after packing up Thursday evening. Porecast was for
10-20 knot Easterlies (Yay!). Picked up said Easterlies just out of Vancouver
Harbour, and set up wing-and-wing.

Winds were gusty and there was lots of "bumps" from the tides, so wing and
wing was kinda hard to hold. Finally I dropped the main altogether and we still
were doing 6+ just with the jenny. Winds picked up even more, and finaly we flew
through Welcome Passage, with reefed jenny only, doing 6.5-7 with 30+ wind
behind us. Yahoo!

Stopped in at Secret Cove for fuel and ice-cream, and continued on. Winds
were much lighter north of Welcome Passage, so we had a nice sail (jenny-only)
to Pender Harbour. Started ****ing down rain 5 minutes after we set the hook
(and we sure need it here!).

7am Saturday we headed for PLI: 42 miles according to Wally at Fisherman's
Resort. Cranked her up to 2300rpm, which seemed to be about 6.5 knots (tidal
currents making it hard to gauge). Watched the incredible scenery flow by: 6000
ft snow-covered mountains, waterfalls, trees...and little fish jumping
everywhere. Ebbing tide against us often dropped our speed to 5.5, making me a
bit nervous: Malibu rapids can only be navigated at slack, so we HAD to be there
by 3:00.

Sure enough, turned the last corner at 1:00, so slowed down to make the 2:50
slack. Arrived at Malibu rapids about 2:00 and decided to go through. Still 3+
knots of ebb against us, and a very exciting entrance (VERY narrow at low tide!!).

But we made it, and Princess Louisa Inlet opened up before us. What a site!
Deep, calm water, mountains all around us, and every one seemed to have a
waterfall cascading down it. Incredible. We motored quietly to the end and
anchored just off Chatterbox Falls. But the wind was very gusty, and we decided
to go to the dock instead, and have a "cookout" on a fire in one of the
campsites. Yummy steak and potatoes, cooked on an open fire!

Next day we just Hung Out. Fished off the dock (100+ feet depth!) and pulled up
three nice rock cod for dinner that day. Later that afternoon (at the slack
tide) a number of American boats came in. In fact, I think there was only one
other Canadian boat on the dock. They were friendly, but loud and, well, it
seemed like they "owned" the dock. We played David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of
Americans", hoised our Canadian flag and left the dock to go to the mooring
bouys.

In all honesty, I think is was more that they were in a Yacht Club than their
nationality that created the irritating attitude. I've seen it from other YC's
many times: setting up the lawn chairs in the middle of the dock, etc. Anyway,
the mooring bouy was a nice change, and it would have been Excellent but for the
boats with open exhausts water-skiing (they came 40 miles to do this???)

Up at 7am to catch the 8am slack, this time high tide so it was easy. Went
through with a Canadian trawler and an American sloop. I let the sloop go first
so I could see how the tide was, but we eventually caught and passed it.
Strange, we three all decided that 6.2 knots was a "nice" speed, so we were
together for most of the trip back down.

Wind picked up to 20 or so against us, but we were thinking of going all the way
to Vancouver, so couldn't spend the time tacking on it. We did spend 1/2 hr at a
little bay fishing for Chinook Salmon, but didn't catch anything.

It was 3pm when we passed Francis Peninsula off Pender Harbour, and we had to
make a decision: sail on the nice, but directly against us Easterly and stay at
Secret Cove or Gibsons, or make a run for Vancouver. sniffsniff What's that
smell? Oh, yes: Far Cove has no showers. Vancouver it is! I thought we could
spend an hr or so sailing after we cleared Merry Island, but the wind died. So,
motormotormotor.

We entered Vancouver Harbour just as the sun was setting, turning the towers of
Vancouver into gold. Gorgeous. And we picked up a bit of wind: motorsailed at
7.5+, screaming into the harbour. We turned the corner into Lynnwood Marina at
10pm, averaging almost 6.5 knots over 87 miles. Not bad for one day! And we used
about 65 litres of diesel to travel 170 miles round-trip (ok, some of that was
under sail!)

So, Far Cove's new engine is now Officially broken in, and we're Very Relaxed.
What a wonderful trip!

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36

Sounds wonderful!

Lloyd Sumpter wrote:
Hi,

Just came back from a short/long trip to Princess Louisa Inlet. Short in
"elapsed time" (4 days), long in how we felt after the trip: it was like being
in Desolation Sound for 3 weeks.

My Lady, James and myself headed out in Far Cove with her almost-broken-in
engine at 8am Friday, after packing up Thursday evening. Porecast was for
10-20 knot Easterlies (Yay!). Picked up said Easterlies just out of Vancouver
Harbour, and set up wing-and-wing.

Winds were gusty and there was lots of "bumps" from the tides, so wing and
wing was kinda hard to hold. Finally I dropped the main altogether and we still
were doing 6+ just with the jenny. Winds picked up even more, and finaly we flew
through Welcome Passage, with reefed jenny only, doing 6.5-7 with 30+ wind
behind us. Yahoo!

Stopped in at Secret Cove for fuel and ice-cream, and continued on. Winds
were much lighter north of Welcome Passage, so we had a nice sail (jenny-only)
to Pender Harbour. Started ****ing down rain 5 minutes after we set the hook
(and we sure need it here!).

7am Saturday we headed for PLI: 42 miles according to Wally at Fisherman's
Resort. Cranked her up to 2300rpm, which seemed to be about 6.5 knots (tidal
currents making it hard to gauge). Watched the incredible scenery flow by: 6000
ft snow-covered mountains, waterfalls, trees...and little fish jumping
everywhere. Ebbing tide against us often dropped our speed to 5.5, making me a
bit nervous: Malibu rapids can only be navigated at slack, so we HAD to be there
by 3:00.

Sure enough, turned the last corner at 1:00, so slowed down to make the 2:50
slack. Arrived at Malibu rapids about 2:00 and decided to go through. Still 3+
knots of ebb against us, and a very exciting entrance (VERY narrow at low tide!!).

But we made it, and Princess Louisa Inlet opened up before us. What a site!
Deep, calm water, mountains all around us, and every one seemed to have a
waterfall cascading down it. Incredible. We motored quietly to the end and
anchored just off Chatterbox Falls. But the wind was very gusty, and we decided
to go to the dock instead, and have a "cookout" on a fire in one of the
campsites. Yummy steak and potatoes, cooked on an open fire!

Next day we just Hung Out. Fished off the dock (100+ feet depth!) and pulled up
three nice rock cod for dinner that day. Later that afternoon (at the slack
tide) a number of American boats came in. In fact, I think there was only one
other Canadian boat on the dock. They were friendly, but loud and, well, it
seemed like they "owned" the dock. We played David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of
Americans", hoised our Canadian flag and left the dock to go to the mooring
bouys.

In all honesty, I think is was more that they were in a Yacht Club than their
nationality that created the irritating attitude. I've seen it from other YC's
many times: setting up the lawn chairs in the middle of the dock, etc. Anyway,
the mooring bouy was a nice change, and it would have been Excellent but for the
boats with open exhausts water-skiing (they came 40 miles to do this???)

Up at 7am to catch the 8am slack, this time high tide so it was easy. Went
through with a Canadian trawler and an American sloop. I let the sloop go first
so I could see how the tide was, but we eventually caught and passed it.
Strange, we three all decided that 6.2 knots was a "nice" speed, so we were
together for most of the trip back down.

Wind picked up to 20 or so against us, but we were thinking of going all the way
to Vancouver, so couldn't spend the time tacking on it. We did spend 1/2 hr at a
little bay fishing for Chinook Salmon, but didn't catch anything.

It was 3pm when we passed Francis Peninsula off Pender Harbour, and we had to
make a decision: sail on the nice, but directly against us Easterly and stay at
Secret Cove or Gibsons, or make a run for Vancouver. sniffsniff What's that
smell? Oh, yes: Far Cove has no showers. Vancouver it is! I thought we could
spend an hr or so sailing after we cleared Merry Island, but the wind died. So,
motormotormotor.

We entered Vancouver Harbour just as the sun was setting, turning the towers of
Vancouver into gold. Gorgeous. And we picked up a bit of wind: motorsailed at
7.5+, screaming into the harbour. We turned the corner into Lynnwood Marina at
10pm, averaging almost 6.5 knots over 87 miles. Not bad for one day! And we used
about 65 litres of diesel to travel 170 miles round-trip (ok, some of that was
under sail!)

So, Far Cove's new engine is now Officially broken in, and we're Very Relaxed.
What a wonderful trip!

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36

On Tue, 25 May 2004 10:30:10 -0700, "Lloyd Sumpter"
wrote:



So, Far Cove's new engine is now Officially broken in, and we're Very Relaxed.
What a wonderful trip!

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36

Good for you, Lloyd. Always nice to hear of a long-time poster messing
about in boats.

R.

Lloyd, Glad to hear you had a great trip. Sorry to learn the Americans were
a bit of a pain. The 4-5 times I've salied the San Juan/Gulf Islands, both
US and Canadian boats were a joy to be around.

Question: You mentioned you motor-sailed into Vancouver Harbor.
The last time I went out of, and returned to, Vancouver Harbor,
sail was specifically prohibited anywhere in the harbor, starting at
the Lions Gate Bridge, (First Narrows). Has this been changed?
Or did no one care?
Norm B


On Tue, 25 May 2004 10:30:10 -0700, "Lloyd Sumpter" wrote:

Hi,

Just came back from a short/long trip to Princess Louisa Inlet. Short in
"elapsed time" (4 days), long in how we felt after the trip: it was like being
in Desolation Sound for 3 weeks.

My Lady, James and myself headed out in Far Cove with her almost-broken-in
engine at 8am Friday, after packing up Thursday evening. Porecast was for
10-20 knot Easterlies (Yay!). Picked up said Easterlies just out of Vancouver
Harbour, and set up wing-and-wing.

Winds were gusty and there was lots of "bumps" from the tides, so wing and
wing was kinda hard to hold. Finally I dropped the main altogether and we still
were doing 6+ just with the jenny. Winds picked up even more, and finaly we flew
through Welcome Passage, with reefed jenny only, doing 6.5-7 with 30+ wind
behind us. Yahoo!

Stopped in at Secret Cove for fuel and ice-cream, and continued on. Winds
were much lighter north of Welcome Passage, so we had a nice sail (jenny-only)
to Pender Harbour. Started ****ing down rain 5 minutes after we set the hook
(and we sure need it here!).

7am Saturday we headed for PLI: 42 miles according to Wally at Fisherman's
Resort. Cranked her up to 2300rpm, which seemed to be about 6.5 knots (tidal
currents making it hard to gauge). Watched the incredible scenery flow by: 6000
ft snow-covered mountains, waterfalls, trees...and little fish jumping
everywhere. Ebbing tide against us often dropped our speed to 5.5, making me a
bit nervous: Malibu rapids can only be navigated at slack, so we HAD to be there
by 3:00.

Sure enough, turned the last corner at 1:00, so slowed down to make the 2:50
slack. Arrived at Malibu rapids about 2:00 and decided to go through. Still 3+
knots of ebb against us, and a very exciting entrance (VERY narrow at low tide!!).

But we made it, and Princess Louisa Inlet opened up before us. What a site!
Deep, calm water, mountains all around us, and every one seemed to have a
waterfall cascading down it. Incredible. We motored quietly to the end and
anchored just off Chatterbox Falls. But the wind was very gusty, and we decided
to go to the dock instead, and have a "cookout" on a fire in one of the
campsites. Yummy steak and potatoes, cooked on an open fire!

Next day we just Hung Out. Fished off the dock (100+ feet depth!) and pulled up
three nice rock cod for dinner that day. Later that afternoon (at the slack
tide) a number of American boats came in. In fact, I think there was only one
other Canadian boat on the dock. They were friendly, but loud and, well, it
seemed like they "owned" the dock. We played David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of
Americans", hoised our Canadian flag and left the dock to go to the mooring
bouys.

In all honesty, I think is was more that they were in a Yacht Club than their
nationality that created the irritating attitude. I've seen it from other YC's
many times: setting up the lawn chairs in the middle of the dock, etc. Anyway,
the mooring bouy was a nice change, and it would have been Excellent but for the
boats with open exhausts water-skiing (they came 40 miles to do this???)

Up at 7am to catch the 8am slack, this time high tide so it was easy. Went
through with a Canadian trawler and an American sloop. I let the sloop go first
so I could see how the tide was, but we eventually caught and passed it.
Strange, we three all decided that 6.2 knots was a "nice" speed, so we were
together for most of the trip back down.

Wind picked up to 20 or so against us, but we were thinking of going all the way
to Vancouver, so couldn't spend the time tacking on it. We did spend 1/2 hr at a
little bay fishing for Chinook Salmon, but didn't catch anything.

It was 3pm when we passed Francis Peninsula off Pender Harbour, and we had to
make a decision: sail on the nice, but directly against us Easterly and stay at
Secret Cove or Gibsons, or make a run for Vancouver. sniffsniff What's that
smell? Oh, yes: Far Cove has no showers. Vancouver it is! I thought we could
spend an hr or so sailing after we cleared Merry Island, but the wind died. So,
motormotormotor.

We entered Vancouver Harbour just as the sun was setting, turning the towers of
Vancouver into gold. Gorgeous. And we picked up a bit of wind: motorsailed at
7.5+, screaming into the harbour. We turned the corner into Lynnwood Marina at
10pm, averaging almost 6.5 knots over 87 miles. Not bad for one day! And we used
about 65 litres of diesel to travel 170 miles round-trip (ok, some of that was
under sail!)

So, Far Cove's new engine is now Officially broken in, and we're Very Relaxed.
What a wonderful trip!

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36

On Wed, 26 May 2004 10:33:27 +0000, engsol wrote:

Lloyd, Glad to hear you had a great trip. Sorry to learn the Americans were a
bit of a pain. The 4-5 times I've salied the San Juan/Gulf Islands, both US and
Canadian boats were a joy to be around.

Question: You mentioned you motor-sailed into Vancouver Harbor. The last time I
went out of, and returned to, Vancouver Harbor, sail was specifically prohibited
anywhere in the harbor, starting at the Lions Gate Bridge, (First Narrows). Has
this been changed? Or did no one care?
Norm B


No, you're absulutely right - no sailing through the First Narrows. But
"Vancouver Harbour" starts at the line from Pt Atkinson to the Pt Grey bell
bouy. Many people call this "English Bay" although most charts call the much
smaller bay near False Creek "English Bay" and refer to the larger bay as
"Vancouver Harbour".

Beyond the First Narrows is the "Inner Harbour": no sailing through the
Narrows or where the Seabus's go, sailing allowed elsewhere (but few people sail
there because of the traffic).

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36

On Tue, 25 May 2004 10:30:10 -0700, "Lloyd Sumpter" wrote:

Hi,

Just came back from a short/long trip to Princess Louisa Inlet. Short in
"elapsed time" (4 days), long in how we felt after the trip: it was like being
in Desolation Sound for 3 weeks.

My Lady, James and myself headed out in Far Cove with her almost-broken-in
engine at 8am Friday, after packing up Thursday evening. Porecast was for
10-20 knot Easterlies (Yay!). Picked up said Easterlies just out of Vancouver
Harbour, and set up wing-and-wing.

Winds were gusty and there was lots of "bumps" from the tides, so wing and
wing was kinda hard to hold. Finally I dropped the main altogether and we still
were doing 6+ just with the jenny. Winds picked up even more, and finaly we flew
through Welcome Passage, with reefed jenny only, doing 6.5-7 with 30+ wind
behind us. Yahoo!

Stopped in at Secret Cove for fuel and ice-cream, and continued on. Winds
were much lighter north of Welcome Passage, so we had a nice sail (jenny-only)
to Pender Harbour. Started ****ing down rain 5 minutes after we set the hook
(and we sure need it here!).

7am Saturday we headed for PLI: 42 miles according to Wally at Fisherman's
Resort. Cranked her up to 2300rpm, which seemed to be about 6.5 knots (tidal
currents making it hard to gauge). Watched the incredible scenery flow by: 6000
ft snow-covered mountains, waterfalls, trees...and little fish jumping
everywhere. Ebbing tide against us often dropped our speed to 5.5, making me a
bit nervous: Malibu rapids can only be navigated at slack, so we HAD to be there
by 3:00.

Sure enough, turned the last corner at 1:00, so slowed down to make the 2:50
slack. Arrived at Malibu rapids about 2:00 and decided to go through. Still 3+
knots of ebb against us, and a very exciting entrance (VERY narrow at low tide!!).

But we made it, and Princess Louisa Inlet opened up before us. What a site!
Deep, calm water, mountains all around us, and every one seemed to have a
waterfall cascading down it. Incredible. We motored quietly to the end and
anchored just off Chatterbox Falls. But the wind was very gusty, and we decided
to go to the dock instead, and have a "cookout" on a fire in one of the
campsites. Yummy steak and potatoes, cooked on an open fire!

Next day we just Hung Out. Fished off the dock (100+ feet depth!) and pulled up
three nice rock cod for dinner that day. Later that afternoon (at the slack
tide) a number of American boats came in. In fact, I think there was only one
other Canadian boat on the dock. They were friendly, but loud and, well, it
seemed like they "owned" the dock. We played David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of
Americans", hoised our Canadian flag and left the dock to go to the mooring
bouys.

In all honesty, I think is was more that they were in a Yacht Club than their
nationality that created the irritating attitude. I've seen it from other YC's
many times: setting up the lawn chairs in the middle of the dock, etc. Anyway,
the mooring bouy was a nice change, and it would have been Excellent but for the
boats with open exhausts water-skiing (they came 40 miles to do this???)

Up at 7am to catch the 8am slack, this time high tide so it was easy. Went
through with a Canadian trawler and an American sloop. I let the sloop go first
so I could see how the tide was, but we eventually caught and passed it.
Strange, we three all decided that 6.2 knots was a "nice" speed, so we were
together for most of the trip back down.

Wind picked up to 20 or so against us, but we were thinking of going all the way
to Vancouver, so couldn't spend the time tacking on it. We did spend 1/2 hr at a
little bay fishing for Chinook Salmon, but didn't catch anything.

It was 3pm when we passed Francis Peninsula off Pender Harbour, and we had to
make a decision: sail on the nice, but directly against us Easterly and stay at
Secret Cove or Gibsons, or make a run for Vancouver. sniffsniff What's that
smell? Oh, yes: Far Cove has no showers. Vancouver it is! I thought we could
spend an hr or so sailing after we cleared Merry Island, but the wind died. So,
motormotormotor.

We entered Vancouver Harbour just as the sun was setting, turning the towers of
Vancouver into gold. Gorgeous. And we picked up a bit of wind: motorsailed at
7.5+, screaming into the harbour. We turned the corner into Lynnwood Marina at
10pm, averaging almost 6.5 knots over 87 miles. Not bad for one day! And we used
about 65 litres of diesel to travel 170 miles round-trip (ok, some of that was
under sail!)

So, Far Cove's new engine is now Officially broken in, and we're Very Relaxed.
What a wonderful trip!

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36


Very nicely written, Lloyd. Sure enjoyed reading about your trip. Makes me want
to move to Seattle, almost.


John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

In John H wrote:
On Tue, 25 May 2004 10:30:10 -0700, "Lloyd Sumpter" lsumpter@dccnet.
com wrote:


Very nicely written, Lloyd. Sure enjoyed reading about your trip.
Makes me want to move to Seattle, almost.


John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!


Don't forget Seattle's image of non-stop rain, impenetrable fog, and
everything covered in moss. Everything you hear about the Pacific
Northwest is true. We get an average of 857.6 inches of rain a year,
and radar is essential to just motor over to the fuel dock an average of
256 days a year because of the fog. It's cold most of the time and it's
a damp, bone-aching cold. The tide range averages 70 feet and the
currents through the islands run an average of 46 knots. And wind- hey,
we're happy when the wind across Bellingham Bay drops to 40 knots with
gusts to 60.
The weather is gloomy, dark, and foreboding. Everything
is wet all the time. Mt. St. Helens already blew up, and it's common
knowledge that Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams are about to.
Captain Vancouver didn't name it Deslolation Sound for no reason. His
other names were right on, too. Deception Pass, Cape Caution, Cape
Disappointment... very accurate, very descriptive. Sucia Island- this
was named by the Spanish and it's accurate, too. It means "foul bottom"
and they meant it. They couldn't get their anchors to hold, so they
wised up and left.
There are glaciers that would just as soon drop a
million tons of ice on your boat as look at you. Go ashore up the coast,
and if the mosquitos don't eat you alive the grizzlies will.
The
Pacific Northwest is a terrible place to run a boat. I don't know why
we do it- a bunch of masochists, I guess. All I can say is don't fall
into the trap those of us who are stuck in this cold, wet, foggy,
miserable place were lured into. I grew up in Hawaii, for God's sake,
and look how low I've sunk. Take my advice and stay away. Far, far
away.
Don't say we didn't warn you.

JC

Mr. Toad wrote:
In John H wrote:

On Tue, 25 May 2004 10:30:10 -0700, "Lloyd Sumpter" lsumpter@dccnet.
com wrote:


Very nicely written, Lloyd. Sure enjoyed reading about your trip.
Makes me want to move to Seattle, almost.


John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!



Don't forget Seattle's image of non-stop rain, impenetrable fog, and
everything covered in moss. Everything you hear about the Pacific
Northwest is true. We get an average of 857.6 inches of rain a year,
and radar is essential to just motor over to the fuel dock an average of
256 days a year because of the fog. It's cold most of the time and it's
a damp, bone-aching cold. The tide range averages 70 feet and the
currents through the islands run an average of 46 knots. And wind- hey,
we're happy when the wind across Bellingham Bay drops to 40 knots with
gusts to 60.
The weather is gloomy, dark, and foreboding. Everything
is wet all the time. Mt. St. Helens already blew up, and it's common
knowledge that Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams are about to.
Captain Vancouver didn't name it Deslolation Sound for no reason. His
other names were right on, too. Deception Pass, Cape Caution, Cape
Disappointment... very accurate, very descriptive. Sucia Island- this
was named by the Spanish and it's accurate, too. It means "foul bottom"
and they meant it. They couldn't get their anchors to hold, so they
wised up and left.
There are glaciers that would just as soon drop a
million tons of ice on your boat as look at you. Go ashore up the coast,
and if the mosquitos don't eat you alive the grizzlies will.
The
Pacific Northwest is a terrible place to run a boat. I don't know why
we do it- a bunch of masochists, I guess. All I can say is don't fall
into the trap those of us who are stuck in this cold, wet, foggy,
miserable place were lured into. I grew up in Hawaii, for God's sake,
and look how low I've sunk. Take my advice and stay away. Far, far
away.
Don't say we didn't warn you.

Haha, funny post. You forgot to mention we've got the danger from
collisions with the resident Puget Sound orca pod, if they come back
this year, and all the darn Marinas and vast coastline with hundreds of
little towns, shops and islands cluttering up everything.

And hey, I grew up in Hawaii too, not to mention I drive five hours one
way from my dryer residence just to get to my boat.

The area collects lunatics, I guess.

Stephen

On Wed, 26 May 2004 12:51:30 -0700, Stephen Trapani wrote:

snip
The area collects lunatics, I guess.

Stephen

I retired May 1st, and will be moving to Bellingham in July.
Guess I'll have to practice being loony(ier) to fit in.
Norm B

On Wed, 26 May 2004 18:07:16 GMT, Mr. Toad wrote:

Take my advice and stay away. Far, far
away.
Don't say we didn't warn you.

=================================

We have many of those very same problems right here in Florida, and
now that I'm here, it's time to pull up the bridge over the moat.

:-)