Princess Louisa Inlet to Prideaux Haven

A heavy cloud layer obscured the nearly full moon when we were awakened by the alarm at 0330, so we knew that exiting Malibu Rapids would be in total darkness rather than having a hint of dawn.  We pulled away from the dock at 0355, just ahead of Serena and navigating by radar and GPS began the trip back to the rapids.  High slack water was predicted for 0430 and we did not want to be late.  Even though it was totally dark, as our eyes adjusted we could make out the steep cliffs on both sides, but not the intersection of the cliffs with the water.  Spirit left a trail of phosphorescence as we glided at 6 knots through the dark waters.  Birds, startled at our approach left shimmering trails in the dark as the scurried out of our way.

The Young Life camp at Malibu was well lit, and as we entered the rapids we picked up speed, making a right turn around the swimming pool at the end of the point, now only about three feet above the water at high tide.  A few hundred yards later we made the left turn at the outer entrance and headed back down Jervis Inlet.  The skies gradually lightened and we encountered rain and moderate wind in Princess Royal Reach, along with some choppy seas.  The further down Jervis Inlet we proceeded the more the weather improved and by the time we reached Malaspina Straits we had partly cloudy skies with only occasional rain squalls.

We were abeam Westview at 1200 and cruised slowly by for photos.  Serena stopped in Westview for the evening and will join us at Dent Island.  We then slowly headed to Powell River, the first stop on Bill Craven’s voyage 60 years ago and speculated on which dock the SS Prince Rupert moored.  The derelict concrete ship breakwater, which was much newer in 1952, continues to deteriorate, with significant amounts of rebar showing through and many of the ships listing badly.  The concrete ships were all surplus from WWII and some were originally powered and some were barges.

As we passed by Sliammon we saw three eagles chasing a seagull, attacking it and finally one eagle forced the seagull into the water where the eagle continued to attack, finally landing in the water itself.  We had never seen an eagle take off from the water, but after a few minutes, with a lot of thrashing and splashing the eagle was airborne once again.  The seagull looked like it was wounded in the wing and could not fly, so at some point the eagle probably returned and finished the seagull off.

After photos we cruised past Lund, the last town on the Malaspina Peninsula, up Thulin Passage through the Copeland Islands Marine Park and on to Prideaux Haven, arriving at 1530.  The BC commercial prawn season opened today and there are floats and boats everywhere the water is deep enough to catch the prawns.  There were only 2 other vessels present when we entered the bay, one of them in Melanie Cove.

Powell River Mill and Concrete Ships

Eagle attacking seagull

Finally airborne again

Today we covered 85 nautical miles and have travelled at total of 249 nautical miles consuming 180 gallons of fuel since leaving Anacortes.  Based on engine hours we have averaged 7.32 knots, including the slow entry and exit into Vancouver and into Princess Louisa Inlet.