Princess Louisa Inlet & Chatterbox Falls

Chatterbox Falls – Princess Louisa Inlet

Princess Louisa Inlet with Chatterbox Falls at the end is one of our absolute favorite boating stops of all time.

I would like to dedicate this particular post to our friend, Mike Moody, who was a sailor, adventurer, a kind and true gentle man. Mike departed this world all too soon. He and his wife Sally visited  Princess Louisa Inlet & Chatterbox Falls, and like so many places, enjoyed the majestic serenity and natural beauty here. Mike, this one is for you!

We departed Buccaneer Bay shortly after 8am and arrived at Malibu Rapids shortly after 2pm. The six-hour run up the Agamemnon Channel, Prince of Wales Reach, Princess Royal Reach and Queen’s Reach was pretty benign. These bodies of water are fjord like with towering rock cliffs and water depth up to 1800 feet. There are virtually no protected anchorages or communities along this picturesque route.

Slack tide was not until 3:30pm so we cruised past the entrance to Malibu Rapids and further up Queens Reach. Just past the Malibu Lodge were several beautiful, large buildings, which we assumed were an extension of the Lodge property. 

The Bunkhouse!

Ming, the Park Ranger later informed us that they were all privately owned by Bob Goff, an American. Apparently he even built a cathedral there for his daughter’s wedding. 

As we cruised by we spied a cabin under construction way up the mountainside. I have no idea how one would reach it or how they could get building supplies there or any other supplies. It too, is owned by the same American.

Now that is remote!

Approaching entrance to Malibu Rapids

We approached the rapids entrance leading through to Princess Louisa Inlet and Chatterbox Falls slightly before slack low tide. 

Looking back at the dog-leg

 We encountered a 4-5 knot current on the nose as we transited the narrow, dog-leg rapids. Being a power vessel, we were able to overcome the current with a successful entry into a part of paradise.

It was late afternoon on a Friday when we arrived at the Princess Louisa Park dock. Surprisingly, there were only four or five boats tied up, but by mid evening, the dock was full. Generally, boats raft up at the dock during high season but due to Covid, rafting was not permitted.

The weather during our three-day stay was spectacular. Cloudless blue skies with plenty of sunshine. The local folks from BC are pretty hardy and were all in swimming in 69 degree water. 

The afternoon heat on day two coerced these two Texas woosies to take the plunge. 

Once the body recovered from the initial shock, the water was pleasantly refreshing. The water was brackish due to the volume of water coming from the many waterfalls.

With no phone or internet service, this truly is a magical, mystical place of serenity where one forgets the realities of this crazy world and regains some perspective and sanity.

We enjoyed 72 hours of tranquility in paradise, taking the trail through the rain forest to visit the infamous Chatterbox Falls and exploring in the dinghy, discovering the numerous waterfalls that are fed by the glacier and lake high above.

I will let the photos below speak for themselves.

Chatterbox Falls from the dock

On day two, a small cabin cruiser docked across from us and we met Anne Marie and Graham, who it turns out, are Alan's sister's next door neighbors. It's a small world!

As always, all good things must end and we are ready to head out tomorrow and head south for a few days.

Ganges Harbour, Salt Spring Island

Ganges Harbour, Salt Spring Island

13 July

At about noon we upped anchor at Russell Island and headed off for the 90-minute run to Ganges. Ganges is the largest community on Salt Spring Island, offering plenty of funky shops, restaurants and galleries. Those of you who followed our blog may remember that we spent a couple of days here last year.

The channel into Ganges was not overly busy this year but one still needs to be watchful for the sea planes landing along the same stretch of water.

After securing Kaos at the dock, we checked in with the marina, which is now under new ownership and management. With the absence of American vessels due to the borders being closed, the marina was not busy but plenty of renovations and dock repairs were being accomplished.

As we headed up the ramp towards town, we were greeted by a delightful RCMP reserve constable. Apparently the arrival of a US vessel (us) had been reported and CBSA (Customs Border Services) were en-route to chat with us. We sat outside the marina office for two hours, chatting with the RCMP constable while we waited for CBSA to arrive. I guess we were being detained because the constable had to remain with us until CBSA arrived. 

Even though we have done everything required correctly and are Canadian citizens, a face to face meeting is apparently required each time there is a report filed. After satisfying everyone that we are here in Canada legally, the CBSA officer said that we will likely meet again, to which I answered that we would soon be on first name basis. He replied by saying that his name is Roger. Au revoir, until we meet again Roger!

We walked this quaint, funky town, enjoying lunch outside on the patio at the Oyster Catcher. 

After a visit to Mouat’s amazing hardware store, we picked up a few provisions at the local grocery store. To Alan’s delight, many of the stores are closed on Monday.

We tried to get fresh Dungeness crab for dinner but the Fish Market is closed on Monday and would not have crab until Tuesday evening when we would be gone. Maybe next visit.