Journey to Princess Louisa - Day 7 at Chatterbox Falls & Princess Louisa

We've arrived! We are now in Princess Louisa Inlet, traversed the Malibu Rapids and cruised the four miles to Chatterbox Falls. The first three pictures show our route up the narrow passages and some of the scenery. You can see our location indicated on the map with a black boat-shaped spot in the middle of the chart. The various channels we have traveled are fairly narrow and very picturesque. The third picture shows the entrance to Princess Louisa Inlet and at the bottom between the lighter and darker green. Right at that corner is Malibu, the well-known Young Life camp. 



 

We arrived at Malibu Rapids about 2 hours 15 minutes before slack tide (no current). The current was running about 6 knots. One cannot see straight through the entrance to the inlet because of a right dog-leg turn and then a left dog-leg turn. That combined with a strong current made for an exciting ride and some heart-pounding moments. The group thought it was a really good idea for Bob to go first! Before entering Malibu Rapids, it is a courtesy as well as good seamanship to warn oncoming boats that you are preparing to enter from the opposite direction.  An example of Bob’s  transmission over the VHF radio was “Securite’, securite’, securite’. This is Nordic Tug Stargazer and three other vessels. Inbound through Malibu Rapids. Any concerned traffic contact Stargazer on one six”. We ran through the rapids just fine. It took a lot of power but once we popped through into the inlet, it was calm and beautiful. Someone once said it was like going through a crack in a teacup and we thought that was an very apt description. The walls of the inlet are about a mile high and the depth at the sides averaged 500 feet deep; sometime within feet of the shore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we traveled the length of the inlet, we were blown away by the beauty of the area. A good description taken from the Waggoner Cruising Guide 2013 states:  “Princess Louisa Inlet, 4 miles long, is the “holy grail” for cruising people from all over the world… Entering Princess Louisa Inlet is like entering a great cathedral. The author, Earle Stanley Gardner, wrote that no one can enter Princess Louisa Inlet and remain an atheist. It is one of the most awesome destinations on the coast. What words can describe this place? All the superlatives have been used up on lesser subjects.” 

 

 

We were able to run through the rapids sooner than some boats because we were able to go faster. Others had to wait until slack tide. For this reason, we found plenty of space on the dock and tied up our boats. We decided it was the perfect place for a photo of each couple so we posed for our first photos at Chatterbox Falls.  

 

After we were settled, we took the short walk up to Chatterbox Falls and took pictures at the foot of the falls. We had to make sure that all of us were ready to either pose or snap the picture quickly because we all got rained on by the spray from the falls.

 

 

A special treat this evening was to discover Betty Wright had arrived for a visit with friends. Betty spoke at the Nordic Tug Rendezvous we attended in June. She is the author of "Adventuring to Princess Louisa Inlet" in which she tells of her adventure traveling with her husband in 1957 in their 16' wooden boat with a 35 hp Johnson outboard. She was happy to see us and seemed to remembered some of us from when she spoke at the Rendezvous. She is a total delight and was so gracious as we all asked to have our photos taken with her.