Photo: Rikki-tikki exiting Malibu Rapids in the early morning. Malibu Club’s main building perched on the rocky shore. The fenced area behind the boat is the swimming pool. Photo by Marcia Meyer.
1964- Serendipity at the dock at Malibu Club, Princess Louisa Inlet. Photo by William E. Courtney.
Rikki-tikki-tavi made good time motoring the thirty miles of the three arms of Jervis Inlet. The first is named Prince of Wales Reach, the next arm is Princess Royal Reach and, finally, Queens Reach, where, at its midpoint, Princess Louisa Inlet is entered via Malibu Rapids. Two power yachts tailed us all the way from Captain Island outside Egmont until just before the corner into Queens Reach when our propeller caught a wrap of cedar bark. They passed us, ogling through binoculars as we launched the dinghy off the starboard deck lickety-split and pulled the bark off with the boat hook. It sure is nice to be able to do that!
We announced our transit into Malibu Rapids on VHF 16, noting that we are 26 feet wide in case there was any traffic headed out. Its very narrow S-curve makes it impossible to see the other end. A large raft of Harlequin ducks swimming in the current was there to greet us. Entering Princess Louisa Inlet was just like coming home! I sat on the foredeck taking photos of the steep walls that were blanketed with trees, glistening rock and tumbling waterfalls. We pulled around the last bend to see Dean and Diane from Talisman waiting to help us tie up at the very end of the long dock. They’d saved us a spot on the crowded dock!
Coming “home” to Princess Louisa Inlet.
After we were secured, the skippers of the two power yachts walked down and asked us what kind of engine we had that allowed us to travel so quickly. So we met Margaret and Bruce Evertz of Tapawingo, an Ocean Alexander, Dick and Fran Moore of Raven, a Nordic Tug. They were surprised to hear that our little Yanmar has only 27 HP, and more surprised to learn that it only uses 2/3 gallon per hour for our speed of 7+ knots.
Across the dock from us was a sturdy little Fisher 30 named Seaweed with Loren and Sandy aboard. We discovered that this fascinating couple had been savoring Princess Louisa for many weeks and planned to stay many more weeks just to enjoy this most magnificent place! This lengthy stay was an annual tradition that took months of planning and preparation.
Juniata, the last guest to arrive for Rikki-tikki-tavi’s birthday party.
Let the party begin. We dressed Rikki-tikki-tavi in the finery that Marcia had given us- a birthday windsock and balloons. I baked a low-carb coconut cake, Clark went out in the kayak and harvested oysters for appetizers on the BBQ. By the end of the day when Juniata was the last to arrive, the only choice for them was a side-tie to Rikki-tikki-tavi. The docks were full. Our wide beam gave moved Juniata out away from the docks and gave them an uninterrupted view of Chatterbox Falls. Dinner was served as soon as Dave and Marcia finished tying up.
After dinner, we opened a bottle of champagne and went forward to dribble some on Rikki-tikki’s bow, saying “thank you” for bringing us safely to this special place. We gave each other a kiss. Then Dean, Diane, Dave, Marcia, Clark and I squeezed around Rikki-tikki’s small saloon table for dessert. With our photo of Serendipity prominently displayed, the six of us toasted Jay and Olive, true adventurers. We blew out the two candles we’d placed in their honor, and sang “Happy Birthday” to Rikki-tikki-tavi.
The oysters were on the BBQ at Talisman. Photo by Marcia Meyer.
The following day, Dean suggested a fish fry. Clark harvested more oysters and Marcia contributed the rockfish they’d caught on the way in. Dean is also quite a fisherman and he had caught some nice yellow-eye, so there was plenty for everyone.
Though some of the bivalves were monsters, they were sweet and delicious.
Marcia and I walked the trail to roaring Chatterbox Falls. We took pictures of all the wildflowers that were blooming along the moist edges of the path. Margaret invited us all down for 5:30 PM cocktails aboard Tapawingo. I made cumin roasted almonds to share.
By 6:30, it was time for Clark to begin grilling the oysters. We all made a mess in Talisman’s cockpit slurping them up. Next, Dean cooked- batter-dipped fish, fried fish, fried oysters and grilled fish with a Noyo marinade. Dean knows how to cook fish. As Marcia noted, “The meal was incredible.” We finished off the evening by playing a game that Dean and Diane called “Greedy”, played with six white dice.”This is very similar to our game called “Farkel”, we said, “but the version we play has a red die and a black die. These two add a twist to the game that make it really interesting.”
Farkel is a dice game we were introduced to by Bob (our crew from San Francisco to Bodega Bay) and his wife, Peggy. They presented us with a bon voyage gift wrapped in a very large, heavy box. We’d built a lightweight trimaran! What were they thinking? As we ripped open the box, we found another box and then another, and yet another. All were empty. Finally, at the bottom we found the source of the heft; the box was weighted down with gravel. At the very last reaches of the container, we found a zip-top bag with six dice (one red, one black, four white) and a sheet of rules, “Walter P. Farr’s Farkel”. We have been sharing it with nearly everyone we encounter. It’s always a hit.
At low tide, we went clamming for Littlenecks. Photo by Marcia Meyer.
We spent six nights in majestic Princess Louisa, four on the dock by Chatterbox Falls and two on the buoys at MacDonald Island. The weather was incredibly warm with one rain squall and one wind squall just to keep things interesting.
David and Clark fished every day, and every day they came back with one yellow-eye (wrongly also called red snapper) each, the allowed limit. We began each evening meal with oysters and mussels. We tried eggplant-stuffed oysters and pickled oysters for a change in the BBQ’d variety. We marveled at avalanches pouring down the cliffs like thunderous white waterfalls. We heard the reverberant crash of a rockslide down the inlet. We explored by kayak and dinghy nearly every foot of shoreline. We watched other boats come and go and met new friends that we were to encounter at later stops along our way. Princess Louisa is a place to luxuriate in, to appreciate nature’s majesty with a leisurely visit. Next year we plan to stay even longer.
A rain squall soaked these cruisers when they went out fishing in their dinghy.
Rikki-tikki leaving the dock at Chatterbox Falls. Photo by Loren & Sandra Acker.
Clark jigging for yellow-eye rockfish off the side deck. Photo by Marcia Meyer.
We left Tuesday, May 16th, fishing as we headed for the rapids. David caught another yellow eye, but Clark’s lure went unbitten.
See more photos from Princess Louisa Inlet.
Clark & Nina