Commodore Cruise 2025

Every Commodore of the Port Ludlow Yacht Club gets to plan one of the club cruises, appropriately named the Commodore Cruise. This year that fell on me. I was a little uncomfortable planning a trip for others and usually don’t follow an agenda while boating. Too many variables can disrupt a schedule, the biggest being the weather. Planning activities for a diverse group of cruise participants is a challenge. Fortunately there were several club members willing to help with the activities.

The destination I selected was Princess Louisa Inlet in British Columbia. It’s a bucket list location for boaters world wide. Cathleen and I had been there several years ago and I was happy to go back. So in the first two weeks of September, nearly 30 participants on 12 boats ventured north to PLI.

Fiddler and crew left a day early and stopped at Friday Harbor Marina, as did a few other boats.  We then crossed into Canada, cleared Customs, and stopped at Salt Spring Marina in the Gulf Islands.  All of the Fiddler crew were Nexus members so we cleared with a phone call before we crossed into Canada. We met up with a couple of other boats there and had dinner at Moby’s Pub.  Most of us then rendezvoused in Telegraph Harbour Marina on Thetis Island the following two nights.  On the second night there, the Commodore Cruise planners hosted a full dinner on shore in the pavilion for all attendees.  

A few days earlier, the predicted winds for our planned crossing of Georgia Strait were too strong to comfortably cross and some of us made alternate reservations just in case.  However, the winds unexpectedly subsided, and the conditions were good for crossing.  We timed slack at Gabriola Pass perfectly and crossed the strait to Union Steamship Marina on Bowen Island without issue.  Several humpback whales greeted us on the crossing!  However, the smoke from nearby wildfires blurred much of the beautiful surrounding mountain views.  We began to worry about what Princess Louisa might look like when we planned to arrive in a few more days.  

As the wildfires grew and smoke thickened, our plans for seeing Princess Louisa Inlet felt in jeopardy.  I called the Young Life Camp at the Malibu Rapids entrance to get a first-hand report on the smokey conditions.  The news was dire.  The smoke was thick and there was no visibility above the water line.  She offered a ray of hope saying that the winds were expected to shift and there was a chance of rain.  The mood on the dock was decidedly dour with that news.

The next day the flotilla motored to Pender Harbour, after being joined by Rear Commodore Wilkerson and his crew on Whistler.  Some of us anchored and others docked at various marinas.  We all kept an eye on the weather and the winds, which had picked up.  We also prayed for rain.  Hoping for winds and rain isn’t something that feels normal for power cruisers, but we prayed nonetheless.  We spent two nights in Pender Harbour and on the second night we hiked up Cardiac Hill to the Grasshopper Pub for dinner.  The hill is very steep but the view from the Pub is nice.  While at the Pub, we noted the visibility had slightly improved from the brisk winds, boosting our morale and hopes for seeing our ultimate destination.

We awoke to overnight rains and clean air!  The winds had blown out the smoke.  The rainfall measured one inch and the waterfalls on the way up to Princess Louisa were charged and flowing!  It was a spectacular voyage up Jervis Inlet with some low hanging clouds and periodic blue skies.  We were being teased by the intermittent views of the steep, majestic walls of granite on both sides of the fjord.  We arrived at Malibu Rapids about an hour before slack and the current was gushing out towards us as we waited for the change in tide.  Port Captain Ensman was first to venture through and reported back that it was challenging, but doable for a fast boat.  Next Cool Change motored in, cautioning the slower boats to wait a little longer.  @ Ease went next and agreed with Cool Change.  A little later Full Circle white knuckled their way through.  The rest of us waited about 20 more minutes and easily transited the rapids as the current eased.    

The final four miles from Malibu Rapids to the Princess Louisa Inlet dock were filled with anticipation, hoping there was room at the dock and soaking up the views in every direction.  We rafted two boats and one took a mooring buoy the first night, but all of us got on the dock for the second night.  One inch of rain in 24 hours doubled the flow of Chatterbox Falls and the skies were miraculously crystal clear.  We couldn’t have had better conditions and I think the adversity along the way made it even more appreciated by everyone.  We dinghied, kayaked, hiked, and marveled at the wondrous scenery, completely understanding why this is a bucket list destination.

The cruise was capped off with a group dinner on the dock.  The next day all of us left to meander back to Port Ludlow, except for @Ease who stayed one more night, enjoying the solitude all to themselves.