Desolation Sound Flotilla - October 2, 2010 - Princess Louisa to Egmont

We enjoyed another leisurely morning at Princess Louisa Inlet, as the timing for exiting Malibu Rapids precluded a departure before 1:30 pm. We took our last hikes to Chatterbox Falls, visited with each other and the other folks we shared the dock with, and then readied our boats for departure. It was time to continue our adventure….

Out through Malibu Rapids (at slack), we retraced our path down Jervis Inlet and its constituent parts: Queen’s Reach, Princess Royal Reach, and Prince of Wales Reach. This long fjord has such sheer cliffs and deep, deep depths that there are really no anchorages along the way. It may be the same route, but it looks very different going in the opposite direction – and the autumn colors are definitely more noticeable than they were two days ago.

We cruised into Egmont and had excellent conditions for tying up to the dock at the Back Eddy Marina. It was fairly late by then, so most of the fleet quickly made their way up to the Back Eddy Pub, home of the famous Skookum Burger (a giant hamburger). Sea Fox’s crew shared a Skookum Burger, but most of us opted for the somewhat smaller Baby Skookum. No matter what the size, the burgers were excellent, as were the yam fries. The Back Eddy is an NWE favorite, and we all enjoyed a very convivial evening.

Later that night some of the crews were awakened by the pitter patter of little raccoon feet on their decks. Unfortunately for Deception we had accidentally left our hatch open to the lazerette containing the garbage stores. The raccoons wasted no time finding our mistake. It took a bit of encouragement to shoo them off; thankfully before too much mess was made! We’ll remember next time to make sure all items attractive to raccoons are well stowed before going to bed.