Sailing into BC’s Most Iconic FJORD! Journey into Princess Louisa Inlet | A&J Sailing

Where massive mountains meet deep dark ocean...our little boat glides swiftly along to the head of Princess Louisa Inlet (Swiwelát) - the deep fiord located in the ancestral territory of the shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.
🏔Dwarfed on all sides by gigantic granite walls that rise sharply from the water’s edge to heights in excess of 2100 meters (7000 ft).
Almost completely enclosed, the Inlet is 300 meters (1000 ft) deep.
There is no place to anchor. No public road, no cell service, no fuel station, no restaurant or store to buy food. The only way to arrive here is by boat or plane. This is our destination.
Join us this week as we cruise 70nm into the remote reaches of BC's coastal fjords to gaze glaciers from our cockpit ⛵️
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WHO WE ARE
We are a couple from opposite sides of the world living an adventure based-alternative lifestyle here in the Pacific Northwest.
Our time is spent split between land & sea - living part time in our tiny home on wheels (a vintage Airstream that we converted completely ourselves) as well as living aboard our tiny home with sails ( a Catalina 30 that we've been restoring while teaching ourselves how to sail!).
Our Tiny Home With Wheels
Watch the FULL build from START to FINISH here: • Vintage Airstream to G...
Watch the FULL Tour here: • Minimalist Couple Livi...
OUR STORY
• First Step Towards Mak...
I (Allison, the Newfie) met James (the Aussie) while working on a remote island 3 years ago.
A decade working in healthcare has helped us both to appreciate the preciousness of this one beautiful life we've been given.
Viewing TIME as our most valuable gift, we've been feeling an urgency in our lives to Live All Out!
We decided to make some BOLD moves, hit PAUSE on our conventional careers & work full time, turning our DREAMS into reality.
The past 12 months we have been working towards making full-time adventure possible. The first step was downsizing and minimizing our lives to fit into a 160ft. Airstream trailer which we converted completely ourselves without any experience.
Living full time in our tiny home on wheels created the financial freedom we needed to take the next big step, buying our sailboat!
She's another big project, but we're ready for another challenge. And we're pretty motivated by all the amazing ocean adventures
that lie ahead!
Subscribe to follow along on our journey!
Much love,
​A & J
Connect with us!
Facebook / allisonandja. .
A Instagram / allisonmcisaac
J Instagram / james_stce
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/ allisonandjames
www.paypal.com/paypalme/james...
Music from Epidemic Sound
#boatlife #sailboat #sailing #liveaboardlife

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Does anyone else have silly but equally serious boat superstitions? For us, NO BANANAS on board, and sighting whales is always a good omen! Cheers to surviving our first rapids and gazing at glaciers from our cockpit! This was such an incredible trip, one we will never forget! Thanks for coming along on this adventure with us :)

[@Accolaidia777]

That’s interesting. Never heard anything bad about bananas. I have dear friends who sail and they went out on their honeymoon. He said all they had for breakfast on board were Plantains and rice. So his new bride whipped up fried plantains and sweet rice. He said it was handed to him through the hatch- steaming. He was never so happy for it! Maybe plantains are a exception? 😉

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

@@Accolaidia777 🍌us either until we stepped onto a boat! But at sea they’re often omens for bad luck and misfortune! I believe the superstition dates back hundreds of years, lost or ill-fated ships were noted to have been carrying bananas to their destination. They also caused other foods on board to spoil and rot (due to the ethylene gas they produce). We laughed at the superstition until we experienced our own odd spells of misfortune whenever we brought them on board! Maybe plantains are an exception (certainly delicious) but I’d still be nervous!

[@bobschick2943]

I've been rewatching your older videos (it's a good lunchbreak activity at work) and I am still amazed at your "story telling" - just beautiful!

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Haha that is awesome!! Never thought they would be worth watching twice! So glad you’re enjoying them, thank you!!!

[@jenv9246]

Having lived & worked in Vancouver ('88-'94) I am feeling the pull of the mountains watching this video. You've definitely captured the majesty & serenity. Thanx for reigniting my gratitute for our beautiful country! Oh Canada!

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Awe, thank you Jen! The mountains of this coast certainly have a strong pull! So grateful to get to live in and experience the beauty of this incredible country 🤍

[@barberamcisaac1633]

Appears like you’re all alone though. It’s my new Zen video ♥️

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Just one other sailboat that left shortly after we arrived :) Love meeting other cruisers but it’s a pretty amazing feeling to be in these wild places on your own as well

[@VeganSuz]

ohhh myyy, how beautiful! I'd think I'd want to sleep out on deck. And what a great capture of the eagle swimming/catching/eating his meal!

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Absolutely, Suzanne! In places like this you certainly want to spend the entirety of your time on deck taking it all in! The eagle swimming in front of our boat was a treat! Was a pretty amazing day 🦅

[@peterstace9006]

Great to see the continuing journey. Great food and music and of course the percussion instrument in the back ground, same note and steady rhythm. See you next week.

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Thank you Peter! James certainly is a talented one! Do you play music as well?! -A

[@rodneyallen5003]

Malibu Rapids and area is a magnificent place! Beautiful sail guys ⛵️😎

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Agreed! We got a taste for the fjords here and the rest is history!

[@RX120D]

Really enjoying these videos, guys. I'd love to see some more footage of the actual preparation for trips like this along with watching you guys handle the boat while under sail. In my opinion, some of the best and most entertaining aspects of sailing videos are the seemingly mundane and regular occurrences during the day; tacking, trimming sails, planning routes, leaving marinas & mooring, cooking, hanging out, etc... (the piloting/mast climbing episode was perfect in this way) I'd love to see more of those candid scenes in with your productions. The quality of your content is super high but I'd love to see more of your thought processes and decision making. It makes for immersive video. :)

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

So glad you’re enjoying our videos! These are great suggestions for things you would like us to show more of!Agreed, the mundane moments are the ones we don’t often think of filming but are important elements of the journey/story. We look forward to sharing more of this. Thanks so much 😊

[@tahoesnowlion]

It was so beautiful, had to watch it a second time. Thank you for sharing! 💕

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

This comment makes us so happy! We’ve really been looking forward to sharing this one 🤍 thank you!

[@alexjh47]

Yes! So glad to see you call securite going through the rapids. I had a close call with a sailboat heading up Malidu rapids as we were exiting. They didn't hear our securite and didn't call as they entered.

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Oh shoot, that’s scary for sure! Glad it was only a close call!

[@Accolaidia777]

The shot of the Bald Eagle was fantastic!! My family and I went skiing at Whistler for Christmas long ago. Beautiful!! I’m sure enjoying your videos 🥰

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Thanks Accolaidia! It was pretty cool to catch a glimpse of him swimming with that huge salmon! I guess it was too big for it to lift out of the water, luckily his efforts were rewarded with a fancy feast on the beach! That’s awesome! Whistler is fantastic! A dream would be to sail back here in the winter to do some ski touring. So nice hearing from you as always :) Hope you had a lovely Summer!

[@Accolaidia777]

@@AllisonandJamesSailing it was pretty fantastic seeing him swimming!! 😍

[@barberamcisaac1633]

Wow that eagle. Pulled the fish right out of the water. You guys are so fortunate to live in spectacular sailing grounds. We’re definitely coming for a visit. Amazing!

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

I guess the salmon was too big for him to left out of the water. He swam in front of our boat all the way to shore! It was pretty amazing to see it swimming with that huge fish in his talons! Quite the feat for a creature who is built to move thru air, not water!

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Can’t wait for you guys to visit and sail with us here :)

[@pjc222955]

Hi, I stumbled upon your channel yesterday, have now watched all of your sailing experience, great videos and looking forward to many more. Aussies are becoming more involved in sailing KZbin which is great to see

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Hi Philip! Welcome aboard!! Stoked you found us! Thank you, So glad you’re enjoying our videos! “Are you into sailing” is one of the first questions I asked James when I met him, we bought a boat together a year and a half later haha

[@coug96fan]

WOW - So spectacular. What an adventure. I know it was a lot of work, but you have had so many firsts and showed how, when you put a plan into action, you have the world at your finger tips. I loved seeing the eagle swiming with the fish. What is next?

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

What a nice message! Thank you so much! The hard work made it all that much more worth it! We’re looking forward to adventuring to more incredible places like this one, but the boat will certainly need more work! So that will keep us busy for the next few months. 🦅So glad you enjoyed :)

[@itscarolinemary]

I am dying over the mountains 🥰😍 so many beautiful shots too, amazing job! I shared your last video with my mom and we watched it together. She loves Princess Louisa Inlet (Swiwelát), she used to sail in her 20s but hasn't been. Haven't gotten to that part in the video yet & I'm excited to share this one with her. I'm this close to moving to BC and working from home... I want to visit so bad!

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Awe wow, that is so wonderful! So cool that your mum use to sail also! Princess Louisa is such an amazing place, I love that you two enjoyed the video together 🤍

[@DieselHopeless]

What an incredibly beautiful sail and anchorage! Loved the video.

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed. One of our favorites :)

[@ericspunaugle9255]

Your channel is truly inspiring! You both are reaping such wonderful benefits from all your hard work and determination. Cheers and congrats. I gotta get out there. So amazing.

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Sheesh, thank you so much for your kind words, Eric! People like you inspire us to keep creating & sharing these videos. Cheers to you! It certainly feels good to take a break from work & projects and finally venture to the places we've dreamt about for so long! We would love to see you out here some day soon :)

[@itscarolinemary]

also, congrats on 1.06k subs!!! 🎉🥳wooo monetization!

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Yay!!! Thank you so much for your encouragement and support, Caroline! People like you inspire us to keep going! :)

[@itscarolinemary]

tbh you guys make sailing look easy! 😋I don't know much but it's really interesting.

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Haha oh gosh, i realize we might be inaccurately portraying that we’ve got it all figured out! Problem is when things go to shit we usually don’t have a spare set of hands to pick up a camera! I’m sorting thru heaps of footage to try and put together a video that would showcase all the mishaps and things we’ve learned during our first season of sailing. Def important to show the lows as well as the highs! But it’s difficult to capture it all, so that’s something we’re working on!

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Glad you’ve been finding the sailing part interesting!

[@user-xr3th2bm2m]

As a Newfie, lovin' that shirt! Hahahaha - How ya gettin on these days b'y?!?!?! Stay where you're at and I'll come where your to ;)

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Haha, You a townie or a baymen?

[@matthewhigginbottom8328]

As always a great video. Just one thing I hope that I just miss heard, you turned on your radio when you got to the rapids? I hope that you are monitoring channel 16 whenever underway to assist any vessels in distress.

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Thank you Matthew! Glad you enjoyed it. We did have the radio on but turned down. Tbh during our first sailing days we werent monitoring the radio so much, we were busy trying to keep our own boat afloat and out of distress😅 now that we’re more confident and experienced we do monitor 16 and feel like we could actually assist others

[@barberamcisaac1633]

Maybe see Allison play ukulele at some point.

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Haha maybe! Move over James! 🪕

[@benjaminstace1051]

Fuck yeah, happy bday too bro

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Thanks bro!!!

[@basildraws]

did you have to call ahead for the mooring ball? was there a fee? Do cruising guides typically have accurate info re: balls/fees etc.?

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

It’s rare to find public mooring balls in BC but Princess Louisa is a marine park managed by BC Parks - there was a fee for use/donation box if I remember correctly, first come first serve. There is heaps of information available for the Salish Sea/Sunshine Coast area and a handful of useful cruising guides with pretty accurate info for stuff like this, but as you continue North past the Broughtons you have to dig a bit deeper

[@stevesteel6066]

Thanks for sharing. How do you afford this wonderful lifestyle?

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Thanks for watching! A decades worth of working in healthcare & saving + plus living frugally and within our means has allowed us to sail full time for the past year.

[@pjc222955]

BTW definitely no bananas on boats

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

Hard and fast rule, bananas will sink your boat.

[@theislandpackrat]

Don't you wish you could just stay there for months ?

[@AllisonandJamesSailing]

We sure do! What an amazing place, might have to apply to parks Canada and get the warden job!