Serving Our Community

There is a vibrant community living on the West Coast of Vancouver Island that many people do not know about. This small population of residents live in remote areas off the coast of Barkley Sound and commute mainly by water. This is truly a unique and remote lifestyle than in modern times is very rare.

These residents rely heavily on the Lady Rose Marine Services for transport of supplies and as a sea taxi. Riding upon the ship, The Francis Barkely, I was lucky enough to spend the day experiencing the stunning views and learning more about the area and the ship from the helpful crew. I realized for myself how important the Lady Rose Marine Services are to these people.

The Francis Barkley is a well travelled classic ship originating from Norway. Originally built in1958, it was commissioned to be used in the Norwegian fleet. The ship set out on a 51-day journey through the North Sea, through the English Channel into the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, up to San Diego, and finally reached its new home in Port Alberni. This area known as Barkely Sound was named after the historical Charles and Francis Barkley who were the first to discover the area in 1787. Named after Charles Barkley’s wife Francis, The Francis Barkley is still operating with the original diesel motor and is truly a treasured piece of history.

Lady Rose Marine Services has daily round trips from Port Alberni to Bamfield on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. There is also a trip which goes to an ideal location for kayakers and canoers. This trip travels to Ucluelet and through the Broken Islands Group on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the summer. Rentals are available based at Sechart Whaling Station Lodge. Visit www.ladyrosemarina.com for rates and further information. There is a galley aboard the ship where you can find breakfast and lunch items.

Wildlife sightings including bears and whales are very common for passengers. On our trip up to Bamfield we spotted a big old bear eating his lunch while we had docked to unload supplies for one of the residents in a secluded bay. While aboard, something else to see is the Kildonan Inlet where there are many floating cabins up the coast line. I can image that this would be paradise in the hot summer weather, sitting on the deck then jumping in your boast for a day tour. Shortly after, we arrived at the floating Kildonan Post Office which is the tiniest post office I have ever seen! Lady Rose Marine Services makes regular trips to this post office Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for the remote and entrepreneurial residents.

A couple hours later we arrived in the town of Bamfield. This is a charming little seaside village with little cabins built up on the side of the cliffs – some which are on stilts are quite the structures. While unloading supplies, food and equipment, we exited the boat and took a walk on a wonderful boardwalk along the water right through town.
Thank you to all of the staff, including our captain, John Adam, and Mike Surrell. You were extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the area and more than happy to answer any questions we had.

The Francis Barkley is a treasured piece of Vancouver Island history. Combined with fantastic views, lots of wildlife sightings including many whale and bear sightings, this place is something you should discover this summer.