Barkley Sound Cruise March 2019-MV Frances Barkley

[bill barilko]

Had a bit of time off so decided on an off season cruise of Barkely Sound & environs-it helped that the freighter I was taking had a 50% off special and weather has been glorious-it's something of a logistical challenge from Vancouver even though it's not far away.

I've posted similar photos of the same trip in the past but that was a fishing trip this was just sightseeing.

https://ladyrosemarine.com/

The backup ship

Beautiful Port Alberni

The Frances Barkley

It really is a freighter

The salon-little changed over the decades

Local B&B built in 1944

Barkley Sound Ho!

There's a Bear and her cub in this pic somewhere

Sad little galley

Sad little grilled cheese

Bamfield BC!

This is much of what is transported

Marine Science Centre

Local inhabitants all come running when the ship docks

Yes that's the taxi

Casa de Nancy-I stayed here last time

And here Dear Reader my phone battery dies-one last shot back in port

 

[taxslave]

We are planning a trip to Bamfield in June via Lady Rose. Best Halibut I ever had was in the Bamfield pub. I swear it was still wiggling when it hit the deep frier.

 

[bill barilko]

We are planning a trip to Bamfield in June via Lady Rose. Best Halibut I ever had was in the Bamfield pub. I swear it was still wiggling when it hit the deep frier.

The whole place is undergoing a renaissance-the local native band has bought a number of older businesses that were run into the ground and have their own operations on the go-houses that were abandoned in years past have been refurbished/new docks have been built and everything seems to have been painted or about to be painted.

If you're headed over for a few days be sure to rent a boat or kayak and have a look around from a water-borne perspective you'll like what you see.


https://hfngroup.ca/

 

[Curious Cdn]

Had a bit of time off so decided on an off season cruise of Barkely Sound & environs-it helped that the freighter I was taking had a 50% off special and weather has been glorious-it's something of a logistical challenge from Vancouver even though it's not far away.
I've posted similar photos of the same trip in the past but that was a fishing trip this was just sightseeing.
https://ladyrosemarine.com/

I am
The backup ship

Beautiful Port Alberni

The Frances Barkley

It really is a freighter

The salon-little changed over the decades

Local B&B built in 1944

Barkley Sound Ho!

There's a Bear and her cub in this pic somewhere

Sad little galley

Sad little grilled cheese

Bamfield BC!

This is much of what is transported

Marine Science Centre

Local inhabitants all come running when the ship docks

Yes that's the taxi

Casa de Nancy-I stayed here last time
And here Dear Reader my phone battery dies-one last shot back in port

I'd love a trip like that, myself. The smaller the ship, the more fun they are.

 

[Kreskin]

Looks the Texada ferry.

 

[Mowich]

Thank you for your great travelog, Bill. I really enjoyed looking at your photos and reading the captions. I'd love to take a trip like that.

 

[bill barilko]

Sad to say we'll never be able to take this trip again

Iconic Vancouver Island ferry service to end with just a few weeks' notice


A ferry that residents of the remote coastal village of Bamfield, B.C., call a lifeline is scheduled to sail for the last time at the end of August.

Lady Rose Marine Services, which operates the ferry between the central Vancouver Island community of Port Alberni and Bamfield, announced on Facebook on Monday that its final sailing will be Aug. 31.

The ferry, which does not take cars, is used to transport tourists visiting local resorts and students researching at the Bamfield Marine Science Centre.

Community members and businesses also use it to bring in groceries, building supplies, and other goods ordered in Port Alberni. The ferry delivers mail and medical supplies to the far side of the community, which is inaccessible by road.

The road that connects Bamfield to the rest of Vancouver Island is a dangerous one.

Work is now underway to improve the safety of Bamfield Main, the notorious logging road where two students from the University of Victoria died in a bus crash in 2019.


The village of Bamfield is located on the remote west coast of Vancouver Island.


Trevor Cootes, a councillor with the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, says the sudden closure of the ferry puts his nation in a tight spot. He said it's not just Huu-ay-aht community members and businesses that rely on the ferry.

"Our government itself, our infrastructure department that has a number of infrastructure projects going on, utilizes the ferry services for materials, supplies and equipment," Cootes said.

Part-time resident Phyllis Moretto remembers fondly the first time she took the ferry.

"The first trip that I made on the Lady Rose was in the early '80s, and I just went on a day trip and seen how beautiful it was," she said.

The post office in Bamfield, B.C., is only accessible by water. Right now, mail comes on a ferry operated by Lady Rose Marine Services

But Moretto says it was because of COVID-19 that she realized what a lifeline the service is.

While isolating with a sore throat in the early days of the pandemic, she was able to have groceries delivered from Port Alberni. Since then, she's relied on the ferry not just for grocery delivery, but also prescriptions, house paint and other supplies.

She credits the company for keeping the service running as long as it did, but says she's "devastated" by the news "because I know for many people down there, that is our lifeline."

Community and business leaders say they have begun talks to try to come up with an alternative transportation plan.

"It is not a simple and easy thing to fix," Mid Island-Pacific Rim MLA Josie Osborne said

She explained that it's tricky in part because of a shortage of qualified mariners, but that the province "will be at the table" in the search for a solution.

 

[taxslave]

Lady Rose has been taken over by Devon Transport.

 

[bill barilko]

Lady Rose has been taken over by Devon Transport.

Roger that and I wish them well-let's hope the fly in the ointment isn't the aging Frances Barkley meeting federally mandated passenger carrying vessel upgrades.

 

[taxslave]

Yea not too sure about that old tub. Reversing engines always make me nervous.