The M.V.Lady Rose and the M.V. Frances Barkley are packet freighters that carry mail, cargo and passengers from Port Alberni, down the Alberni Inlet to Bamfield and Ucluelet. The boats leave from the Quay at the foot of Argyle Street in Port Alberni at 8:00 A.M. Passengers are asked to be there by 7:30 A.M. The ships have an enclosed passenger area but if the weather is good you will want to sit on one of the outside decks. You are warned to bring along warm clothing since it can be windy and cool in the mornings even on the warmest summer day. I suggest the layered look because by afternoon I was quite warm and in need of some sun screen and/or a hat. Being a pessimist by nature, I had brought the warmer clothing but failed to make provision for the bright sunshine and calm seas we encountered in the afternoon. Of course I could have gone inside if I had been sensible, but that is enough said on that point.

  The Lady Rose makes the trip from Port Alberni to Bamfield return, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, year round. In the summer months additional runs are scheduled for Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The road from Bamfield to Port Alberni is an unpaved logging road so many hikers who are doing the West Coast Trail start or end their trek by enjoying a leisurely viewing of the Broken Islands and Barkely Sound from the decks of the Lady Rose. Susan and I had intended to take advantage of one of these sailings but we completed the trail about noon on a Sunday. No cruise, no matter how pleasant, would have persuaded us to delay our return to modern plumbing and our own beds by a further day. We called Dan and he and his friend Wes navigated the road from hell to come and pick up the conquering heroes.

This summer I was less ambitious. There were no big hikes but I decided to take the boat trip I missed last year. Rather than taking the trip to Bamfield though, Dan and I decided to take the one that went to Ucluelet. The Frances Barkley sails that route Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the summer months. It takes you through the Broken Islands and you stop at the old whaling station at Sechert to let off or pick up kayakers and supplies. It was a delightful trip and a very relaxing way to take in some magnificent scenery. On our return sailing we were joined by a number of tourists who were on an excursion that had taken them by bus from Nanaimo to Port Alberni....with a stop at Cathedral Grove of course. They then proceeded to Ucluelet, stopping for a while at Long Beach where they had lunch and then boarding the Frances Barkley for the trip back to Port Alberni. If someone had only a day in which to explore this area this seems to me to be an ideal way of doing it.

The Broken Islands are part of Pacific Rim National Park. There are about 98 islands and 8 designated camping areas. I am not going to describe them in any detail since I hope to explore them by kayak next summer and at that point I will be able to tell you more than you would ever want to know about them.

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The Frances Barkley and the Lady Rose sail out into the Alberni Inlet at about the same time on the days when they both have sailings. We were entertained by the miriad of sports fishermen in the area around China Bar. A hundred tourists on deck was an audience they could not resist. Repeatedly, we were greeted by proud sportsmen holding out large Coho for our admiration. They were not disappointed. A round of applause would go up from those on board.

The Broken Islands are a group of about 98 small islands. Because of the relative shelter they provide from the surf of the west coast and their close proximity to each other they are a favourite destination for kayakers. Guides take groups of inexperienced kayakers out for a taste of the wild.

The national parks board used to have a float at Gibraltar Island but that was removed in 1995. Since then Alberni Marine Transportation, the company that owns the Lady Rose and Frances Barkley, has set up a station for kayakers at Sechert. A building from Port Alberni has been barged in and converted to a lodge to provide short term accommodation. Kayaks and canoes can be rented at the lodge.
 

 
 

© 1998 vanisle@oocities.com
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