The MV Frances Barkley will resume Sunday sailings for August on the Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound route, Lady Rose Marine Services announced Monday.
Starting Aug. 7, the ferry will depart Port Alberni at 9 a.m. for the three-and-half-hour sailing to Bamfield, with a two-hour stopover in West Bamfield.
The ferry has a new food and beverage menu and is licensed to serve wine and beer, said Greg Willmon, principal of Nanaimo’s Devon Transport, which owns Lady Rose Marine Services.
“The almost two-hour Sunday stopover in Bamfield will allow such guests to explore the boardwalk, enjoy a bite to eat, take a stroll to Brady Beach or just relax and take in the natural coastal beauty,” said Willmon, noting the ferry has updated navigational aids and a more fuel-efficient system.
The ferry’s year-round schedule currently includes sailings from Port Alberni to Bamfield on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, leaving Port Alberni at 8 a.m. and returning at 5 p.m., with a one-hour stopover in Bamfield. A round trip to Bamfield costs $95. (The July 23 sailing is cancelled due to a crew shortage, the service says.)
In August of last year, Devon Transport agreed to purchase Lady Rose Marine Services, based in Port Alberni, after previous owners Mike and Pauline Surrell announced they were shutting down Aug. 31, citing financial and staffing problems due to the pandemic.
It also agreed to retain its entire team and continue passenger and freight ferry service from Port Alberni to remote communities along the Alberni Inlet and west coast.
At the time the eleventh-hour deal was struck, Devon Transport owners Willmon and Barrie Rogers said the ferry service was “far too valuable to the region and one that was deeply relied upon by the remote communities and businesses of the inlet and sound.” Willmon and Rogers are originally from Nanaimo and Victoria, respectively, and both resided in Nanaimo.
Lady Rose Marine Services is considered a lifeline for its delivery of groceries, medical supplies and mail as well as residents and tourists to remote communities like Bamfield and the Huu-ay-aht First Nations village of Anacla for over 75 years. It also takes people to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre and kayaking destinations.
Willmon was recently awarded a 2022 Community Excellence Award for Business Investment from the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce for saving the service.
Ridership has been climbing steadily and is quickly approaching pre-pandemic numbers, the new owners said Monday.
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> Reservations are recommended for the new Sunday sailings, Aug. 7, 14, 21, 28, said Devon Transport. Reservations can be made by calling 250-723-8313. For more information, go to ladyrosemarine.com.
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