Less than a year after it nearly went under, an iconic ferry service on Vancouver Island is bringing back Sunday sailings next month.
Lady Rose Marine Services announced Monday that MV Frances Barkley will resume Sunday sailings for the month of August starting on Aug. 7. All Sunday sailings will depart Port Alberni at 9 a.m. and return at around 12:30 p.m. following a two-hour stopover in Bamfield — giving passengers a three-and-a-half hour scenic trip through the Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound.
The company has also rolled out a new food and beverage menu on board the MV Frances Barkley that features breakfast buns, cheeseburgers and wraps, as well as a daily special. Furthermore, passengers are now also able to purchase wine or beer.
Greg Willmon, president and owner of Lady Rose Marine Services, said he is excited to restore Sunday service once again. He said that although tourist numbers haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels just yet, they are growing and he has received numerous requests for Sunday service.
“There still hasn’t been a lot of tourist traffic so far, but I decided that I wanted to give it a try for at least the month of August. I’ve had a lot of requests from people in Bamfield and some Port Alberni residents and a few other inquiries wondering if we were sailing on Sundays,” said Willmon.
The longtime ferry service — which has been delivering services, tourists and goods to remote communities in the Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound since 1946 — looked all but sunk last August after Lady Rose Marine Services’ previous owners announced it would go out of business. However, at the eleventh hour, Devon Transport, which is owned by Willmon, stepped in and bought Lady Rose Marine Services and saved the ferry route from extinction.
“It’s been very rewarding for me personally,” said Willmon.
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Since purchasing Lady Rose, Willmon said business has been going as well as he expected, given that they weren’t even allowed to carry tourists at one point due to provincial coronavirus restrictions. He said in recent months, passenger figures have climbed and they are seeing more and more bookings.
“Since the spring, things have been getting better. We’re not up to pre-COVID levels by any means but last week we had 96 passengers on board and that is a record since COVID,” he said. “We’re getting lots of bookings and the summer looks really good.”
About 30 to 40 per cent of MV Frances Barkley passengers right now are international and the rest are mostly those from Vancouver Island, according to Willmon. He said the federal government opening up international travel has been helpful and also believes the news of the Lady Rose’s possible demise sparked interest from Islanders.
“It’s still a popular venue, especially for the Europeans. So, once [the federal government] opened up international travel, we did see an increase,” he said. “We’ve also had really really good results from people on Vancouver Island. I think when they heard that the ship was possibly going to stop sailing, there were people that had it on their bucket list to come and take a trip with us.”
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While crewing shortages have been an issue for many others in the marine industry, particularly large operators like BC Ferries, Willmon said there have only been two cancellations in the past nine months due to staffing shortages. He also doesn’t believe it will be an issue going forward even as they briefly restore Sunday service next month, noting that the crew are all on board.
“They stepped up and offered their Sundays because that is usually a regular day off for them. So, they had to make a bit of a sacrifice to make it happen but they are committed to it as I am,” said Willmon.
In addition to Sunday service and increased food and drink options for passengers, Lady Rose recently completed a full refit of the MV Frances Barkley, upgraded its fuel supply system, and repainted its hull and bottom.
“We did quite a bit of work to the fuel supply system and with it being a diesel engine, it was really important to fine-tune some of that fuel delivery. So, we’ve realized a 10 per cent fuel saving by the work we did,” said Willmon.
The ship also received a brand new navigation system, which Willmon said includes a “state-of-the-art” radar.
“I wanted to do that right after I purchased [Lady Rose] but with the supply issues, it took us almost eight months to get all the new electronics that we wanted for the boat. So, now that has all been installed,” he said.
Looking forward, Willmon said while the Sunday service will only be around for the month of August this year, he plans to restore it again next July, just in time for the peak summer travel season.
“We sail Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, year-round and I don’t see us changing that. We certainly won’t be cutting any sailings, I can assure everybody of that,” he said. “Pre-COVID, the Sunday sailings were very popular. So, I hope to start those on July 1 weekend and go through to Labour Day next year.”
Nicholas Pescod
