A last minute purchase of the MV Frances Barkley means the boat that locals rely on will continue serving the community.
Groceries and supplies arrived at Port Alberni’s docks Wednesday, ahead of for the next sailing of the MV Frances Barkley. Each box destined for the remote float homes and communities up and down the Alberni Inlet, where no roads lead. Delivering what’s needed in the most remote reaches of the west coast.
“The connection to mother nature. Cut and dry. I wake up every morning and every single morning there’s some sort of National Geographic moment,” said Kildonan resident Gary Jones.
“Life is good where there are no roads, no power lines. No problems,” said Alberni Inlet resident John Adams.
Florida man Adams and his wife stumbled on the area, and nearby community of Kildonan while yachting. He said they immediately fell in love with the remote life of the inlet and the friendly locals that number in the dozens in this community between Port Alberni and Bamfield that first began as a fish cannery.
“We’re here because there are no roads,” said Adams.
But this lifestyle all depends on the boat.
“It’s our life line, we have to have it,” said Adams.
Residents nearly lost it last summer, when in August it was slated to close down. A last minute buy, by Island businessman Greg Willmon saved it.
“We bought the Frances Barclay because we couldn’t stand to see the service end. There’s too many important communities on the west coast that we serviced,” Willmon, new owner of the MV Frances Barkley told CHEK News from his home in the Alberni Inlet.
“If we didn’t have the Frances Barkley I know a lot of people couldn’t stay here,” said Adams.
Wednesday residents from across the remote Inlet came together, arriving by helicopter and boat in a community meeting hoping for a commitment from the new owner that the boat wouldn’t drift away. Willmon, an area resident himself, said he was glad to give it.
“And the service will be in place for many years to come,” said Willmon.
“And all our uncertainites that it would ever fail were pretty much laid to rest with his commitment to us,” said Jones.
So much so the old lodge in Kildonan is being renovated to be re-opened to tourists. As a boat that’s been relied on for generations, finds a new life and a grateful community to support it.
Skye Ryan
