In the wake of the Lady Rose : A voyage aboard the veteran coaster provides tourists with an insight into the lives of the British Columbia fishermen and lumberjacks who rely on her daily visit

“Come aboard,” said the captain, beckoning from the bridge. “Coffee’s on below. Make yourself at home.”

It was 7:30 a.m. on a drizzly morning at the Port Alberni harbor quay. Coffee cups warmed our hands. We stood on deck and watched the crew of the Lady Rose load an incongruous cargo, including a satellite dish, dirt bike, assorted groceries, propane tanks, fishing tackle and a huge stack of newspapers.

As the deckhand pulled up the gangplank, a whistle tooted twice and we cast off for a day-trip down Alberni Inlet to Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

The 105-foot Lady Rose looked every bit the old coastal freighter that she was, and would have appeared at home hauling bananas and copra from some far-flung South Pacific islands.

She is the last of more than 50 steamships that once formed a maritime lifeline between communities along British Columbia’s coast.

The boat began seafaring life in a Glasgow, Scotland, shipyard in 1937. She immigrated to Canada by way of a two-month sailing through the Panama Canal and up the west coast of Mexico and the United States, to spend her younger years carrying passengers and freight on Howe Sound near Vancouver. During World War II she was a troop carrier.

These days, when most ships her age have long retired, Lady Rose is busy providing a link with the outside world for residents living and working along this remote, slender inlet.

In summer her decks are crowded with hikers bound for the West Coast Trail and kayakers seeking the solitude of the Broken Group Islands, both part of Pacific Rim National Park.

On board when we booked passage was a boat-loving couple from Seattle and a handful of locals: Rick, bound for six weeks of work at one of Alberni Inlet’s new fish farms, old-timers returning to Snug Basin Logging Camp, and Phyllis Robertson and her four children who were taking their satellite dish home to the Uchucklesaht Indian Reserve.

On the bridge, standing at the old-fashioned wooden wheel, was Lady Rose’s captain and part owner, Brook George.

At each turn of the scenic inlet carved by glaciers 15,000 years ago, he pointed out flocks of wintering swans, seals and sea lions.

The bald eagles that soared overhead were so plentiful that they are being exported from Vancouver Island to the United States in an effort to bolster dwindling populations.

We found Dutch-born engineer Hank Holtkamp below, by the cargo door. He took us on a tour of the engine room. State of the art in 1937, the Lady Rose boasted one of the world’s first marine diesel engines.

When Holtkamp isn’t unloading cargo or keeping an eye on the new diesel engine, he works the grill in the tiny coffee shop, making hamburgers and bacon and eggs that are legendary in these parts. Tables are covered by laminated charts, and portholes can be opened to water and land.

As we approached a small cottage on the shore, we slowed. At the end of a short pier a sign said: “Keeneh Landing.” Jack Hopps, a local resident, waved hello as we drifted past at arm’s length.

A Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper was expertly traded for 50 cents and we were off again without having stopped. At the next stop, a loaf of bread and a quart of milk will be swapped--exact change will be ready.

Compared to our one-house stops, the floating community of Kildonan is a thriving metropolis. Lady Rose is the official mail carrier to this funky floating village, called “Hippy Hollow.” It has about 12 inhabitants, every one of whom turned out for the ship’s arrival.

Set on a log boom is the packing-crate size Kildonan Post Office, painted the familiar red and blue and surrounded by a cluster of cozy cottages from which chimney smoke curled. Firewood was stacked neatly at the front doors--all that remained of a huge fish cannery that employed 300 people from 1928 to 1962.

About noon we reached Bamfield. On a hill stood the 1902 Cable Station Building, once the terminus for the Transpacific Telegraph Cable that ran under the sea to Australia, part of an around-the-world cable system.

Today it houses the Marine Biological Station, a center for studying the prolific sea life.

Bamfield also is the trail head for the 45-mile West Coast Trail to Port Renfrew, which was created early this century to rescue shipwrecked sailors stranded on Vancouver Island’s rugged coast.

After lunch and a couple of hours of wandering the boardwalks that link the seaside buildings of Bamfield, we returned to the boat for the trip back to Port Alberni.

Port Alberni is a mill town and one of the most famous salmon fishing destinations in British Columbia. Depending on the season, 40- and 50-pound salmon are not uncommon. The Port Alberni Marina and Action Fishing Charters offer fishing packages or boat and tackle rentals.

Accommodations in Port Alberni include the Timberlodge Motor Inn (RR2 Site 210-C12, Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 7L6, 604-723-9415) and the Hospitality Inn (3835 Redford St., Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 3S2, 604-723-8111), with rooms for about $60 U.S.

Pacific Rim National Park is three land areas--the West Coast trail unit, Broken Group unit and Long Beach unit. Hiking the 48-mile West Coast trail through the wilderness that links Bamfield and Port Renfrew demands stamina and expertise in hiking and camping.

Normally, a minimum of five or six days is required to hike the entire trail, which is open from May to mid-October. The coastal rain forest scenery is spectacular, while the often windy and rainy weather can be challenging.

The Lady Rose sails from Port Alberni to Bamfield on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Stops on the Alberni Inlet along the way are at small, remote outposts and no overnighting is available until Bamfield, where accommodations are limited.

Best bets are the Bamfield Trails Motel (Box 7, Bamfield, B. C. V0R 1B0, 604-728-3231; rates: $32 to $62 a night) or Aguilar House (604-728-3323; $100 a night). The Bamfield Inn, specializing in seafood, is the town’s only restaurant.

You can drive to the Long Beach section of the park from Port Alberni (about 65 miles) or take the Lady Rose on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays when she sails to Ucluelet at the southerly end of Long Beach, rather than to Bamfield.

The Wickaninnish Beach interpretation center, or “Wick Center” as it’s known, is a good place to get familiar with this more accessible part of the park. Pick up maps and brochures and spend some time over lunch in the center’s restaurant, which has views across the broad beaches.

Long Beach features dozens of day hikes through coastal rain forest or along the beaches, where free telescopes are conveniently set at scenic sites.

Sea lions bask on offshore rocks, harbor seals frequent sheltered bays and killer whales are seen sometimes.

Bring binoculars from mid-March through mid-May and you may see Pacific gray whales on their migration from Baja California to feeding grounds in Alaska.

This unit is named for one of the area’s beaches--seven miles of wide, hard, packed sand.

At Ucluelet, the Canadian Princess Resort, a 228-foot former survey vessel that saw service in World War II, has rooms from $40, a good restaurant and organizes fishing trips and diving charters.

Canoeing and kayaking are excellent in the sheltered waters of the Broken Group Islands, a miniature archipelago of uninhabited islands between Bamfield and Ucluelet.

Kayaks can be rented in Bamfield at Kingfisher Marina or in Port Alberni at Port Alberni Marine Transportation and loaded on board the Lady Rose. On certain days she makes stops at several of the larger Broken Group Islands.

For more information on Pacific Rim National Park, write to the Superintendent, Pacific Rim National Park, Box 280, Ucluelet, B.C. V0R 3A0, Canada.

Port Alberni is about 55 miles northwest of the Nanaimo terminus for the car ferry from Vancouver, and 125 miles north of British Columbia’s capital of Victoria (also accessible from Vancouver by car ferry).

The Lady Rose departs Alberni Harbor Quay year-round at 8 a.m. for Bamfield, with stops depending on passengers and deliveries. Call (604) 723-8313.

Kayak and canoe rentals are available at the pier.

For more information on travel to the Port Alberni area, contact the Port Alberni Chamber of Commerce, Travel Info Centre, RR2 Site 215-C10, Port Alberni, B. C. V9Y 7L6, Canada, (604) 724-6535.