Dream of moving to a remote BC island? Get ready to sail your U-Haul there
Have you ever wondered how people move to small, remote islands off the coast of Vancouver?
While moving to landlocked locations on the mainland can be done with only a truck, for places like Keats Island and Gambier Island in the Howe Sound, it isn’t as simple as that.
For those who now call these hidden gems home, it began as a seaside adventure involving putting all their precious and oftentimes priceless belongings on a barge.
A moving van on a barge. (Submitted)
While it might sound hazardous, it’s done quite often, according to real estate agent Trish Cowley, a resident of Keats Island, who spoke with Daily Hive about the logistics and the perks of moving to these areas.
Putting the “sea” in scenic routes
Keats Island has about 80 residents and is accessible by boat only. Google
Rugged and forested, the islands are the perfect secluded spots offering a West Coast lifestyle for a fraction of the price of buying a home in Metro Vancouver.
However, with no paved roads, street lights, or shopping malls, they are pack-it-out pack-it-in kind of places. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own drinking water, for example.
Kayaker enjoys calm waters off Gambier Island in Howe Sound on a summer day. (Christopher Babcock/Shutterstock)
Popularity in this kind of off-beat living spiked during the pandemic, Cowley says, with many choosing to turn the locations into their remote offices. Despite the rural offerings, there is the internet and electricity, and the grocery stores are just a short boat ride away.
But, while you might thrive working and living in these locations, you will have to first get your home office across the Georgia Strait, not to mention your fridge and your mattress.
How do you move to Keats?
“The only way you can get a U-Haul or any vehicle… you have to bring it on a barge,” Cowley said.
Cowley explains that there are two professional options available, and customers hire the barge best suited for them based on how heavy their items are.
Franny Va/Submitted
“The most inexpensive way is what those people did where they just rented a U-Haul. So they have the normal charges for that, and then if they’re coming from Vancouver, they would just take the Langdale ferry and then that little barge,” she explained.
While that’s an estimated $225 for the barge rental, you aren’t allowed to ride in the cab for safety reasons. So, you have to charter a boat separately to carry people, which Cowley says is usually about $80.
Cowley tells her clients to budget about $500 to $600 each way and says most people just have their friends and family help unload.
“One of the barge companies, he also owns his own moving truck. He usually will charge people about $800 to bring the moving truck to your house, and then you fill it up yourself with what you want to bring over and then he will deliver it to the island for $800. So it just depends on people sort of like what they can afford and what they’re gonna bring and where they live,” she said.
The risks of moving by barge
With photos showing waves lapping at the edges of the moving cargo, the question is obvious: how often do things go wrong?
Cowley tells us it’s not uncommon for smaller things to go overboard in transit.
“Everybody on the island has some sort of a story where somebody has dropped something into the ocean. It just happens. You kind of learn from experience, and you’re always making sure your pockets are zipped tight and everything strapped in and stuff, but lots of times, even on the back of water taxis, sometimes things fly off and go in the wind,” she said, adding that a sudden wave has on occasion sent a case of beer into the sea.
From an environmental perspective, Cowley says she’s only heard of one truck ever going overboard, and that was years ago.
“Luckily, nothing that I know of has happened on the barges [recently],” she said.
“Nobody would ever want some sort of vehicle going in the water, for obvious reasons. So that’s why we’re always careful.”
Submitted
“You just have to be patient and flexible”
Plus, it’s important to be patient as storms can roll in fast, and conditions can derail plans making the crossing unsafe.
“Sometimes you might have a barge… and they have to cancel because of the weather, and that’s just always a risk,” she said.
It’s important to note that ramps need to be at the ideal heights to get on and off the barge, and that means you have to check the water levels and tide charts.
“Sometimes you’ll see a moving truck, or a building truck, coming at weird times, and it’s because of the tide,” she said.
Not all Island living is equal
Further south, the quaint and artistic community on Bowen Island offers a similarly secluded vibe but is not nearly as tricky for a truck.
BC Ferries gives those accessing Bowen Island an option to drive on, while the ferry to Keats Island is walk-on only. There are also water taxis available, or the option to rent a boat for the day. But that will limit you to smaller items.
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Cowley says for those who choose the less inhabited other islands, the reward pays off big time.
Some residents happily waited on the dock with their armchairs. (Trish Cowley)
“Nowadays, there are way more people living there full time or half time because of the accessibility and because we have internet and we have power and water and everything,” she said.
She added that she’s seeing lots more people from Vancouver and surrounding cities making the move than ever before.
Aerial view of Keats Island. (EB Adventure Photography/Shutterstock)
“They want to be able to put their money towards something, so I’ve been seeing a lot of people that are first-time buyers, and they have been buying either a building lot or small cabins and getting a mortgage on that, and then they spend all their time there.”
Cowley says for many, safety is a big draw.
“It’s just quality of life and quiet. You know, there’s lots of nature, and yet if you want to go back, you just hop on the boat, and you’re back within an hour or two. It’s so close, yet it feels like you’re still far away.”