Port Control
General Enquiries
Live Webcam
Image
Montrose
Port Authority
  • Port Info
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • The Board
    • Careers
    • Annual Reviews
    • Live Webcam
    • Marine / Port Control
    • General Enquiries
  • Marine
    • Marine Info
    • Quayside Services
    • Codes & Certifications
  • Services
    • Oil & Gas
    • Renewables
    • Decommissioning
    • General Cargo
    • Cruise
    • Property Leasing
    • Shore Power
    • Customs House
    • Montrose Port Industrial Park
  • Environment, Health & Safety
    • Health & Safety
    • Environmental & Sustainability
    • Net Zero
    • Shore Power
    • Health, Safety & Environmental Policy
    • Our Policies
  • Community
    • Our Community
  • News & Updates
    • MPA News
    • Notice to Mariners
    • Seagreen
    • Inch Cape
    • Customs House
    • Montrose Port Industrial Park
    • Montrose Port History
Featured image for “Remembering the “Lady Alex””
December 19, 2022

Remembering the “Lady Alex”

The Lady Alexandra or rather Lady Alex as she was familiarly known to many residents of British Columbia, was completed by the Coaster Construction Company on Rossie Island, Montrose in the early 1920s to the order of the Union Steamship Company of Vancouver, Canada. She was launched on February, 1924 with her construction having commenced the previous October.

She was designed for routes between her home port and Bowen Island and Howe Sound. Her dimensions were 225 feet in length, with a 40-foot beam and measured 1,396-ton deadweight. Her propulsion consisted of two triple-expansion steam engines giving a service speed of 14 knots.

She was primarily a day excursion steamer having only ten berths in six state rooms. Licensed to carry 1,400 passengers, in operation she was thought to carry nearly 2,000. She had three decks, a dining room to seat 90 persons and a hardwood dance floor. Although she had a cargo hold with a capacity to accommodate 300 tons of freight she normally carried only around 100.

The local “Review” newspaper reported on progress during her being fitted out after launching as, “Berthed in the Montrose (Wet) Dock approaching completion externally she presents a handsome appearance with two funnels painted a vivid red with black tops, an array of boats and deck seats as viewed from the pier gives the vessel a smart and business-like appearance.”

The ship had an unusual beginning as the Coaster Construction gained the contract with the Union Steamship Company for a two-funnelled excursion steamer, the result being the Lady Alexandra. The hull was newly built but the machinery came from a World War One minesweeper HMS Cheam.

On completion, the ship sailed to her new home reaching Vancouver via the Panama Canal on June 21st, 1924 having left Scottish waters after trials on May 7th. Four days after she arrived she took part in an excursion to view the battle cruiser HMS Hood then on a courtesy visit to Vancouver.

After lengthy and popular service business fell away in the early 1950s. Following the 1953 season she was withdrawn from service altogether. In 1960 she was converted to a floating restaurant, firstly at Coal Harbour in her home port than later towed to Redondo Beach in California but was subsequently wrecked when a tropical typhoon ripped in from the Pacific in 1980. Considered to be a constructive total loss, she was towed out sea and sunk as a submerged offshore reef.

A member of the McLaren family who were involved in her construction on Rossie Island wrote in 1985, “We contracted to build a series of five supply vessels for International Offshore Services Ltd. London. The IOS fleet were all named with the pre-fix “Lady”. I asked that one of the vessels be named Lady Alexandra, in memory of the most popular excursion steamer that sailed out of Vancouver. In October, 1974 my mother launched Lady Alexandra. When we launched this second Lady Alexandra it was almost 50 years to the day that the Coaster Construction Company launched her predecessor on Rossie Island. Strange world, my father builds a ship in Montrose for Vancouver now a Lady Alexandra is based in Dundee.” 

Some years later when re-named Alexandra Tide, the Canadian-built ship did actually visit Montrose.

Browse News Categories

  • News
  • Notice to Mariners
  • SSE Renewables
  • Appointments to the Board
  • Community
  • Job Vacancies
  • Kids Activity Pack
  • Memberships
  • Montrose Port History
  • Montrose Port Staff
  • Vessels
Image
About Us
  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • The Board
Our Services
  • Oil & Gas
  • Renewables
  • Decommissioning
  • General Cargo
  • Cruise
  • Property Leasing
  • Quayside Services
T&Cs
  • Our Terms & Conditions
  • Our Policies
  • Marine Safety Plan (2024–2027)
  • Certification of Port Marine Safety Code
  • Pilotage Directions
  • Pilot Exemption Certificate Procedure
ImageImage
© Montrose Port Authority
Website by Due North Creatives
Main menu
  • Port Info
    • ← Back
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • The Board
    • Careers
    • Annual Reviews
    • Live Webcam
    • Marine / Port Control
    • General Enquiries
  • Marine
    • ← Back
    • Marine Info
    • Quayside Services
    • Codes & Certifications
  • Services
    • ← Back
    • Oil & Gas
    • Renewables
    • Decommissioning
    • General Cargo
    • Cruise
    • Property Leasing
    • Shore Power
    • Customs House
    • Montrose Port Industrial Park
  • Environment, Health & Safety
    • ← Back
    • Health & Safety
    • Environmental & Sustainability
    • Net Zero
    • Shore Power
    • Health, Safety & Environmental Policy
    • Our Policies
  • Community
    • ← Back
    • Our Community
  • News & Updates
    • ← Back
    • MPA News
    • Notice to Mariners
    • Seagreen
    • Inch Cape
    • Customs House
    • Montrose Port Industrial Park
    • Montrose Port History
CONTACT US
Port Control
General Enquiries
Live Webcam
Downloads
  • View Port Tariff
  • Tide Timetable
  • Download Port Map
This Website Uses Cookies
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
__cf_bm30 minutesThis cookie is set by CloudFlare. The cookie is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
YSCsessionThis cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
_gat_gtag_UA_197060398_11 minuteNo description
CONSENT16 years 7 months 18 days 9 hoursNo description
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo