Vancouver Island author Caroline Woodward pens memoir about life as a lighthouse keeper

It was a chance encounter that led B.C. author Caroline Woodward and her husband to spend more than seven years living as lighthouse keepers.

On a ferry to Alert Bay near northern Vancouver Island, Woodward rescued a Jack Russell terrier that had gotten loose on board and was about to become "puppy pâté."

After reconnecting the dog with its owner — who she described as a "hairy-looking, middle-aged man" — she learned he was a relief lighthouse keeper on his way to Malcolm Island.

"I said the same thing [to him that] I've now heard many times: 'I thought all the lighthouses are gone,'" Woodward told On the Island host Gregor Craigie.

She soon learned that was far from the truth, with 27 staffed lighthouses in the province, and decided to give lighthouse keeping a try for herself. She recently published a book about her experience titled, Light Years: Memoir of a Modern Lighthouse Keeper.

Relief lighthouse keeping a perfect fit

Woodward said she knew being a relief lighthouse keeper would be a perfect fit for her husband, a writer and photographer who was tired of piecing together part-time jobs.

"Lightkeepers have dental emergencies, family holidays, weddings ... and leave that they need every year, so relief keepers were needed and I just knew it would suit my husband."

Her husband's first permanent posting was to a lighthouse on the Trial Islands, near Oak Bay in Victoria.

Even though they could hear all the city noise from across the water, Woodward said there was still a sense of isolation.

"There are terrific storms that go out there and there's lots to watch for on the water — lots of kayakers."

Lighthouse keeping not for everyone

After Woodward and her husband both worked at a variety of lighthouses on and around Vancouver Island, they decided to apply for a posting on Lennard Island near Tofino.

That meant Woodward had to resign from her publishing job. But it also meant she would have the time to write again, after taking a hiatus in the early 1990s.

"I really had about 15 stories on my back burner by then, and I desperately knew that if I was ever going to write again, I needed that peace and quiet."

Though it wasn't always peaceful, Woodward said she was able to make use of her free time between shifts and completed four books.

Woodward, who still lives at the Lennard Island Lightstation with her husband, said being a lighthouse keeper is not for everyone — especially those who can't imagine going a day without visiting a local coffee shop or pub and socializing, or foregoing their weekly dance class.

"A lot of lightkeepers have high-skill hobbies, whether it's boat building or music or writing or quilting. ... That really helps and makes you embrace the solitude," she said.

"You have to maintain an even keel and you learn a great deal about yourself."

Woodward will be reading and signing copies of Light Years: Memoir of a Modern Lighthouse Keeper at the Bard and Banker in Victoria on Sunday, September 20.

To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled: Author writes memoir about lighthouse keeping