Our Team

Farewell Harbour Lodge boasts a talented pool of deeply passionate guides and lodge staff who all contribute to our success as a team.

Tim McGrady - managing partner

Tim is the General Manager and lead guide for Farewell Harbour Lodge. He brings over 30 years of diverse experience in the tourism industry.

After completing a degree in biochemistry at the University of British Columbia in 1990, Tim began guiding sea kayak expeditions moving between Baja, Mexico’s Sea of Cortez in the winter and the west coast of Vancouver Island in the summer. He also led month long sailing, hiking and sea kayak expeditions for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Mexico, Alaska and coastal BC.

After a brief stint on faculty in the Tourism Department of North Island College on Vancouver Island, Tim began working in Knight Inlet, leading bear viewing and whale watching excursions. He also helped establish the Commercial Bear Viewing Association (CBVA) in collaboration with a number of other top bear viewing companies in BC.

With the completion of a Masters degree in Leadership from Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC in 2007, Tim took a hiatus from the tourism industry to work as a leadership development consultant in Latin America. In 2010 he found his way to Klemtu where he began managing the First Nations owned Spirit Bear Lodge in collaboration with the Kitasoo/Xaixais Nation.

Tim brings passion, experience, a drive for excellence and a strong belief in the principles of Kaizen to his work as General Manager of Farewell Harbour Lodge. He has been married to Kelli for 27 years and they have 2 grown boys, Connor and Kai - both of whom have been active in the business in some form. They live in Comox on Vancouver Island in the off-season.

Ryne Brockway - Co-Owner & lead guide

Ryne Brockway, shown here with his wife Rebecca, is the Co-owner and lead guide at Farewell Harbour Lodge. Ryne built our predecessor business, Bones Bay Lodge, single handedly from the ground up into a thriving, niche wildlife lodge which was very recently recognized by the Canadian government’s tourism marketing arm as a Canadian Signature Experience. This prized accolade is a testament to Ryne’s ambition, passion and work ethic. He derives his strong work ethic, personal responsibility and sense of integrity from his roots as a child growing up on a family farm in southern Alberta.

He graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary in 1979 with an Associate Degree in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering. He worked in the heavy equipment and transportation sector managing a fleet of 125 trucks along with his sales team and dispatchers.

He began laying the foundation for Bones Bay Lodge in 2009 to fulfill his passion for the BC west coast wilderness while simultaneously continuing his sales career in the commercial trailer sales sector. In 2015 he started his own commercial trailer sales company in partnership with a colleague in Spokane Washington called Inland Pacific Trailer Sales. Ryne, a dual US/Canadian citizen, has been married to Rebecca Brockway for 27 years and they have 4 grown children and a home in Spokane, Washington.

KellI mcgrady - Co-owner & office manager

Kelli loves wildlife, wild places and her family. After graduating from Simon Fraser University in 1988 with a degree in Criminology, Kelli worked with high risk youth and families and also attained a diploma in family and marital therapy. While working as a counsellor in the Alternate School system in Vancouver, she spent the summer volunteering as a field assistant on a killer whale study in Johnstone Strait in 1990. This fed a lifelong passion for orcas as well as a desire to work in a wilderness setting.

After meeting Tim, it didn't take long to leave the city behind and begin guiding sea kayak expeditions in Baja Mexico's Sea of Cortez in the winter and the west coast of BC in Haida Gwaii and Clayoquot Sound in the summer. Kelli then co-ran a youth wilderness program over a number of summers on the west coast of Vancouver Island and led month-long sea kayak expeditions for 5 years for the National Outdoor Leadership School in Baja Mexico, Alaska and coastal BC.

After years of amazing adventures in wild places, Kelli happily embraced life at home in the Comox Valley to raise Tim and Kelli's two sons, Connor and Kai. This involved homeschooling and lots of time spent outdoors on oceans, rivers, lakes and mountains.

Kelli began working for Spirit Bear Lodge in 2010 in reservations and operations support and she brings this experience with her to Farewell Harbour Lodge. She divides her time between the lodge and home/office in Comox. She hopes that a visit to Farewell Harbour Lodge will inspire guests to connect with themselves, each other and nature. In doing so, she hopes it will help foster a commitment to living more sustainably on our beautiful, fragile planet.

James Hallett - Operations Manager

A little over 10 years ago James decided to leave the urban jungle of Toronto behind and pursue his love for wild things and wild places. He spent many years living and working abroad as a wildlife guide and dive guide. He has been fortunate to check off many items on an ever growing bucket list.

Not long after returning home to Canada he started looking for an opportunity to spend time in our beautiful Great Bear Rainforest. We are happy that James landed here and has stayed with Farewell Harbour since our first season. He has become an integral part of the team!

Dylan Morris - HEAD CHEF

Born in the small Alberta mountain town Jasper, Dylan moved to Whistler at a young age. Raised in the mountains of B.C., he has always loved being around nature and all it has to offer. Having worked in kitchens for over 8 years, Dylan’s culinary knowledge has grown substantially over the past few years. If he’s not out enjoying nature or traveling to different parts of the world, you can find him cooking up a storm in the kitchen, always seeking to provide amazing food wherever he goes. Dylan loves what he does and always wants to share his passion for cooking with others.

Vicki Petrie - GUIDE

Vicki is a marine animal. If it weren’t so cold she would live in the sea! As an alternative, Vicki brings her experience here to work at Farewell Harbour. She brings a life spent on the sea and a degree in marine biology; she is also a teacher, a naturalist/guide and a mom of two boys and one dog. Her motto in life is to ‘do what you love’ and so she is here, and is enthusiastic to share that with our guests. Whether it is watching the whales, cruising in the boats, exploring the shores for bears, or hanging out in the kitchen looking for ‘what’s for dinner’, Vicki is here for it all!

Daryl Dancer - Guide

Daryl is a textile artist, wildlife naturalist and commercial mariner. Daryl has almost two decades of combined experience escorting guests to view grizzly bears and other wildlife in Knight Inlet and the Central Coast of British Columbia as well as working as a watershed technologist responsible for the monitoring and assessment program for a Stream Stewardship group in the Comox Valley.

Daryl has also spent over eleven years with the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue as a Volunteer Search and Rescue Specialist and as a Coxswain in charge of a rescue crew out of Comox, BC. You'll see Daryl anchored off the lodge this season in her little C&C 25 sailboat, the "Merrow," which she skippered on her maiden voyage across Lake Superior arriving on Prince Edward Island almost two months later.

After many years cruising around Maritimes, Daryl and her family arrived on Vancouver Island (overland) twenty years ago. During the off season, when Daryl isn't hibernating like the bears, she is the Lead Adventure and Awesomeness Guide and founder of the Experience Nature Academy, where she helps women to step out of their comfort zone so they can do the unexpected, by adding a little adventure and curiosity to their lives. If you'd like to find out how to make Bear Poo Paper, just ask Daryl, she might tell you her secret or better yet she may even ask you to help collect the raw materials.

Rebecca Crilly - Front of House

Originally from the UK, Rebecca travelled to Canada at the age of 21 and fell head over heels in love with the west coast of British Columbia. After a few years working in London she decided to follow her dreams and moved to Canada. She is most excited about the Orca in the surrounding area having been a supporter of local conservation and research projects since a very young age but anything to do with being on the water is her happy place. Her enthusiastic motto "you only get one life" ensures she is making the most of her time on the BC coast!

Marlie Temple - Guide

Growing up next to the ocean and spending winters in the mountains, Marlie is at home and in her natural habitat working on our beautiful BC coast. After playing 4 years of varsity volleyball in the United States and Canada, Marlie was eager to travel and so ended up finishing a Global Studies degree working for the local government in Belize. After graduating, she spent summers working remotely along our coast, and the winters adventuring abroad including mapping out island reefs in northern Fiji and becoming a paragliding pilot in Columbia. After taking on New Zealand, Baja Mexico, and South & Central America by van, she hopes to take her next mode of travel to the high seas! Nothing inspires Marlie more than new places and wild spaces. Recently, Marlie completed the adventure tourism program at Westcoast Adventure College in Sooke, BC. When not lying with her head over the dock, you can find her getting really excited about moss and whales, and everything in between.

Sylvie Stewart Grantham - GUIDE

Sylvie has just finished her studies as an environmental biologist, and is incredibly thrilled to be back on the West Coast, where she grew up, and feels most at home. During her degree, Sylvie’s passion for the environment thrived, and she’s developed a love of wildlife conservation and forest mycology (fungi!). On any given day, you might find her squatting in the ferns, checking out some cool mushrooms and other types of fungi. Aside from her life on the West Coast, she’s also lived overseas, having graduated high school in Hong Kong, where she and her family lived for 4 years. Sylvie also did a semester of school at the University of Iceland, where she studied geological phenomena that rocked her socks off! Her most recent education abroad was in Belgium, where she studied blue energy (marine-derived renewable energy). While she’s not adventuring outside, Sylvie finds great comfort in needlecrafts like knitting, embroidering and mending all sorts of clothes. She finds it a relaxing (and sustainable) hobby for the off-season, with a hot cup of tea. She is very excited to be a part of the Farewell Harbour Lodge team, and loves to share her passions with each and every guest she meets.

Marc gerrard - BUSINESS SERVICES MANAGER

Marc joins Farewell Harbour Lodge in a unique position to assist Tim and Kelli in a wide variety of administrative and strategic roles that defy an easy job title! Not only will Marc have responsibilities at Farewell Harbour, but he will also be assisting with strategic planning and execution at Alder Bay RV Park & Marina which is also owned and operated by the McGrady & Brockway families along with the Glendale family.

Marc Gerrard is fundamentally someone who consistently seeks out challenges and opportunities to grow as a person and provide meaningful experiences.

After completing his Business Degree from the University of Lethbridge, Marc followed his desire for adventure and lived for four years in The Netherlands and Finland. Upon returning to Canada, Marc began developing his love for creating unique and meaningful experiences for people with his DJ’ing and event management skills.

When the 2010 Olympics came to Vancouver, Marc saw an opportunity to expand his skillset by working in logistics for the Main Press Center at Canada Place. He then landed working for ten years with the Vancouver Convention Centre coordinating with 1000’s of people, including highlight events such as Ted Talks, International Marathons, Vancouver Home and Design Show, the Vancouver Auto show and large-scale corporate and New Years' events.

With his deepening appreciation for operations, Marc advanced at the convention centre into his role as Venue Operations Manager, in which he was responsible for all aspects and logistics of the convention centre. This exciting and complex opportunity constantly challenged Marc to problem-solve while providing excellent client services and leadership to his team.

After many summers of wilderness adventures travelling with the family, including the Yukon and northern BC, he and his family arrived at Alder bay and began a relationship of camping and exploring. With the yearly visits came a growing love of Northern Vancouver Island. Upon arriving back each year to Vancouver, the desire to move began to grow until after many successful years in Vancouver in 2018, he, his partner and children moved their lives to the Comox Valley in search of opportunities to build a deeper relationship with the west coast.

After coordinating and completing a complex commercial renovation for an international music engineering company in Victoria, and working towards his Home Appraisal designation, Marc saw an opportunity to bring all his experiences and skills to fruition at Farewell Harbour with a dream job of being Business Services Manager. Marc looks forward to working together with staff and ownership to bring the Northern Vancouver Island wilderness he loves so much to an international clientele.