Editorial: Mothership Kayaking

April-May 1998

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by Alan Wilson

The rapid growth of ecotourism in the last ten years - and sea kayaking in particular - has led to a rich marketplace of opportunities for small business and a colour spectrum of recreational choices.

One of the newer options is Mothership Kayaking, a hybrid experience in which a bigger vessel (power or sail) serves as transport and support, often including meals and accommodation. There is now a range of mothership options available, from vessels with just enough deck space to carry kayaks and act as safety/support for camping tours, to luxury vessels with full accommodation and gourmet meals... all the way up to the Mother of all Motherships, the BC Ferries' Queen of Chilliwack carrying paddlers into the heart of BC's Central Coast wilderness.

In the following pages we present a sample of the mothership kayaking opportunities available. We hope you will forgive the unusual degree of somewhat promotional material presented here. We asked operators to send us information about themselves and it necessarily took this form. On the other hand, such detail will hopefully be of use to those interested in going on a mothership trip, or perhaps launching a similar venture of their own.

Among the many vessels we present, some have been converted from earlier uses (religious mission boat, oceanographic vessel, minesweeper, etc.) while others have been built specifically to serve a touring function. In some cases, the operators have also converted from other careers, launching into this lifestyle to satisfy personal needs and interests.

This career/craft conversion is now accelerating as coastal communities undergo deep economic changes with the loss of forestry and fishing jobs. Displaced fishers, for example, are in the process of turning their marine skills, and their fishing boats, to other uses such as wildlife viewing or awareness tours to the fishing grounds.

Of course, transport or support vessels have been part of the kayak industry for years, providing drop-off and pick-up at distant locations. A number of operators make use of high speed boats to bring new paddlers out and carry the returning back to base, allowing for one-way trips. And small coaster freighters like the Lady Rose, Frances Barkley and Uchuck are well known to paddlers visiting Barkley Sound and Nootka Sound. (See the story by Doug Alderson for his experience launching from the Uchuck.)

As paddling becomes more popular and areas close to major centers get busier, the yen for distant wilderness adventures is leading more paddlers to venture to remote locations such as the Central Coast of BC (see article). This move is more important than you might think, as competition for resources is already underway in these areas and wilderness tourism must stake its claim if we are going to be able to prevent disastrous environmental impacts by industries such as logging and fish farming.

But mothershipping has a lot going for it besides access to more distant wilderness. It provides opportunities for older or less physically capable paddlers to explore areas they would be otherwise unable to visit, and it can extend the paddling season dramatically, enabling you to avoid the crush of fair weather boaters which ply the coast in summer. Off-season paddling is great, and even better if you can return to a hot shower, a great meal and a warm bed!

This isn't to suggest that mothershipping is better than a land-based wilderness camping tour. The sense of adventure you get paddling off into the wilderness with friends in fully packed expedition kayaks is unmatchable.

Camping tours have the appealing flavour and satisfaction of doing it yourself, and a level of intimacy with nature that is hard to beat. And I must say, it's nice to be on the beach on nights when the weather's tossing boats around at anchor.

Mothershipping also carries some of the same ethical responsibilities as land-based tours. One of the 'duties' of a commercial operator is to create as much community involvement as possible, so that local residents benefit from the use of local resources. Visitors and commercial operators ought not to have the idea that they can come and go as they please and contribute nothing to the local economy.

Just because a mothership is not tied to one particular locality does not mean it is without impact in terms of possible overcrowding and overuse of scarce recreational resources. If motherships kayaking starts to catch on in a big way, we will have to work together to ensure that the nicest locations up and down the coast are not monopolized or overcrowded.

In our next issue we will continue our look at mothershipping with an exploration of compact kayaks (including glass, plastic, collapsibles and inflatables) suitable for carrying on smaller motherships.

Until then, happy paddling!