The Private Mothershipper

June-July 2003

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

Dave Hobbs carries a kayak on the side of his mothership.

My dad was approaching 70 when he first started paddling. He and Mom had been cruising the coast for years, first in a 26 foot Thunderbird, then a Cove 29 and finally switching to power when they bought a Crown 28. They had explored the San Juan and Gulf Islands south of their home on Gabriola Island and travelled annually to Johnstone Strait, enjoying the change in topography along the coastline, and becoming familiar with anchorages and fishing hotspots within this fabulous cruising territory.

Dad has always enjoyed active outdoor pursuits, from annual fishing and hunting trips with his buddies years ago before he was a boat owner, to competitive sailboat racing in his Comet and Thunderbird, to back country exploration on a dirt bike. The family is always wondering what he will get up to next!

The kayaking bug bit him at a Boat Show in Vancouver. A Nanaimo paddling store had kayaks on display, and it seemed obvious to Dad that facing forward in a light, manageable boat was a much better way to tuck into all the nooks and crannies of his favourite haunts along the coast than rowing his heavy, awkward dinghy.

Later, when Dad visited the store in Nanaimo with paddling on his mind, the staff decided the boat that had originally caught his eye at the Boat Show wasn't the best choice. They encouraged Dad to try out various boats in Departure Bay and to take an introductory paddling course.

All decked out with sprayskirt, and becoming familiar with how to use a paddlefloat, he and other beginner paddlers headed out for some on-the-water experience. Dad remembers waiting behind a small island for the ferry to appear, then going out to tackle the waves which broke over his boat and left him laughing.

After trying out kayaks of various styles, lengths and construction materials, Dad settled on a plastic Necky. More than ten years later and at the age of 81, Dad figures he got good advice. He still has his kayak and has used it every year since he bought it. He took the kayak with him on his summer cruises on the Crown 28 long before 'mothershipping' was an established boating option. Finding that towing was a disaster, he experimented with ways to carry the kayak onboard, finally attaching a bent aluminum bracket on the cabinside of the big boat. The lightness of the kayak made launching it and hauling it back up into its cruising position easy. He entered and exited the kayak from the big boat's swim grid.

Rob Mumford drawing.

The first year he had the kayak, Dad practised capsizing in the warm water of Desolation Sound, giving him some confidence he could self-rescue when venturing into more challenging waters. On his trips north, he has paddled in and around the Broughton Archipelago, leaving the big boat in Echo Bay or other anchorages. One year we took two boats up the Central Coast to Calvert Island and he paddled in Hakai Pass and Rivers Inlet. Further south, he has paddled the Gulf Islands, particularly enjoying the Flat Top Islands at Silva Bay on Gabriola, and the waters around Montague Harbour on Galiano Island and Annette Inlet on Prevost Island.

He has also carried the boat on and inside various vans over the years to explore lakes in the back country in the spring and fall. The kayak has proven to be a sturdy and reliable means of exploration, surviving all sorts of treatment (including being dropped off the top of his van a couple of times).

Kayaking has satisfied a desire to get closer to the environment he loves so well and made it possible for Dad to add a dimension to his boating experience that isn't available in any other vessel.

© Diana Mumford is WaveLength's Editorial Assistant.