A Winter off for Westward, and a New Boat for Baja’s Sea of Cortez
Westward, the first purpose built Alaskan expedition ship (1924)
For more than a century, Westward has kept going because people have taken care of her.
Launched in 1924 as the first purpose-built Alaskan small ship cruise, Westward is still doing exactly what she was meant to do: carrying small groups of people into wild places. Today, she is part of Pacific Catalyst’s small-ship expedition program in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, and has also spent her winters cruising Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.
We intend to keep her alive and working for a long time yet.
That means occasionally changing the way we operate.
Over the past decade, Westward has finished her Alaska season and headed south for our winter Sea of Cortez voyages. It has made for a very full year, with relatively short windows for larger maintenance and preservation projects.
Beginning this winter, that changes.
Giving Westward a Winter for Maintenance and Preservation
Westward will remain north for a much longer dedicated yard period.
There isn’t a major problem with Westward driving this decision. Quite the opposite. She is healthy, working, and we want to keep her that way.
She just needs some love.
Our philosophy with these classic vessels has always been simple:
They’re not ours. It’s just our turn.
Pacific Catalyst is an independent, family-owned-small-business. There isn’t a large institution behind Westward or Catalyst. We have long said that the boats have to work to live. The revenue they earn carrying guests is what pays their crews and funds the maintenance and preservation work that keeps them sailing.
That model has kept these historic working vessels alive for generations, but it also means larger projects have often had to fit into the spaces between voyages.
This winter, Westward gets a proper yard season.
Taking her out of winter service allows the shipwrights to work through a larger maintenance list without immediately racing toward another voyage.
It is an investment in keeping Westward working for the generations still to come.
Some Remarkable Help Preserving Westward
We are also fortunate to have some help.
A guest who has returned to Westward several times each year and developed a special relationship with the boat has helped make a preservation grant possible.
That support will allow us to reach further into Westward’s winter project list than cruise revenue alone otherwise might.
For other guests and friends who love Westward and would like to participate, we will share opportunities to support further as the yard work gets underway.
Preserving these vessels has always been part of what stewardship means to us.
What Happens to Our Sea of Cortez Small Ship Cruises?
While Westward may be taking the winter off.
Our Small Ship Cruises in the Sea of Cortez are still happening.
Meet Ballena Madre.
Ballena Madre, our mother whale, will replace Westward as the home of our small-ship expedition voyages in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.
She is a Choey Lee – Long Range Cruiser, about 70 feet long, built in 1988, out of fiberglass (that’s right. Not wood. GASP!)
And while the vessel is changing, the nature of the experience is not.
Same food program.
Same guide and naturalist program.
Same excursions.
Same intimate, immersive style of travel.
Same tradition of gathering around the table after a day exploring the Sea of Cortez.
It is a more modern boat, but it is still very much our style of small ship cruising in the wilderness.
Building Ballena Madre for Sea of Cortez Expedition Cruising
We have had the unusual opportunity to rebuild Ballena Madre’s guest spaces specifically around the way Pacific Catalyst operates.
At the moment, the carpenters are still up to their eyeballs in sawdust.
Her entire below-deck guest area has been stripped to the walls. From the sole up, we are building four new guest staterooms based on the same four-stateroom arrangement that has worked so well aboard Westward, each with its own en-suite restroom.
Above deck, Ballena Madre gives us a more spacious salon and the added space of a covered flybridge lounge, creating another outdoor gathering and wildlife-viewing space particularly well suited to warm days in Baja.
And importantly, she has a canoe-stern lounge similar to Westward’s classic fantail yacht design.
That means the rhythm guests know from Westward carries forward: days spent outside exploring islands, shorelines and wildlife, followed by gourmet meals together around the shared table.
We don’t have polished photographs of the finished cabins yet because, quite simply, the finished cabins do not exist yet.
They’re coming.
And as the sawdust begins to settle, we’ll share a much more detailed introduction to Ballena Madre and the transformation underway aboard her.
Sad That Westward Won’t Be in Baja?
We know that for some guests, M/V Westward is part of the destination.
We understand that. In many ways, we’re sad too.
But simply put:
This is what’s best for Westward.
This isn’t retirement. She will continue carrying guests on our small ship cruises in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.
Ballena Madre simply lets us stop asking Westward to work nearly year-round while continuing the Sea of Cortez expedition program we love.
The Long View: Stewardship of Historic Expedition Vessels
These vessels existed before us, and if we do our job well, they will continue long after us.
We’re excited to introduce Ballena Madre as her refit comes together, and equally excited to show you what this winter allows us to accomplish aboard Westward.
After all:
They’re not ours. It’s just our turn.