Unveiling the elusive Starfleet Captains' Yachts

It is a huge responsibility and commitment that Starfleet captains take on the duty and honor of commanding a starship. One can imagine it’s daunting and likely immeasurable given their oath to the Federation; the lives of their crew literally in their hands; and not to mention their diplomatic and political responsibilities to engaging Federation and non-federation planets and species across the galaxy.

As such, a well-deserved furlough is certainly in order for starship captains, and what better way to lounge in Starfleet style than a starship-to-shore leave excursion in a luxury captain’s yacht. However, in Star Trek canon there are only random mentions of a captain’s yachts and only one on screen movie deployment of a captain’s yacht. Given the scarcity in Star Trek canon, here are a few examples when captains' yachts have surfaced in Starfleet storylines.

Captain Picard's yacht the "Cousteau"

In Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), the crew of TNG are in a prime directive quandary attempting to defend the 600 inhabitants of the planet Ba’Ku - whose planetary rings emit youth-generating radiation that allows them to stay young and vibrant despite aging to 300 years old. Violating a Starfleet order to save the Ba’Kuians, Captain Picard and his command crew disembark on his captain’s yacht, the “Cousteau” (likely named in honor of Picard’s French heritage) from the ventral side (under belly) of the saucer section of their Sovereign-Class starship USS Enterprise-E.

The Cousteau has a modern sleek design in comparison to the basic shuttle models on board Enterprise-E. The exterior boasts the base Starfleet blue and silver colors with a slightly elongated body. Picard's yacht is impressive and is made for more than just docking at hospitality star stations to leisurely toast guests with Bajoran Kanar.

Captain's yachts are built for more than interstellar vacations

Cousteau is not a sanctioned Starfleet combat-class vessel. However, she is equipped with basic phasers for offensive and defensive tactical maneuvers, as well as Starfleet regulation advanced navigation and communication consoles and systems, and transporter systems. There is a cockpit with two seats for the captain and a co-pilot and comfortable seating for a minimal sized yacht crew.

Although the purpose of a captain's yacht is primarily for personal leisure for upgraded travel befitting a captain - the Cousteau, as seen in “Insurrection” can be used for tactical clandestine missions as well. Aside from “Insurrection”, captain’s yachts have been mentioned in Star Trek novels, such as: Captain Picard’s yacht “Rochefort” for USS Enterprise-E in “The Buried Age” by Christopher Bennett and Captain Dax’s yacht “Rhea” for the USS Aventine in “Star Trek: Destiny” series by David Mack. It's these additional references to captain's yachts, such as in novels, that help elevate an underused feature of Federation starships that should be embraced more in Star Trek canon.

Captain Janeway's yacht the "Aeroshuttle"

The Intrepid-Class USS Voyager led by Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager has a captain's yacht referred to as an "Aeroshuttle." However, the show's creators commissioned a visible simulation of the Aeroshuttle launching, but it was never used by the TV series. Similarly, to Captain Picard's Cousteau, the Aeroshuttle could be launched from the underside of Voyager's saucer section. Perhaps because Lt. Paris (in S5 E4 of VOY) built a larger more powerful version of a shuttle called the "Delta Flyer" that VOY creators never aired the launching of the "Aeroshuttle" - due to revealing competing shuttles. Hence, why build the "Delta Flyer" when you already have a warp capable captain's yacht!

Captain Freeman's yacht of Star Trek: Lower Decks

Animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks S4 E10 "Old Friends, New Planets", featured Captain Freeman's yacht. Freeman's yacht was used to travel to the Detrion system to rescue Lt. J.G. Mariner from disgraced Starfleet academy cadet and megalomaniac, Nick Locarno, and his motley crew of insurrectionists and criminals called the Nova Fleet. Freeman's yacht, like Picard's and Janeway's was attached to the underside of VOG's California-Class USS Cerritos and was successfully used to gain tactical advance over the Nova Fleet.

Starfleet captain's yachts are much more than vacation vessels, escape bods, or planetary landing ships. Equipped with warp engines, phasers, transporters, and tactical maneuvers, it's my hope that Star Trek creators will do more to feature these multipurpose mini starships into Starfleet captain's repertoire of offensive/defensive strategies.