The owner of a swashbuckling tourism brand originally founded in Ottawa is ready to “pass the pirate hat” and is looking to sell the business.
Pirate Life Adventures began operations at Mooney’s Bay in 2009 and has since expanded to Toronto and Hamilton. Now, owner Mat Slaman is selling the business and its four vessels as he prepares to move to Europe.
“It’s the right decision to make for me and my family,” Slaman told OBJ on Thursday. “I’ve spent a lot of time and energy and effort getting this organization to the place it’s been, and it’s given me a lot of life. But I’m ready for the next chapter and the next season of my life.”
Slaman was a university student when he joined the business in its early days, spending his summers “pirating the seas” along the Rideau River. After a couple of years as manager, he bought the business and expanded it to other cities.
The company began operating in Toronto in 2014, and between 2023 and 2024 added two more boats to its fleet with new locations in Hamilton and Barrie.
For more than 15 years, the company has sailed May through October up to eight times a day, hosting summer camps, school groups, private charters, theatre cruises and corporate events.
Slaman said the business and its programming have evolved over the years.
“It started as a children’s pirate adventure and search for sunken treasure during the day, where there are 24 water cannons and real gold coins and mysteries and riddles to solve,” he said. “Now we have evening programming too and we partner with local artists to host concerts, events and comedy shows. We designed and built an escape room too, so teams can race against the clock to escape the ship.”
Operating the business hasn’t been without its challenges, Slaman said. The pandemic, for example, dealt a big blow, preventing the company from operating. But he said the experience also fuelled the firm’s growth and made further expansion possible.
“We’re missing in-person experiences,” he said. “We need that human connection, to take our kids out and have a good time. This is something that’s really led to our success. Based on our surveys of families, more often than not it’s their first time experiencing a live performance with real humans. People really resonate with that.”
In Ottawa, Slaman said the Grey Ghost vessel has become a staple in the community, adding that the ship draws people to an area outside the downtown that they might not explore otherwise.
He said he hopes whoever takes over the company will allow that tradition to continue.
“We’re looking for someone who is really going to take the reins and drive it forward,” he said. “It’s for someone who wants to work hard in the summer and remotely in the winter. We’re looking for somebody who’s going to care about the families and the kids and continue to provide a really beautiful experience for everybody.”
As for Slaman, he said he’s getting married in June and moving to Europe this fall. After that, he said he has some new ideas for business ventures he’d like to explore.
“I’ve got a few ideas, but nothing I can share with you just yet,” he said.
Included in the sale are the company’s four 40-foot ships, which each hold 40 passengers plus crew. Each vessel is Transport Canada-certified and equipped with interactive water cannons and Yamaha 115 HP outboard engines.
The sale also includes waterfront leases and docking rights, operating licences and permits and customer databases and marketing systems.
