It all started in the late 1920’s when Dan Sewell Sr and Art Sewell traveled to Vancouver and heard about this special place called Horseshoe Bay; the best place to fish. At that time the only way to get to Horseshoe Bay was to come by boat. It was love at first sight. The two prairie boys who knew very little about west coast life but had a huge desire for the outdoors settled in Horseshoe Bay and started Sewell’s Marina in 1931.
They learnt to build boats and started many firsts.
Rod and Reel.
Cut Plug.
As many crazy Canucks did they experimented and put a Briggs and Stratton washing machine air cooled engine in the boats, creating the “putt putts”. Mr. Stratton from Milwaukee heard the story and had to see what these crazy Canucks were up to and traveled to Horseshoe Bay to see for himself.
Many celebrities visiting Vancouver have come to play at Sewell’s Marina. From the oldies like Bing Crosby and Roy Rogers.
To the new visiting foreign celebrities such as Wanting Qi, Godfrey Gao and Sergio Mayer to name a few.
Today the business is managed by fourth generation “Sewell’s” and our boat rentals are our longest standing product. With a fleet of 30 boats we are still the largest company of self-drive boats in Vancouver and Canada.
