Page 6 West Vancouver Historical Society APRIL 2001 FEATURE PRESENTATION REPORT By:AnneVemo. Our February meeting speakers, Dan Sewell and John Moonen, painted nostalgic and lively pictures of Horseshoe Bay as it was and as is is today. Dan's slides of the "old" Bay were fascinating and John's report on the on-going difficulties, which the Bay residents are encountering today with the authorities, was factual and revealing, without being controversial! Dan Sewell, is the third generation to run the family boating business in Horseshoe Bay which was originally set up by his grandfatlier (also named Dan). Several people had a hand in developing the Bay. To name a few - Colonel Whyte, Herb Thorpe, Roger Garrow. Thorpe and Garrow waged war over waterfront property, with Herb winning, and Garrow moving out to his own place away from tlie Bay. He named it Garrow Bay. Grandfather Dan talked Herb into letting him have some land, after which he and Eva founded a dynasty. Eva ran the local Post Office so knew everyone around for miles. They raised a family, most ot whom helped out with the boats. Dan. Jnr., thinks he began work at age 7 or 8! Ah, the boats. They, and fishing, were the reason for everything. Over tlie years the boats changed from small row boats to being motor-driven. (The Sewells were the first to put the innards of an old car into a boat, which again changed things in the Bay a lot.) In those days fishing in the Bay was by hand line only. Dan changed that. He introduced rod and reel sport fishing amidst a lot of rumblings from the locals. Eventually, of course, that was the ONLY way to fish! Years of wonderful fishing derbies followed, culminafing in the famous Sun Derbies of the 70's and 80’s. The war came and the Bay population grew quickly. Post-war changes eventually followed and everything became more sophisticated. Boats were built of aluminum, then fibreglass. Sewells diversified. Tliey overhauled and repaired boats of all types: ran bird-watching, seal-watching, and photographic tours in the surrounding waters: built the Lookout Coffee Shop (which has become a central meeting place for locals and visiting tourists and boaters alike): expanded Uie Marina and the Restaurant. They also have fingers in a lot of pies - a fishing operation in the Queen Charlottes: a voyage to the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific (to prospect for gold): hotel operations: boat sales - they have tlie largest franchise in B.C., Washington and Oregon - and many others. Fishing, which used to account for almost all of their business, is now down to 14% of it, and Dan expects that by next year it will drop to 10% - changed days indeed. One of die most popular of Sewells' present day offerings are the Sea Safaris. These are boats which take many people on all- year-round tours. Also the Sea Quest trips are growing in popularity. These are boats which take up to 4 people and the company organises such things as water scavenger hunts, pitting teams against each other. One of the most popular of these was when the cast of Phantom of the Opera went to sea, challenging a team from one of the local film companies. The business of providing fun for people is what Dan says the company is all about. In 1944 Rogers offered a large piece of his waterfront property to the West Vancouver Municipality. A plebisite was held to decide this most important matter, which meant the raising of $32,500 (some reports put the total higher than that!) and, to their eternal credit, the voters accepted the challenge. So, today all visitors to the Bay enjoy that lovely waterfront park which lies at the heart of the community. The Blackball Fierries came to the Bay because of deep water anchorage, only having access to a strip of land where the terminal is today. Volmne of traffic was much smaller flien. Now to John Moonen. First of all John paid tribute to Dan and his picture of the life and colour of Horseshoe Bay. "It is such a wonderful place to live". He then told us he would try to give a political, legal and economical update of what had happened over the past 2-3 years. John himself became involved with the local dispute with BC Ferries about 2-1/2 years ago when he learned of plans by the Corporation to build a fuel dump just across Marine Drive from the school which his children attended. He went to a meeting to learn more. When he approached the Ferry representative after he had given his presentation, John expressed his worry - "How are you ging to keep the kids out?" The reply was unexpected! "Don't worry, sir. We are going to surround it with razor wire". The group of concerned parents and citizens grew and as they delved deeper into the BC Ferry plans, they became more and more worried. They felt that their community would be devastated by the Crown Corporation's expansion plans, and when they raised their doubts publicity, and spoke of taking some kind of action, were told that no one could raise an injunction against a Crown Corporation. .... "Don't worry, sir. We are going to surround it with razor wire.".... Since then BC Ferries have changed their plans at least 5 times. The concerned citizens have tried to put their point of view and worries over to 3 Premiers of the Province, 4 of the responsible Ministers, and 5 Project Managers, the last of whom seems to be working on the 6th plan! Depending upon which plan you are discussing, there may be a parking lot across from the school or up to tlie highway; an expanded holding area; expanded docking facilities and administration offices and either a 2-storey or a 9-storey parkade! As you can imagine, this is most distressing for the Bay inhabitants. And they are not the only ones to be disturbed by the Crown Corporation's plans. There is strong opposition from the BC Medical people; the Councils of West Van., North Van. and Squamish; the GVRD and the local MPs and MLAs, to name only a few. Even the Courts feel that BC Ferries, Crown Corporation though it may be, should be held accountable to the people of the Province, but the machine just rolls on and the destruction of the beautiful Bay goes ahead regardless.