Seasquatch and the Strait of Georgia: Out on the Water in Vancouver

On Zodiac sea safari with Sewell's Marina, Vancouver, B.C.

Vancouver, British Columbia is largely known for the 1,000-acre Stanley Park, a veritable forest of high-rise buildings and a metric ton of Asian restaurants, but it’s the city’s surrounding waterways that held the most intrigue for me.

I recently visited Vancouver for the first time and was excited to get out on neighboring Howe Sound in a Zodiac boat and see the city from a different angle. And even when said boat was standing almost on its side — curiously enough — it still seemed like a good idea.

About 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver, the backdrop of Sewell’s Marina in Horseshoe Bay was the Pacific Northwest I’d come to see: soaring mountains fringed in fog, tall verdant spires of fir and hanging baskets spilling over with petunias. Seagulls swooped overhead as the weathered dock swayed ever so gently in the slap-slap of yachting wake.

Sewell's Marina in Horseshoe Bay, near Vancouver

In early June, it was a mix of sun-glaring and gray and as chilly as September anywhere else. I was grateful for my cotton scarf, closed-toe shoes, headband and sunglasses, as well as the super-sexy flotation survival suit I (and everyone else in my merry little group) was given to wear.

Yours truly and Simon Fairbairn of couples' travel blog Never Ending Voyage rock some integrity (suits)

Sure, you think you don’t want to look like a pair of fire-engine-red StayPuft Marshmallow Men, but only ’til you imagine falling into the drink. In British Columbia.

I’d never been on a Zodiac boat before, so just in case you haven’t, either, here are a few things to know:

It’s not unlike an enormous inner tube with seats
It can skim atop the water every bit as easily as it can slam along in the wake of a cruise ship
It can spin on a dime, tilting almost on its side in the water
Hooray for handles at every seat
Zodiac boats are often (and as in the case of Sewell’s Marina) driven by kindly, smiling sadists who wish to intimately acquaint you with your coccyx
One of Sewell Marina's Zodiac boats

What I thought was amazing about this two-hour tour of Howe Sound:

Speeding alongside the dramatic Sea-to-Sky Highway
Exploring the edges of rocky little islets and tiny coastal towns dotted with mansions
Waterfalls amongst ferns and fir
Finding a family of be-whiskered harbour seals out by the remote Pam Rocks
Bald eagles perched just so on dinghies and way up in treetops
Laughing into the sea spray at tremendous speed
Seeing Vancouver’s soaring skyline from the water
Seeking out Seasquatch, mythical cave-dwelling beast of the Sound

vancouver boat tour howe sound sewells marina sea safari Seasquatch and the Strait of Georgia: Out on the Water in Vancouver

Highlights from my Sewell's Marina Sea Safari

What I thought was less than amazing:

Repeatedly slamming up and down along the exotic-sounding Strait of Georgia in the wake of a big ol’ cruise ship and being intimately re-acquainted with my own coccyx — a vertebrae that I unfortunately fractured a few years ago and which took two years to heal.

Now, do I merely wish I’d brought a suction-cup bath pillow along with me for the ride? Hells, yes.

Did I survive even without it? Absolutely. Ultimately, I walked away chipper and unscathed…if damp.

And for all my wincing and bracing and whine-adjacent pleading, I gotta say that I’d do this tour all over again — it was all kinds of fun.

The Cascade Mountains rising above Vancouver's Howe Sound

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My Sewell’s Marina Sea Safari was sponsored by Tourism Vancouver.
* Tours are about $82 per adult + 12% tax and last two hours *
The Sea Safari season runs April – October
Daily departures are 10am, 1pm and 4pm

NOTE: While I personally can’t vouch for the food, it might be fun to try the last Sea Safari of the day,
clean up a little and wander next door to Horseshoe Bay’s Boathouse Restaurant to watch the sunset.

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Continued in
West End Guest House: At Home in Vancouver
The Metropolitan: The Sexy Side of Vancouver
Granville Island Market: Food Porn in Vancouver