Before joining the film industry, Dan Crosby spent his entire working life on the water. Whether he was commercial fishing, salvaging and towing logs or driving water taxis, Dan had done it all. In 1972, the Canadian Broadcast Company started filming what was to become an enigmatic long-running television series right in his hometown of Gibsons, BC: The Beachcombers. Given that Dan had done his own fair share of beachcombing, he found himself involved in the marine-focused show.

Following The Beachcombers, Dan moved on to other movies and TV shows around Vancouver and soon found his extensive marine knowledge was being requested at film sets across British Columbia. At the same time, Hollywood had begun looking for new parts of the world to film in, and BC soon became a hot spot due to its diverse scenery, proximity to LA and growing talented film crews.

Dan founded Crosby Marine Film Services in Gibsons in 1986 to meet this growing need, finding many successes in the company’s initial years. Crosby Marine continued to thrive when Dan’s son, Jason, joined the family business 10 years later, and the father-son duo worked together on a variety of major productions such as Free Willy 3. In 2003 Jason became president of the company, taking over the day-to-day operations and relocating it to Vancouver to carry on the family tradition of expertise in boat and water operations for the film industry.