To celebrate its 80th anniversary, Sebago launched a boat shaped like its iconic Docksides on the Seine. This voyage says it all about a brand’s longevity: the ability to stay true to itself while reinventing itself.
In postwar rural America, there was a simple belief: the best products are those that stem from a connection to the land. In 1946, in Maine, Daniel J. Wellehan and his partners Joe and Will founded Sebago based on this idea. Their moccasins, immediately appreciated for their craftsmanship, would span eight decades without losing their soul.
Eighty years later, the brand—now owned by the BasicNet group, which also owns Kappa, K-Way, and Superga—has chosen to celebrate this anniversary in a way that’s unlike any ordinary advertising campaign. On June 23, a boat shaped like a pair of Docksides—the boat shoe that defined Sebago’s identity—sailed down the Seine, passing the Eiffel Tower and the Alexandre III Bridge.
A boat that serves as a metaphor
This isn’t just any boat. It’s the original boat owned by the founder of Sebago, purchased by Marco Boglione, president of BasicNet, and restored with an electric motor—a symbolic gesture that reconciles the brand’s maritime heritage with a more environmentally conscious approach. The boat as a medium of the past, made seaworthy in the present.
The initiative, dubbed the Sebago Boat Tour, is traveling across Europe throughout the 80th anniversary year, with stops in key markets where the brand has established a lasting presence—notably in Italy, where the network of single-brand stores first took root before expanding to other European countries.
Riviera Fuga, the summer yacht club
For its Paris stop, Sebago has chosen Riviera Fuga as the Sebago Yacht Club for the entire 2026 summer season. The venue embodies what the brand calls its “lifestyle universe”: nautical heritage, contemporary elegance, and a laid-back vacation vibe. Through the end of summer, events and experiences will extend the brand’s presence in the capital beyond the boat’s visit.
Ultimately, what the Sebago Boat Tour illustrates is the difference between nostalgia and memory. Nostalgia looks back with regret. Memory, on the other hand, moves us forward. Eighty years of penny loafers, and the shoe is still holding up perfectly on the deck.
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