We Learned All About the Straits!
Dale Moses | Published on 10/16/2026
Friday morning, October 9th, twenty-one of us gathered in the Norwest Maritime Center to hear Captain Christopher Hanke give us a superb overview of boating on the Straits of Juan de Fuca. This was the 14th Boating Experiences workshop and it was a really good one! Captain Chris is the lead whale watching boat captain for Puget Sound Express and has been sailing into the Straits since he was a toddler going along with his daddy. He showed several versions of charts on the Straits to demonstrate the effects of wind, current and particularly the tides on the waters there. For all of us who have been beaten up by unexpected waves and weather crossing to the San Juans or Victoria, Captain Chris’ explanations were very insightful – we need to know the tides and the difference between what a flood or ebb will do to our crossings! Good stuff. You can see his slides at the link below.
Link to: Presentation Slides