Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca (also called Juan de Fuca Strait or Détroit de Juan de Fuca) is a large body of water about 95 miles (153 km) long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between the United States and Canada runs down the center of the Strait.
It was named in 1787 by the maritime fur trader Charles William Barkley, captain of the Imperial Eagle, for Juan de Fuca, the Greek navigator who sailed in a Spanish expedition in 1592 to seek the fabled Strait of Anián. Barkley was the first non-indigenous person to find the strait, unless Juan de Fuca's dubious story was true. The strait was explored in detail between 1789 and 1791 by Manuel Quimper, José María Narváez, Juan Carrasco, Gonzalo López de Haro, and Francisco de Eliza.
Definition
The USGS defines the Strait of Juan de Fuca as a channel. It extends east from the Pacific Ocean between Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, to Haro Strait, San Juan Channel, Rosario Strait, and Puget Sound. The Pacific Ocean boundary is formed by a line between Cape Flattery and Tatoosh Island, Washington, and Carmanah Point (Vancouver Island), British Columbia. Its northern boundary follows the shoreline of Vancouver Island from Carmanah Point to Gonzales Point, then follows a continuous line east to Seabird Point (Discovery Island), British Columbia, Cattle Point (San Juan Island), Washington, Iceberg Point (Lopez Island), Point Colville (Lopez Island), and then to Rosario Head (Fidalgo Island). The eastern boundary runs south from Rosario Head across Deception Pass to Whidbey Island, then along the western coast of Whidbey Island to Point Partridge, then across Admiralty Inlet to Point Wilson (Quimper Peninsula). The northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula forms the southern boundary of the strait. In the eastern entrance to the Strait, the Race Rocks Archipelago is located in the high current zone half way between Port Angeles, Washington State, and Victoria, BC.
Successful crossings
Sanctioned crossings by the Northwest Open Water Swimming Association of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Vancouver Island, British Columbia (north) and Washington, USA (south) by NOWSA include:
1. Bert Thomas - 8 July 1955 (11 hours 22 minutes)
2. Cliff Lumsdon - 17 August 1956 (11 hours 35 minutes)
3. Amy Hiland - 18 August 1956 (10 hours 51 minutes)
4. Ben Laughren - 18 August 1956 (10 hours 17 minutes)
5. Marilyn Bell - 23 August 1956 (10 hours 38 minutes)
6. Vicki Keith - 10 August 1989 (14 hours butterfly)
7. Fin Donnelly - 17 August 1994 (10 hours 15 minutes) (not recognized by NOWSA)
8. Andrew Malinak - 6 September 2015 (6 hours 59 minutes)
9. Melissa Blaustein - 16 September 2017 (7 hours 41 minutes)
External links
- John Charles Curley Goes High to Get Closer to The Toughest Thirteen - 10 Down, 3 To Go
- Markers, Memorials, and Monuments of Open Water Swimming Greats
- John Curley Getting Closer To The Toughest Thirteen
- Andrew Packer, John Curley En Route To The Toughest Thirteen
- Pat Gallant-Charette, 73 and Counting Across the Strait of Juan de Fuca
- Susan Simmons, Gordon Giesbrecht, Brian Hunt On Cold Water Swimming
- From Notes To A Typewriter And A Laptop: A History Of Marathon Swimming
- Marilyn Bell Recalls Her Remarkable Teenage Years On WOWSA Live
- Memorials & Monuments Of Open Water Swimming Greats
- Susan Simmons Talks Adventure On WOWSA Live
- Vicki Keith Talks About Doing The Impossible On WOWSA Live
- Cliff Lumsdon Honored With 10 Aquatic Greats
- Bert Thomas, Strait And Tough As A Marine
- Personal account of SJDF history (by Andrew Malinak on USMS Blogs)
- Google archives search
- Myra Thompson Swam Much More
- Caroline Walker Chooses To Dream Big
- At 48, Caroline Walker Has Found Her Calling
- Memorials & Monuments Of Open Water Swimming Greats
- Post-50 Swimming With Bob West
- When The Mind Believes, The Body Achieves
- Remembering Great Open Water Swimmers
- NOWSA Promotes Swimming In The Pacific Northwest
- Tough, Tough Swims By Steve Walker
- Getting Steve Walker To Smile After The Drop
- Conrad Wennerberg's Living Legacy
- Susan Simmons Had A Whale Of A Time In Canada
- Chasing Amy, Where Perception And Reality Clash
- Brutal ... Butterfly In The Open Water
- Joe Grossman Brings Alive Marathon Swimming's Past
- Turbulent Two-Way Try Across Juan de Fuca
- David Yudovin's New Memorial - And Other Landmarks
- Kim Rutherford Achieves a Dream Across Strait of Juan de Fuca
