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29-598: Vic-Maui challenges navigators to demonstrate their weather routing and navigational skills both out at sea and maneuvering in the Strait of Juan de Fuca . Success depends on the navigator's skill in predicting where the high pressure zone of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and trade winds will be, nearly a week into the future. The first Vic-Maui race was sailed in 1965. The race was created by Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (RVYC) member Jim Innes, at that time

58-492: 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

87-584: A dilemma for the federal government of Canada. If Canada holds that the principle of natural prolongation applies to the Juan de Fuca Canyon on its Pacific Ocean coast, the assertion could undermine Canada's argument in the Gulf of Maine boundary dispute . In this Atlantic Ocean context, Canada favours an outcome based on the principle of equidistance. In March 2008, the Chemainus First Nation proposed renaming

116-674: A pilot for Canadian Pacific Airlines . He talked about the idea of a race originating in Victoria and ending some 2308 nautical miles away in Maui, and convinced three other skippers to start with him off Brotchie Ledge in 1965. With Jim in his Lapworth 36' "Long Gone", there was Lol Killam of RVYC with the 45' sloop "Velaris", Ron Ramsay of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club with the 45' ketch "Norena of White" and Cranston 'Boo' Paschall from Seattle Yacht club with his 80' ketch "Tatoosh". The race and

145-576: A resolution only recommending that the name be adopted by the Geographical Names Board of Canada , should its US counterpart approve the name-change. The United States Board on Geographic Names approved the name on November 12, 2009. Counties along the Strait of Juan de Fuca: Regional districts along the Strait of Juan de Fuca: Certain groups of seabirds called common murre migrate north by swimming. Some Pacific Coast murres paddle north to

174-434: Is a strait in northern Washington state , separating San Juan County and Skagit and Whatcom Counties . It extends from the Strait of Juan de Fuca about 23 kilometres (14 mi) north to the Strait of Georgia . The USGS defines its southern boundary as a line extending from Point Colville on Lopez Island to Rosario Head on Fidalgo Island , and its northern boundary as a line from Point Migley on Lummi Island to

203-644: Is a body of water about 96 miles (83 nmi; 154 km) long that is the Salish Sea 's main outlet to the Pacific Ocean . The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre of the Strait. It was named in 1787 by the maritime fur trader Charles William Barkley , captain of Imperial Eagle , for Juan de Fuca , the Greek navigator who sailed in a Spanish expedition in 1592 to seek

232-506: The California sea lion and Steller's sea lion , in addition to the gray whale , another cetacean with both residential and nomadic groups in the Strait. As migratory gray whales swim between Baja California and Alaska each year, they will often be seen in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, feeding on small marine creatures on the seafloor, and using the Strait as a sort of "rest stop" on their long journeys. They also socialize with and encounter

261-628: The Cherry Point Refinery and refineries near Anacortes. The strait is in constant use by vessels bound for Cherry Point, Bellingham , Anacortes, and the San Juan Islands. Vessels bound for British Columbia or Alaska also frequently use it in preference to the passages farther west, when greater advantage can be taken of the tidal currents. In 1790 the Spanish explorers Manuel Quimper and Juan Carrasco , sailing aboard Princesa Real , gave

290-665: The Olympic Peninsula forms the southern boundary of the strait. In the eastern entrance to the Strait, the Race Rocks Archipelago is in the high current zone halfway between Port Angeles, Washington, and Victoria, BC. Like the rest of the Salish Sea and surrounding regions, the climate of the Strait is disputed, with the Köppen system classifying it as Mediterranean , but most regional climatologists preferring oceanic . While

319-747: The LYC completed the race in 9 days, 2 hours and 8 minutes in 2000, breaking the previous record of 9 days, 19 hours and 36 minutes set by "Pyewacket" skippered by Roy Disney in 1996. In 2016, on the 50th anniversary of the race, "Valkyrie", a TP52 of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club skippered by Jason Rhodes and Gavin Brackett set a new record of 8 days, 9 hours, 17 minutes and 50 seconds. This record still holds. Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada)

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348-511: 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

377-603: The Strait of Georgia and related waters under the more general name Salish Sea . This latter definition was made official in 2009 by geographic boards of Canada and the United States. In October 2009, the Washington State Board of Geographic Names approved the Salish Sea toponym , not to replace the names of the Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound, and Strait of Juan de Fuca, but instead as a collective term for all three. The British Columbia Geographical Names Office passed

406-651: The Strait of Georgia its present name after King George III . He did not provide a name for Rosario Strait. In 1847 Charles Wilkes , during the Wilkes Expedition , gave Rosario Strait the name Ringgold Channel after one of his officers. Then in 1847 the British Captain Henry Kellett reorganized the British Admiralty charts, in the process removing the "pro-American" names given by Wilkes and affirming pro-British names and Spanish names. He affirmed

435-561: The United States. In addition, the government of British Columbia has rejected both equidistant proposals, instead arguing that the Juan de Fuca submarine canyon is the appropriate "geomorphic and physiogeographic boundary". The proposed equidistant boundary currently marks the northern boundary of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary . British Columbia's position is based on the principle of natural prolongation which developed in international law . It poses

464-524: The United States. The dispute is only over the seaward boundary extending 200 nautical miles (370 km) west from the mouth of the strait. The maritime boundary within the strait is not in dispute. Both governments have proposed a boundary based on the principle of equidistance , but with different basepoint selections, resulting in small differences in the line. Resolution of the issue should be simple, but has been hindered because it might influence other unresolved maritime boundary issues between Canada and

493-607: The climate is mostly oceanic in nature, the dry summers result in the Mediterranean classification in the Köppen system. Rainfall ranges from over 100 inches (250 cm) ( temperate rainforest ) conditions at the west end to as little as 16 inches (410 mm) at the east end, near Sequim . Because it is exposed to the generally westerly winds and waves of the Pacific, seas and weather in Juan de Fuca Strait are, on average, rougher than in

522-450: The east tip of Puffin Island (just east of Matia Island ) and then to Point Thompson on Orcas Island . Rosario Strait runs north-south between Lopez , Decatur , Blakely , and Orcas Islands on the west, and Fidalgo , Cypress, Sinclair , and Lummi Islands on the east. Rosario Strait is a major shipping channel. More than 500 oil tankers pass through the strait each year, to and from

551-405: The fabled Strait of Anián . Barkley was the first recorded person to find the strait, unless Juan de Fuca's 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 . The United States Geological Survey defines the Strait of Juan de Fuca as a channel . It extends east from

580-452: The fleet first to finish and first on corrected time. She took 17 days, 6 hours and 50 minutes. The race, heralded as a FUN RACE has encouraged both the ardent racer and the cruiser-racer. It has been held every even year since 1968 with 2014 being the 25th Vic-Maui race. The number of entrants has ranged from 4 to 37 boats. Records have been broken many times since the first official race in 1968. "Grand Illusion" skippered by James McDowell of

609-449: The local, non-migratory gray whales in the Strait; from a conservation standpoint, this is vital for the whales' ability to meet potential new mates, form new bonds, and ultimately create new bloodlines. This yearly influx of whales is best observed between March and May, at the peak of the migration times. Rosario Strait 48°30′N 122°45′W  /  48.5°N 122.75°W  / 48.5; -122.75 Rosario Strait

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638-572: The more protected waters inland, thereby resulting in a number of small-craft advisories , gale warnings , and storm warnings . An international vehicle ferry, the MV ; Coho , crosses the Strait from Port Angeles, Washington , to Victoria, British Columbia , several times each day. It began operating in 1959, replacing an earlier ferry, and remains privately owned; the Coho carried 475,000 passengers and 130,000 vehicles in 2018. A passenger-only ferry on

667-645: The motor and arrived prior, greeting the three arrivals with Mai Tais. During their stay in Maui they met up with the originators of what would become the Lahaina Yacht Club. Upon returning to BC waters both Jim and Lol proceeded to convince the RVYC and the newly organized LYC to jointly sponsor such a race and thus the Vic-Maui International Yacht Race was born. The first official race was in 1968 with 14 boats entered. Bill Killam's Porpoise III swept

696-399: The name Boca de Fidalgo, in honor of Salvador Fidalgo , to Rosario Strait, which was thought to be a bay. In 1791 José María Narváez renamed it Canal de Fidalgo after determining it was a strait. Also in 1791 Francisco de Eliza gave the name Gran Canal de Nuestra Señora del Rosario la Marinera to what is now the Strait of Georgia . In 1792, George Vancouver explored the region and gave

725-579: The name Gulf of Georgia (Strait of Georgia) given by George Vancouver and used a shortened version of Eliza's name for the Strait of Georgia to replace both Wilkes' and Eliza's original names for Rosario Strait. Following the Oregon Treaty it was assumed by the British to be the route of the deepest channel to the open sea from the 49th Parallel boundary's terminus in the middle of the Georgia Strait , and

754-674: The same route, named the Victoria Express , operated from 1990 to 2011. Victoria is also the terminus of the Victoria Clipper , a passenger-only ferry from Seattle . Sidney, located northeast of Victoria, is served by a seasonal extension the Washington State Ferries system's route serving the San Juan Islands and Anacortes, Washington . This strait remains the subject of a maritime boundary dispute between Canada and

783-484: The sheltered bays of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to feed on herring and other small fish. Humpback whales can be observed near the western end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, mostly from June to November, especially in areas near Neah Bay and La Push . There is a resident (non-nomadic) population of killer whale in the Strait and surrounding waters, where they feed on spawning Chinook salmon . The migrating, so-called "transient" populations of killer whale often prey on

812-496: The strait the " Salish Sea ", an idea that reportedly met with approval by British Columbia's Aboriginal Relations Minister Mike de Jong , who pledged to put it before the BC cabinet for discussion. Making Salish Sea official required a formal application to the Geographical Names Board of Canada . A parallel American movement promoting the name had a different definition, combining of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound as well as

841-407: The weather were typical for most of the races to follow. Westerlies in the Juan de Fuca Strait, left turn down the coast to about the latitude of San Francisco followed by a right turn with the northeasterly trade winds filling spinnakers and the downhill sun run to Maui. Three boats finished the race some 15 days later at Kahalui Harbour on the north coast of Maui with the fourth "Tatoosh", having used

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