I am so fortunate to have so many kind and knowledgeable people around me. I have a spectacular crew, many who have helped on a number of my swims, amazing coaches, a great group of friends who support me and an incredible family who helped make me 🙂

Recently, a co-worker/friend, Stephanie Bacon, stopped by to share a bit of a gem. Stephanie has been sailing for over 40 years and was a member of the Canadian National Sailing Team. She first started competing in the Swiftsure International Yacht Race, a race out of Victoria British Columbia, in 1979.  She knows the waters of Juan de Fuca well and loves talking currents!

When ever Stephanie races Swiftsure she connects with Dr. Richard Dewey, Associate Director, Ocean Works Canada. Dr. Dewey  has over 30 years of ocean research experience and was a principal architect for both the VENUS and NEPTUNE cabled ocean observatories. He’s been the Chief Scientist on over 50 ocean expeditions throughout the Pacific and Arctic oceans, specializing in advanced observation techniques for studying ocean physics. Dr. Dewey provides Stephanie with intel on the currents for the days of the race.

Besides the cold one of the biggest challenges I will have on this swim is the currents. Knowing this, Stephanie asked Dr. Dewey if he could help and he graciously prepared current charts for the swim windows. Huge thank you to Stephanie for connecting me with Dr. Dewey and to Dr. Dewey for this fantastic tool!

Have a look at the chart for this weekend.. If you scroll down you will see how the currents move throughout the day. The thickness of the arrow indicates the strength of the current.