Hi Hagar,

I've been into the Makah Museum a few times.

Last time I was there I seem to recall they had a model of a Chinese ship/boat that had supposedly come there before Europeans showed up. I don't know the details but recall finding it quite an interesting thing but never followed up on it.

Yeah the tunnel part of the Straits seems pretty brutal. You're either motoring or getting punished. The West Entrance has in my limited experience the biggest washing machine (current lumps) around here. The water is shallow, the current is going out, and when the wind is coming in it gets as they say in Neah Bay "lumpy" or in regular person terms 'rougher than sh$t'.

But over the years I have done some really spectacular sailing there, then again the worst experience I ever had on a boat was there as well. I posted that story here years back. It's still here in the archives which is good because I'd lost a copy of it.

This summer we've been doing a lot of sailing and covering many miles. Occasionally there's an experience that makes me feel like a beginner all over again and that's happened a few times already this year. I think in this area there are a lot of things none of us ever want to see and there's a lot of things we will get caught out in that will make us feel like we don't have what it takes. It's the frustration over that happening in my own back yard that drives a lot of my obsession.