A perspective on passenger-only ferries
Future Tides founder and writer Cara Kuhlman grew up around passenger ferries, worked at a ferry builder and now writes about them.
Report outlines technical details of King County Water Taxi expansion
In December 2019, a King County Metro survey gauging interest in additional water taxi routes generated buzz in the waterfront communities of Ballard and Kenmore. Two years later, the proposed expansion is further defined but not a certainty
New subsea fiber network underway on the Alaska peninsula
High speed internet connectivity has a major impact in rural and coastal areas. Once completed, the Aleutians Fiber Project will connect six Alaskan communities
Oregon’s undersea cables generate both collaboration and controversy
More than a dozen undersea cables extend from the Oregon and Washington coasts, crossing through miles of commercial fishing grounds. Far more data is transmitted, and more quickly, via these undersea cables than through satellite communications. TeleGeography’s interactive undersea cable map shows the extent of these submarine cables. Selecting
Not there yet: The absence of autonomous ships in Washington waters
An autonomous tugboat named Nellie Bly circumnavigated Denmark. A Saildrone crossed the eye of a hurricane. MIT’s self-driving Roboats are currently navigating Amsterdam’s canals. But what about autonomous ship activity in Pacific Northwest waters? In short, these high tech vessels aren’t sailing around here yet. A representative
The Shilshole liveaboard community: ‘demand continues to escalate’
A member of the Future Tides community asked about trends around liveaboards. Drawing on personal experience and Port of Seattle data, here's the current scene
Washington state’s maritime workforce
The maritime community is concerned about its future workforce. What does maritime employment look like now?
On the dock and in the classroom at Washington’s new maritime high school
On a gray, but not stormy, October afternoon, members of Maritime High School’s freshman class headed out for a field experience on Admiral Jack, a 40’ catamaran managed by MHS partner Northwest Maritime Center. The Port Townsend-based nonprofit retrofitted the passenger vessel to use for educational programs and tours
Spotted on the Sound: MarkSetBot
In 2021, one Seattle sailing fleet made a notable change to its race course with the addition of two robotic race marks