Future Tides

How does someone get into sailing? Or become a credentialed mariner? How do people find their way to commercial or recreational fishing? Or dedicating their free time to paddling? They learn about it from another person. A simple concept with widespread impact. My dad was that person in our family. His introduction to sailing came through his best friend from the Army, who built an 18-foot kit boat and taught my dad the literal ropes.

Discover Seattle's maritime side and hit the water with your mom or family this Sunday, May 10. Start the day at 10 a.m. witha Future Tides free walking tour, led by Founder and Editor Cara Kuhlman. Tours last about 90-minutes and follow a flat, 1.5 mile route. Learn all the ways Lake Union is used today, new developments on the waterfront, and how recreational and commercial boats cohabitate on this urban waterway.

259 Washington State Parks maintains 259 public recreational mooring buoys throughout Puget Sound. This is the "largest state-managed mooring system in the nation." The buoys provide unique access to state parks and are a convenient overnight option for many boaters. With a highly active recreational boating community, they also help reduce impacts of anchoring on the marine environment.

From the ferries to the kayaks, many of the laws that govern Washington’s most iconic maritime activities are closely debated, defended, legislated, and decided in the Washington state Legislature. Every other year the state legislature holds a “short” legislative session. Just 60 days to make the latest round of additions to laws, state budgets, and policies in the agencies that govern much of Washington’s maritime experiences, like ferry toll rates, pollution controls, and even vessel licensing.

Will there only be one? The Wenatchee, a Jumbo Mark II ferry capable of carrying over 200 cars and 1,700 passengers, may end up being the only Washington State Ferries vessel converted from diesel to hybrid-electric propulsion after funding for two more such conversions was reallocated by the Washington state Legislature.

Carving out space for canoe culture in the center of Seattle The framed Canoe Carving House in Lake Union Park on March 30, 2026. (Cara Kuhlman/Future Tides) For decades, a coalition has worked to bring Indigenous canoe culture to Lake Union Park in the heart of Seattle. Now, construction of a Canoe Carving House is underway and on track to open this fall. 1/4 The portion of Washington State Ferries' workforce that identify as women.

South Lake Union is full of offices, apartments, restaurants, salons and even doggy daycare. A 12-acre city park sits between the increasingly urbanized neighborhood and its namesake lake. Within the next year, alongside all this, there will be a dedicated space for an ancient and ongoing Northwest tradition: Indigenous canoe culture. For millennia, Coast Salish and Northwest tribes traveled the region's waters by canoe.

🍺 Hey Salty Sippers, what are the most boat-y bars around? A nautical theme isn't enough, we're looking for the spots with salty clientele. Submit your picks for inclusion in a Future Tides story. 33,199 Total attendance at the 2026 Seattle Boat Show, according to the Northwest Marine Trade Association which organizes it. The annual recreational boating bonanza at Lumen Field Event Center took place Jan. 30 - Feb. 7.

In Gig Harbor, Washington, the aging mariners of a heritage fishing fleet rely on a handful of privately-owned docks for their businesses, spaces that are likely to be lost to pleasure craft as fishers retire and Gig Harbor grows. But, after more than 10 years of development, the Gig Harbor Homeport project is a light on the horizon for Gig Harbor’s commercial fishing fleet.

20,108,545 That's Washington State Ferries total ridership for 2025. It's the first time it passed 20 million since 2019. It's already an eventful start to 2026: Damaged propellers. Mechanical breakdowns. Terminal and piling construction. "Unexpected mechanical issues sidelined three ferries over the first three days of January," wrote WSF leader Steve Nevey in his first weekly update of the year. Appointed in February 2024, Nevey is tasked with "turning the tide" for WSF's workforce and service.