Embedded Files
Tidal Current Maps for May 23 - 24, 2026
Dewey Oceanographic Services
These tidal current summaries for the Swiftsure International Yacht Race, May 23-24, 2026 have been prepared for the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. Below are a series of 2026 tide tables and current maps covering the period of the race intended for the general information of the skippers and crew sailing in the 2026 RVYC Swiftsure International Yacht Race.
Official Canadian Hydrographic Service Tide Tables (Vol 5).
A local copy of the 2026 Volume 5 CHS Tide Tables has been uploaded here.
Times in the tide tables are reported in Pacific Standard Time (PST), not Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
Single pages extracted from the above tide tables are presented here:
Tide Tables Currents: Race Passage
Tide Tables Currents: Juan de Fuca East
Tide Tables Heights: Victoria BC
Tide tables Heights: Port Renfrew
Tidal current charts covering hourly intervals from 08:00 May 24, 2025 through to, at most, 18:00 May 25, 2025, based on the Vancouver Island regional tidal model of Mike Foreman (Foreman et al., 2004). Each PDF file below contains multiple current chart pages (one every hour). These files cover different geographic regions for the various races, and have slightly different time ranges and scales. They can easily be downloaded & saved, or emailed to your smart phone or tablet for display during the race. The graphs must not be used for navigational purposes. In the case of any discrepancy, the CHS tide tables (above) will take precedence.
Tidal Current Charts: Oak Bay: Victoria to Haro Strait
Tidal Current Charts: Juan de Fuca East: Victoria to Sooke
Tidal Current Charts: Juan de Fuca East (coarse): Victoria to ODAS-46088
Tidal Current Charts: Central Juan de Fuca Strait
Tidal Current Charts: Juan de Fuca Western Entrance
Time series inserts in the upper left corners of the charts are for the nearest associated CHS tidal current stations; Race Passage, Juan de Fuca East, and Juan de Fuca West, respectively. The displayed current vectors represent depth averaged tidal velocities, so surface current strengths and directions may depart slightly from those plotted. Current vectors immediately at the shoreline may be less accurate due to model boundary conditions or small-scale flows around/over shallow rocks/reefs, not resolved by the model. One final note, the CHS tide tables include a small (50-10cm/s) seasonal seaward surface enhancement due to estuarine (Fraser) river discharge, which peaks in late May through June. For reference, a current speed of 50 cm/s is roughly one knot, 150 cm/s (scale vector) is roughly 3 knots. These tidal current charts are not to be used for navigational purposes. Save a tree, please do not print out every page.
The time series plots (below) of the tidal heights and currents at selected sites may be presented at the Skipper's Meeting, Friday May 23, 2025. Tidal Heights (PDF file) are for Port Renfrew and Victoria, in metres. Tidal Currents (PDF file) are in m/s for Race Passage, Juan de Fuca East (E) and Juan de Fuca West (W). Flood currents (+) flow into the Salish Sea, ebb currents (-) towards the Pacific. Times are in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
Any questions about the current charts should be address to Richard Dewey
A brief summary on the tides during the race may be presented at the skippers meeting
Friday Afternoon, May 22, 2025.
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