As we kick off our 41st year here at Puget Sound Express, co-founder and president Pete Hanke reflects on the journey so far:
Being involved in the creation and ownership of a business that is over forty years old is a unique experience — there are many emotions that evolve to paint a picture of struggle and success over time. In the end, the opportunity to look back and see the product of those successes and struggles flourishing is a true gift. For my family and me, this is our relationship with Puget Sound Express.
When we started out, probably 10 percent of what we expected came to pass, and 90 percent of what we did not expect also came to pass. The road was not straight. The original plan was to start a passenger ferry from Seattle to Port Townsend. That never really happened, but we did start a seasonal one-way trip from Port Townsend to Friday Harbor that still operates today. Fishing and diving charters were what sustained us through the early years, but I had never fished or dived for sport, so the learning curve was steep. I did, however, have a lot of experience around our local waters, which gave me an edge in terms of where and when to go. After some fits and starts, in 1993, the initial passenger ferry operation was revived, and a new opportunity to take passengers out to see the “newly discovered” orca whales was created. In reality, the whales had always been there; they just needed Hollywood and a movie named ‘Free Willy’ to capture the hearts and minds of thousands of potential whale watchers. Remember, the road is never straight.
From that point on, we were uniquely positioned to take advantage of this new market. Port Townsend was a great geographic departure point for these tours because we could go north or south. Our vessel, Red Head, was already in service and made for a wonderful platform to view whales from. My experience of growing up around this area proved beneficial when looking for and seeing these magnificent creatures. The year was 1994.
In those early years of PSE, we grew slowly but incrementally. Soon, we graduated to Glacier Spirit, while leasing Red Head to another operator. Soon after, we sold Red Head to Alaska while taking on a terrible little boat called Olympas. Ten years after that, we sold the terrible little boat and went back to Alaska with Trevor, Ashley, and Christopher to bring our beloved Red Head back home.
All the while, my lovely wife Sherri is holding the whole thing together with wisdom, wit, and a good dose of business acumen. PSE was working, but not exactly breaking down doors. For many years, we borrowed from both family and friends just to stay afloat through the winter months.
Then came 2014, and a casual conversation around the dinner table about fast boats and other places to do whale watching operations. We realized that Chilkat Express, a very fast boat, was looking for a home, which led to a conversation about whale watching near Seattle. Eventually, this would become the Edmonds whale watching program we still run today. The rest really is history.
Saratoga was born in 2017, and it revolutionized whale watching on the Salish Sea. Swiftsure, followed in 2022. Operations in Port Angeles were added in 2023.
The story of Puget Sound Express is nothing exceptional, except that we were willing to sacrifice and steer the course as best we knew how. We made a lot of mistakes along the way, but were blessed with many helping hands that have made the company what it is today. When you look back over the past forty years, it is unbelievable how curvy the path was and still perfectly positioned to hit the spots that mattered, almost like a higher creation made it that way, and maybe that is the point of the whole story?
As we move into our forty-first season, we extend a sincere and heartfelt ‘thank you’ to all the visitors, friends, and team members who have supported Puget Sound Express since its inception – bring on 2026!