Barry Gough is one of Canada's premier historians and biographers. His insightful research and lucid writing spanning five decades have earned him high distinction. Among his awards are the Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Historical Writing, the Canadian Historical Association's Clio Prize, the Maritime Foundation's Mountbatten Award, the Washington Historical Society's Robert Gray Medal, and the Alcala Galiano Medal. Most recently, he was awarded the 2022 Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Historical Writing for Possessing Meares Island. He is a Fellow of the Society for the History of Discoveries. He lives in Victoria, BC, with his wife, Marilyn.

The tale begins in sixteenth-century Venice, when explorer Juan de Fuca encountered English merchant Michael Lok and relayed a fantastic story of a marine passageway that connected the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This tale would be the catalyst for centuries of dreaming, and exacerbate English and Spanish rivalry.

The search for the fabled Northwest Passage inspired explorers to seek out fame, adventure, knowledge and riches. Likewise, the empires of Spain and Great Britain were impelled by the hopes of finding a naval trade route that would connect Europe to Asia, thus securing their dominance over the other as an economic power. The story of the Northwest Passage is one of significant figures and great empires, jostling for a distant corner of North America.

Gough provides meticulously researched insight, delving into diplomatic records, narratives of explorers and commercial aspirants, legal affidavits and court records to illuminate the journeys of Martin Frobisher, James Cook, Francis Drake, Manuel Quimper, José María Narváez, George Vancouver and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, among others.

A sea venture tied up with piracy, political loyalty and betrayal, all bound up in a web of international intrigue, Juan de Fuca's Strait is an indispensable contribution to the history of discovery on the Northwest Coast.