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As we all know, Gabriola Passage can be pretty wild and dangerous to the casual kayaker. However, it is also one of the most beautiful areas to paddle, and can be great fun and safe, if you are prepared, and know the right times to play in it.  Thanks to Rick Powley’s knowledge of the area, combined with other club members experiences in the passage I have put together a few spreadsheets that predict when there will be a smaller practice wave, a good wave and what should be great one. I strongly recommend paddlers try and master the practice wave first, so you know what to expect when you try the bigger waves. 
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Good wave: 12.5' to 14.0' Silva Bay Tide height combined with -5.5 or more ebb tide
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Good wave: 14.0' or more Silva Bay Tide height combined with -4.5 to -5.5 ebb tide
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Great wave: 14.0' or more Silva Bay Tide height combined with -5.5 or more ebb tide
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Practice wave: between 12.5' and 14.0' Silva Bay Tide height combined with ebb tide between -3.0 and -5.5
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Practice wave: over 14.0' Silva Bay Tide height combined with ebb tide between -3.0 and -4.5
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The following two websites allow you get display the tide and current for Gabriola Passage and Silva Bay every 15 minutes for 2 years.  This data is the source for spreadsheet
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Tide at Silva Bay:   https://tide.arthroinfo.org/tideshow.cgi?site=Silva+Bay%2C+British+Columbia
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Current at Gabriola Passage: https://tide.arthroinfo.org/tideshow.cgi?site=Gabriola+Passage%2C+British+Columbia+Current
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Using that I have done the following:
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1) Downloaded the tide at Silva bay every 15 minutes starting Oct 1, 2026.
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2) Downloaded the current at Gabriola Passage every 15 minutes starting Oct 1, 2026
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3) Combined the two into a single excel spreadsheet sheet.  It is called raw data.
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4) Filtered the raw data so that only rows between sunrise and sunset are included.
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5) Filtered the data so the ebb current and the tide in silva bay tide match the good/great wave criteria above. The good waves are red and great waves are bright red.  This sheet is called Standing wave
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6) Filtered the data in raw data so that it only includes times when the ebb current and the tide is silva bay tide match the practice criteria above.  This sheet is called Training Wave and you can use it to see when there is a nice little wave for newer paddlers with some current experience to try playing in the wave when it’s fun and perfect to practice in, but small enough to keep you out of trouble. 
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7) I added a new sheet that has the combined training and standing wave. So you can see both (Training in blue and Standing in red) in one place.
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I have also create a sheet called Dodds and Gab Pass. This is not standing wave related. It just shows you times when you can paddle from the Cedar launch, through Dodds, through false narrows up to Gab passage in the morning. Then have lunch somewhere in the flat tops and return back through Gab Passage and through the cut back to the Launch in the afternoon.  This is a long 16 knot paddle, but on the days in the spreadsheet you will have the current to help you nicely in both directions plus enough tide height to use the back eddies to go against the current through false narrows.
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If you have a little excel experience you can also make your own copy of the sheet and filter the data in the Raw Data sheet yourself to include the conditions you are interested in. 
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