I completed this circumnavigation by sea kayak on January 19, 2026, as part of my larger Islands Circumnavigation Project.
Valdes Island is the seventh island of 40 I completed for the project.
Island Circumnavigated: Valdes Island, Southern Gulf Islands
Date Circumnavigated: January 19, 2026
Direction of Circumnavigation: Counterclockwise
Island Size: 23 square kilometres
Route Summary: Launched from Degnen Bay on Gabriola Island. Ferried across Gabriola Passage on an ebb current of about -4 knots; then started my circumnavigation at the west tip of Cordero Point, at the mouth of Wakes Cove. Transited Porlier Pass on a flood current of about +3 knots. Transited Gabriola Passage back to my starting point on a flood current of about +1.5 knots.
Total Paddling Distance:
Full trip: 20.23 nm (37.5 kilometres)
Circumnavigation only: 18.48 nautical miles (34.2 kilometres)
Total Paddling (Moving) Time:
Full trip: 5 hours 23 minutes
Circumnavigation only: 4 hours 54 minutes
Stopped Time:
Full trip: 37 minutes 32 seconds
Circumnavigation only: 32 minutes 8 seconds
Total Trip Time (Including Breaks):
Full trip: 6 hours
Circumnavigation only: 5 hours 26 minutes
Moving Average Speed:
Full trip: 3.7 knots
Circumnavigation only: 3.8 knots
Overall Average Speed:
Full trip: 3.4 knots
Circumnavigation only: 3.4 knots
Maximum Speed: 5.6 knots for the full trip (recorded while ferrying across Gabriola Passage on the ebb current).
Boat: P&H Aries 150
Highlights:
- Completing most of this trip in thick fog, such that I couldn’t really see Porlier Pass, or the eastern shoreline of Valdes Island. (Guess I’ll have to go again!)
- Using my compass to navigate the short distance to Gabriola Island upon launching.
- Sunny, blue-sky break stop at Blackberry Point during a moment the fog lifted.
- Calm winds, low tide ranges and helpful, no-pressure current speeds.
- Watching a group of Steller sea lions swimming and breaching by me through the glassy waters.
- Hearing the wingbeats of sea birds in the quiet of the fog, and watching large flocks of sea birds wing by, low to the water, or take off across the water in a flurry of splashes.
- Completing this trip in less time that I thought it would take me.
- Finally ticking this one off my list — it has been almost a year in the making!
Photo Gallery:
Click on any image for a larger view!
