Leg 1 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Vigo to Leixões
The delivery run to the start: south out of the Ría de Vigo past the Islas Cíes, round Cabo Silleiro, across the Miño into Portugal and down the coast to Marina Porto Atlântico at Leixões, where the crew joins.
07:30 CEST from Vigo. At first light, 25 minutes before sunrise (07:53 CEST). A long day.
Arrive
About 18:55 WEST at Leixões. In the early evening, with about 1 hour 20 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:15 WEST).
Tides
Range about 2.5 m; streams along the open coast are weak
Wind
April is unsettled: northerlies are the most likely, but Atlantic fronts still bring south-westerlies
Boat
35 to 38 ft sailing yacht, 1.9 m draught, 6 kn under sail, 5.5 kn under engine
Crew
Skipper and 3 crew, 2 watches of 2. A 12-hour day
Track and waypoints 1 to 9, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 07:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
Wind from north to west, force 5 or less, not rising above 6 before 20:00 WEST.
Significant wave height at Leixões 2.5 m or less, and swell not from the south-west.
Visibility 2 nm or more, or radar and AIS working with a crew briefed for fog.
Bar status on amn.pt shows Viana do Castelo and Póvoa de Varzim open, so both refuges can be used.
Marina Porto Atlântico berth confirmed.
If the forecast fails, hop 7 nm to Baiona and start again the next morning. The crew joins at Leixões, so a day lost here moves the whole schedule.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 1.5 nm off land except at the harbour ends. Distances and courses are calculated from them. Plot every one on the current chart before use. Courses are true.
#
Waypoint
Latitude
Longitude
Course
Leg nm
Total nm
ETA
Notes
0
Real Club Náutico de Vigo
42°14.6′N
008°43.3′W
07:30 CEST
Depart. Call the marina on VHF 9.
1
Ría de Vigo, off Cabo Estai
42°11.8′N
008°50.0′W
241°T
5.7
5.7
08:32 CEST
Main channel. Ferries and port traffic.
2
Canal del Sur
42°10.5′N
008°54.0′W
246°T
3.2
8.9
09:08 CEST
South of the Islas Cíes. Rocks off the south end of the Cíes. Check on the chart
3
West of Islas Estelas
42°07.8′N
008°56.5′W
214°T
3.3
12.2
09:40 CEST
Clear of Las Serralleiras and the Estelas. Check on the chart
4
Off Cabo Silleiro
42°06.0′N
008°57.5′W
202°T
1.9
14.2
10:00 CEST
3 nm west of the light. Turn south.
5
Off the Río Miño
41°52.0′N
008°57.0′W
178°T
14.0
28.2
11:20 WEST
Portugal. Clocks go back 1 hour to WEST.
6
Off Montedor
41°45.0′N
008°57.0′W
180°T
7.0
35.2
12:30 WEST
Viana do Castelo is 5 nm south-east.
7
Off Esposende
41°32.0′N
008°53.0′W
167°T
13.3
48.5
14:43 WEST
Outside the pot-buoy belt.
8
Off Póvoa de Varzim
41°22.5′N
008°49.5′W
165°T
9.9
58.4
16:22 WEST
Check the bar status before relying on Póvoa.
9
Leixões approach
41°10.0′N
008°43.5′W
160°T
13.3
71.7
18:35 WEST
Keep 0.5 nm from the oil buoy. Call Leixões on VHF 12.
10
Marina Porto Atlântico
41°11.0′N
008°42.3′W
042°T
1.3
73.0
18:55 WEST
VHF 9. Inside the harbour, north side.
Tides and time
Vigo · Fri 16 Apr · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
07:18
1.0 m
HW
13:37
2.9 m
LW
19:38
1.1 m
Leixões · Fri 16 Apr · WEST (UTC+1)
LW
06:16
0.9 m
HW
12:33
2.7 m
LW
18:34
1.0 m
Friday 16 April 2027, 5 days before the full moon: range about 2.5 m and growing.
The clock trap. Spain keeps CEST (UTC+2) and Portugal WEST (UTC+1). Keep the log in UTC and change the ship's clock at waypoint 5, off the Río Miño.
Leixões. The harbour is open at all states of tide; inbound craft keep to the east side of the channel.
Tide times are predictions made for this plan from the TICON-4 harmonic constants (DGFI-TUM) with the Neaps tide predictor, because the official 2027 tables were not yet published when it was written. Tested against the official APDL table for Leixões on 23 July 2026, the predicted times were within 8 minutes and the heights 0.1 to 0.2 m lower. Heights are above lowest astronomical tide. Check every time against the official 2027 table before sailing.
Daylight. Sunrise at Vigo 07:53 CEST. Sunset at Leixões 20:15 WEST.
Weather
April. The summer Nortada is not yet set: northerlies are the most likely, but Atlantic fronts still cross this coast and bring south-westerly wind, rain and swell. A southerly closes the Portuguese bars.
Swell. Atlantic swell from the north-west runs under the wind sea and decides whether the bars are open.
Fog. Morning fog is common on this coast; less so in April than in summer.
Current. The coastal current sets south, slightly in your favour. Plan for no help.
Forecasts to check
AEMET coastal forecast, zone Aguas costeras de Pontevedra, and high-seas zones Finisterre and Porto.
IPMA (Portugal) maritime bulletins and coastal warnings, ipma.pt, maritime section. The high-seas area for this coast is 17 Porto.
NAVTEX Portugal (Monsanto): 518 kHz, station R, in English; 490 kHz, station G, in Portuguese. Check the station letters and broadcast times against the Admiralty List of Radio Signals. Check the pilot book
Bar status: Autoridade Marítima Nacional, “Estado das barras”, on the amn.pt home page, by zone. The online notice overrides the signals shown at the harbour.
Navigation warnings: Instituto Hidrográfico local warnings, geoanavnet.hidrografico.pt.
NAVTEX Coruña: 518 kHz, station D. Check the station letter on the receiver.
Hazards
Leaving the Ría de Vigo. Commercial traffic, ferries to the Cíes and mussel rafts (bateas) line the ría. Keep to the main channel.
Canal del Sur. Rocks off the south end of the Islas Cíes and off Monteferro. Pass mid-channel. Check on the chart
Cabo Silleiro. Wind and sea build off the cape in a northerly. Keep 3 nm off.
Fishing gear. Pot buoys and nets off northern Portugal, often poorly marked. Keep 3 nm off and a bow lookout.
River bars. The Miño (A Guarda and Caminha) and Esposende are not for a 1.9 m yacht.
Leixões. A commercial port with an oil terminal. No navigation within 0.5 nm of the oil monobuoy. When a tanker is approaching, stay out of the outer channel.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Baiona
4 nm from waypoint 3
Anything goes wrong in the first 2 hours
Monte Real Club de Yates, +34 986 385 000.
Viana do Castelo
5 nm from waypoint 6
Wind or sea rising mid-passage
Check bar status first. Capitania +351 258 070 553.
Póvoa de Varzim
3 nm from waypoint 8
Late, or crew tired
Check bar status on the day.
Leixões
Destination
Always available
Open day and night unless the port restricts entry.
Pilotage
Leaving Vigo
Call the marina on VHF 9 before slipping.
Head west-south-west down the ría in the main channel; port traffic has priority.
Pass between Cabo Estai and the Cíes into the Canal del Sur, then south off Cabo Silleiro.
Entering Leixões
Keep at least 0.5 nm from the oil buoy.
Call Leixões on VHF 12 at waypoint 9. Enter on the east side of the channel.
Call Marina Porto Atlântico on VHF 9 for a berth.
Lights on the way
Cíes, Monte del Faro
Fl(2) 8s, 185 m
Cabo Silleiro
Fl(2+1) 15s, 85 m, 17 M
Montedor
Fl(2), 103 m, 22 M: period Check on the chart
Leça (Boa Nova)
Fl(3) 14s, 57 m
Leixões south breakwater
Fl G 4s, 17 m
Communications
Real Club Náutico de Vigo
VHF 9 · +34 638 037 201
Monte Real Club de Yates, Baiona
+34 986 385 000
Leixões harbour (Polícia Marítima)
VHF 12 and 16
Marina Porto Atlântico
VHF 9 · +351 229 964 895
Emergency, both countries
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 112
Portugal maritime emergencies
+351 214 401 919
Contingencies
Wind above force 6 or swell above 2.5 m. Before waypoint 5, turn back to Baiona. After it, go to Viana if its bar is open, otherwise continue to Leixões.
Running late. If waypoint 8 is passed after 17:30 WEST, decide between Póvoa de Varzim and a night entry to Leixões, which is lit and open.
Person overboard. Shout, point, throw the danger buoy, press MOB, DSC distress alert, Mayday on 16.
Before leaving
Forecasts read and logged before the go or no-go time
Bar status checked on amn.pt for departure, destination and refuges
Navigation warnings checked
Waypoints entered and checked against the chart
Ship's log started in UTC
Crew briefing: route, watches, safety gear, MOB, fog
Passports and boat papers aboard for Portugal
Fuel for 13 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 14 hours
Lifejackets with crotch straps, jackstays rigged, harnesses
Liferaft, grab bag, flares in date, handheld VHF
Radar, AIS and navigation lights tested
Passports and boat papers aboard
Sources
This leg follows the earlier Vigo to Leixões plan on this site (July 2026), re-timed for April 2027.
Leixões rules: Capitania do Porto de Leixões, Edital 594/2018.
Tides: predictions from TICON-4 harmonic constants (Hart-Davis, Dettmering and Seitz, DGFI-TUM, 2025, doi 10.17882/109129) with Neaps (openwaters.io). Check against the Instituto Hidrográfico 2027 tables.
Sunrise and sunset: calculated (NOAA method).
Lights: The Lighthouse Directory (Rowlett), ibiblio.org/lighthouse, Portugal pages revised August 2024. Cross-check with the IH List of Lights, volume I.