Leixões to Figueira da Foz

Go or no-go

Decide at 07:30 WEST on the day, after the morning forecasts and the first bar status update. Go only if all of these hold:

• Wind from north to west, force 5 or less, and not forecast to back south during the day.
• Swell at Figueira da Foz under 2 m, or over 2 m only with a period under 12 s, for the evening of arrival. The rescue plan for the port says swell over 2 m with a period over 12 s often gives heavy surf on the bar.
• Figueira da Foz bar shown open (“aberta a toda a navegação”) on amn.pt, and Nazaré open as the fallback.
• Visibility forecast at 2 nm or more. With fog forecast, go only with radar and AIS working.
• No navigation warning for the route.
• Crew, boat and safety gear checked against the list at the end of this plan.

If the forecast fails, stay in Leixões. The next day is planned as a sailing day, so a day lost here moves the whole schedule by 1 day; the rest day in Cascais can absorb it.

Route and waypoints

Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 2 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.

Tides and time

Saturday 17 April 2027 is 3 days before the full moon, so the range is growing toward springs: about 1.6 m at Leixões and 1.5 m at Figueira da Foz.

Figueira da Foz has no harmonic station in the TICON-4 set, so its times are from Nazaré, 30 nm south, where the tide arrives within a few minutes. Check the pilot book

Why arrive at 19:30. The Figueira bar is worst with swell against the ebb, which runs at about 4 kn at springs and harder when the river is in flood. Low water is at about 19:15 WEST. Arriving 15 minutes later puts you at slack water as the flood starts: the stream is turning with you and the water is about to rise. Arriving later would be better for the bar but too close to sunset this early in the year. Never cross this bar on the ebb with a swell running.

Depth on arrival. About 0.9 m above chart datum at 19:30 and starting to rise. The marina takes boats up to 3 m draught. Check the pilot book

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 Leixões 06:53 WEST. Sunset at Figueira da Foz 20:16 WEST.

Weather

• April. The summer pattern is not yet set: winds from north to north-west are the most likely, but Atlantic fronts still cross this coast in April and can bring a south-westerly shift with rain. A southerly is the wind to avoid for this leg: it closes the bars.
• Nortada. The steady summer north wind, driven by the Azores high and the heat low over Iberia, blows mainly from June to September and is often strongest in the afternoon. In April it is irregular.
• Swell. On this coast swell is 1 to 2 m on about 2 days in 3 through the year (Leixões rescue plan). Swell, not wind, decides whether the bars are open.
• Fog. Morning fog and haze are common in summer on this coast; expect some in spring too.

Forecasts to check

• 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.

Hazards

• Leaving Leixões. A commercial port with an oil terminal. Keep 0.5 nm from the oil monobuoy. A sandbank lies about 0.5 nm offshore south of the bar, and the bar is exposed to strong southerly wind and sea (Leixões rescue plan).
• Fishing gear. Pots and nets are common off northern and central Portugal and often poorly marked. Keep 3 nm or more off in daylight with a bow lookout.
• Aveiro. Ships use the Aveiro channel. The spring ebb runs at about 6 kn, up to 8 kn, and against a southerly sea the entrance can be impassable. Keep 3.5 nm off.
• Beach seine nets (xávega). Worked off the beaches near Figueira da Foz from March to October, with boats launched through the surf. Keep 1.5 nm off.
• The Figueira da Foz bar. A sandbank at the entrance breaks at some sea states and at lower tides, and small boats have been carried onto Cabedelo beach. North-west to south-west swell over 2 m with a period over 12 s often gives heavy surf. Southerly gales against the ebb can stop crossings.
• The 11 m rule. The Figueira da Foz and Nazaré bars have a state called “barra condicionada a 11 m”: only vessels longer than 11 m may cross. A 35 or 36 ft yacht (10.7 to 11.0 m) is shut out in that state; a 37 or 38 ft yacht (11.3 to 11.6 m) is not.
• Speed. 5 kn in the river, 3 kn in the docks and marina.
• Beaches. In the bathing season, no navigation within 300 m of a beach.

Ports of refuge

Pilotage

Lights on the way

Communications

Contingencies

• Figueira da Foz bar closed, conditioned, or breaking. Do not try it. Continue 29 nm to Nazaré, a night arrival at about 01:00 WEST into a lit harbour, or heave to off Figueira in open water until the next morning's flood.
• Wind backs south or swell builds. Before waypoint 3, turn back to Leixões, which stays open. After it, carry on and decide between Figueira and Nazaré from the bar status.
• Fog. Fog routine: navigation lights, sound signal (1 long, 2 short under sail), radar and AIS watch, lifejackets on, liferaft ready. Move out to 4 nm to stay clear of pot buoys, and slow down.
• Engine failure. Do not try a bar under sail. Call the Polícia Marítima for a tow in, or stand off until help arrives.
• Running late. If waypoint 5 is passed after 18:30 WEST, the young flood is still running until about 21:00, but light will fail. Enter only if the bar is calm; otherwise go on to Nazaré.
• Person overboard. Shout, point, throw the danger buoy, press MOB on the plotter, DSC distress alert, Mayday on 16. Recover under engine.

Before leaving