Leg 11 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Chipiona to Barbate
South past the old city of Cádiz and the long beaches of the Costa de la Luz, wide round Cabo Trafalgar and its shoal, to Barbate, the tuna-fishing port at the western end of the Strait.
09:30 CEST from Chipiona. 1 hour 55 minutes after sunrise (07:34 CEST).
Arrive
About 18:15 CEST at Barbate. With about 2 hours 55 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:10 CEST).
Tides
2 days after the last quarter: neaps, range about 1.9 m at Cádiz and 0.8 m at Tarifa
Wind
North-west or west most likely; a Levanter (east) is common near the Strait
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
Track and waypoints 1 to 6, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 08:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
Wind force 5 or less, and no Levanter above force 5 forecast for the Trafalgar area: off the cape it raises a short steep sea.
Swell under 2 m.
2027 tuna net positions plotted from the Avisos a los Navegantes.
No firing notice for the Rota, Cádiz or Sierra del Retín (Barbate) ranges.
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay in Chipiona. Barbate has a weather day planned on 1 May; a day lost here uses 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.
#
Waypoint
Latitude
Longitude
Course
Leg nm
Total nm
ETA
Notes
0
Chipiona marina
36°45.0′N
006°25.7′W
09:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Chipiona approach
36°43.5′N
006°26.8′W
211°T
1.7
1.7
09:50 CEST
South-west, inside the Salmedina shoal. Pilot out by chart.
2
West of Cádiz
36°32.0′N
006°24.0′W
169°T
11.7
13.4
11:48 CEST
4 nm west of the city, clear of the rocks off its west side.
3
Off Sancti Petri
36°21.0′N
006°19.0′W
160°T
11.7
25.1
13:45 CEST
5 nm off.
4
West of Conil, outside the tuna nets
36°16.0′N
006°17.0′W
162°T
5.3
30.4
14:37 CEST
7 nm off Conil, outside where the almadraba may reach. Check the 2027 position. Check on the chart
5
South-west of Cabo Trafalgar
36°08.5′N
006°06.0′W
130°T
11.6
42.0
16:34 CEST
Outside the Bajo de la Aceitera (least depth 1.2 m) and the race off the cape.
6
Barbate approach
36°10.3′N
005°57.0′W
076°T
7.5
49.5
17:55 CEST
West of the entrance and clear of the Barbate tuna net, laid 1 nm south of the entrance. Check on the chart
7
Barbate harbour
36°10.8′N
005°55.5′W
069°T
1.3
50.8
18:15 CEST
Breakwater head, from the port's own page. Waiting pontoon inside.
Tides and time
Chipiona · Fri 30 Apr · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
05:47
1.3 m
HW
12:06
2.4 m
LW
18:00
1.5 m
From the Cadiz station.
Tarifa · Fri 30 Apr · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
05:19
0.6 m
HW
11:13
1.0 m
LW
17:38
0.5 m
HW
23:48
1.0 m
Friday 30 April 2027, 2 days after the last quarter: neaps.
Barbate lies between 2 tidal regimes. The Atlantic tide at Cádiz has a range of about 1.9 m today; at Tarifa, inside the Strait, it is about 0.8 m. Barbate's range lies between them and its times are close to Cádiz's. The TICON-4 set has no Barbate station, so both tables are shown. Check the pilot book
Streams. Off Cabo Trafalgar the race (the Riza del Cabo) runs south-west from the cape to the Bajo de la Aceitera. Waypoint 5 keeps you outside it.
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 Chipiona 07:34 CEST. Sunset at Barbate 21:10 CEST.
Weather
Levanter and Poniente. Near the Strait the wind is usually either east (Levanter) or west (Poniente), funnelled and stronger than further out. A Levanter blows offshore here and can be strong and gusty off the capes.
Cabo Trafalgar. Wind and sea build off the cape and over the Aceitera. Keep outside waypoint 5 in any wind.
Forecasts to check
AEMET coastal bulletins, aemet.es, predicción marítima: “Costa de Andalucía Occidental y Ceuta” and “Costa de Andalucía Oriental y Melilla”. Coastal text updated at 12:00 and 20:00 local time. AEMET warns at force 7 or more, sea 3 m or more, or visibility under 1 nm.
NAVTEX Tarifa: 518 kHz, station G, at 0100, 0500, 0900, 1300, 1700 and 2100 UTC, in English; 490 kHz, station T, in Spanish.
Salvamento Marítimo coastal stations broadcast forecasts on VHF. Channels and times: Check the pilot book
AEMET zone Aguas costeras de Cádiz, sub-areas Del Guadalquivir al Cabo Roche and De Cabo Roche a Punta Camarinal (área Trafalgar).
Hazards
Cabo Trafalgar. The Bajo de la Aceitera, about 1.8 nm south-west of the cape, has a least depth of 1.2 m. A passage between the shoal and the cape exists but should not be attempted. The race runs over it.
Tuna nets (almadrabas). Large fixed nets are laid off this coast in spring and summer and may extend up to 7 nm seaward. Off Barbate, nets are laid 1 nm south of the harbour entrance between April and August. In Spanish waters a net is marked by day with a white flag bearing a black “A” at its centre and outer end, and by night with a red light over a white light at the outer end and 2 white lights in a vertical line at the centre, visible about 2 miles. Get the 2027 positions from the Avisos a los Navegantes before sailing and plot them.
Firing ranges. The Sierra del Retín military range is on the coast near Barbate, and there may be exercise areas off Rota and Cádiz. Check the notices before sailing.
Off Cádiz. Rocks and shoals off the west side of the city. Waypoint 2 keeps you 4 nm off.
Sancti Petri and Conil. Sancti Petri's 2.7 km access channel has leading lights, but its depth could not be confirmed for 1.9 m. Conil is a small fishing harbour. Neither is planned as a refuge.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Chipiona
Start
Within the first hour
Marina, +34 856 109 711.
Cádiz (Puerto América) or Puerto Sherry
6 to 9 nm from waypoint 2
Weather turns early
Puerto América +34 856 580 002. Puerto Sherry VHF 9, 3.5 m, +34 956 870 103.
Spanish ports: puertosdeandalucia.es port pages (positions, phones, berths).
Lights: The Lighthouse Directory, Spain (ibiblio.org/lighthouse/esanw.htm and esane.htm) and Gibraltar (gib.htm).
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.