Leg 16 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Almerimar to San José
Across the Gulf of Almería and round Cabo de Gata into the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, a volcanic coast of empty beaches and coves, to the small harbour of San José.
09:30 CEST from Almerimar. 2 hours 20 minutes after sunrise (07:11 CEST).
Arrive
About 17:30 CEST at San José. In the late afternoon, after a swim stop in the park, with about 3 hours 35 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:03 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.3 m: no practical effect
Wind
Levante (east) or Poniente (west) along this coast; afternoon sea breezes
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 4, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 08:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No Levante above force 5: it is on the nose, and it heaps up the sea off Cabo de Gata.
Berth at San José confirmed. The harbour takes boats up to 12 m only, in a basin 2.5 m deep.
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the Levante is blowing, stay in Almerimar, or stop at Almería, 20 nm on, and round the cape the next day. San José has a rest day planned on 9 May.
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
Almerimar marina
36°41.8′N
002°47.9′W
09:30 CEST
Depart.
1
South of Punta Sabinal
36°39.5′N
002°42.0′W
116°T
5.2
5.2
10:27 CEST
1.5 nm off the point and its light (Fl(1+2) 10s).
2
South of Cabo de Gata
36°41.0′N
002°11.5′W
086°T
24.5
29.8
14:32 CEST
2.3 nm south of the cape, outside the marine reserve and its integral zone off the cape. Off-lying rocks: Check on the chart
3
Off Ensenada de Genoveses
36°44.2′N
002°07.6′W
044°T
4.5
34.2
15:26 CEST to 16:56
Swim stop, only on a park mooring buoy. Anchoring is prohibited in the reserve. Check on the chart
4
San José approach
36°44.9′N
002°06.5′W
052°T
1.1
35.4
17:13 CEST
South-west of the harbour. Keep clear of the integral zone round the Morrón de Genoveses.
5
San José harbour
36°45.7′N
002°06.2′W
017°T
0.8
36.2
17:30 CEST
Club Náutico de San José. Position from the club.
Tides and time
Almerimar · Sat 8 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
04:57
0.4 m
LW
10:42
0.1 m
HW
17:58
0.4 m
LW
22:29
0.2 m
From the Almeria station.
San José · Sat 8 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
04:57
0.3 m
LW
11:00
0.1 m
HW
18:24
0.3 m
LW
22:23
0.2 m
From the Carboneras station.
Saturday 8 May 2027. Tides. The range here is 0.1 to 0.3 m: tides make no practical difference. Wind and air pressure move the sea level more than the tide does.
San José uses the Carboneras station, 13 nm north-east.
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 Almerimar 07:11 CEST. Sunset at San José 21:03 CEST.
Weather
Cabo de Gata. The corner between the Alborán Sea and the open Mediterranean. Wind accelerates round the cape and the sea is rougher there than either side of it.
Levante and Poniente. The 2 main winds on this coast. The Levante brings a short steep sea from the east.
Dry coast. The driest corner of Europe: clear air, strong sun, little shade ashore.
Forecasts to check
AEMET coastal bulletins, aemet.es, predicción marítima: “Costa de Andalucía Oriental y Melilla” (Aguas costeras de Almería) and “Costa de Valencia y Murcia” (Aguas costeras de Murcia, del Mar Menor, de Alicante, de Valencia). High-seas areas Alborán, Palos and Baleares.
NAVTEX Cabo de la Nao: 518 kHz, station X, at 0350, 0750, 1150, 1550, 1950 and 2350 UTC, in English; 490 kHz, station M, in Spanish. Check the times against the Admiralty List of Radio Signals. Check the pilot book
Hazards
Marine reserves. Spain's marine reserves (reservas marinas) cover the outer waters out from the coastline. In them anchoring is prohibited except in an emergency, the buoys are for authorised dive boats only, and recreational fishing is restricted or banned. The reserve service keeps watch on VHF 9 from 08:00 to 22:00. Waters inside the coastline's straight baselines (the coves themselves) are under the regional government's rules, which could not be checked for this plan.
Cabo de Gata-Níjar marine reserve. The reserve runs from the coastline out to 1 nm offshore, from Rambla del Agua to Barranco del Hondo near Carboneras. Navigation is free, but in its integral zones speed must be under 10 kn and only authorised scientific work is allowed. Integral zones include the waters off Cabo de Gata between 002°11.70′W and 002°10.95′W, and a circle of 0.15 nm round 36°44.28′N 002°06.95′W at the Morrón de Genoveses.
The swim stop. The coves at Genoveses and Mónsul are inside the baselines, where the natural park's own rules apply, including any mooring-buoy fields. These could not be checked. Use a park buoy if one is available and allowed; otherwise do not stop.
Off-lying rocks at Cabo de Gata.Check on the chart
San José harbour. Entrance faces south-west, 35 m wide and 6 m deep. Basin 2.5 m. Boats up to 12 m. Minimum steerage way at the entrance, never more than 3 kn.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Almerimar
Start
Within the first 2 hours
Marina, 997 berths.
Almería
8 nm north of the route
Levante rising before the cape
Commercial port with the Club de Mar de Almería, +34 950 230 780.
San José
Destination
First choice
Small harbour, up to 12 m, basin 2.5 m.
Pilotage
Leaving Almerimar
Leave the marina and head south-east round Punta Sabinal.
Cross the Gulf of Almería toward Cabo de Gata and make sail.
Into San José
From the swim stop, motor slowly north-east, keeping clear of the integral zone round the Morrón de Genoveses.
Call the Club Náutico de San José on VHF 9 (+34 950 380 041).
Enter through the south-west-facing entrance at no more than 3 kn and go to the waiting pier.
Lights on the way
Sabinal
Fl(1+2) 10s, 34 m
Cabo de Gata
Flash every 4 s, white and red sectors, 55 m; fog signal Mo(G) every 40 s Check on the chart
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.