09:00 CEST from San José. About 1 hour 55 minutes after sunrise (07:06 CEST).
Arrive
About 17:35 CEST at Águilas. In the late afternoon, with about 3 hours 30 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:04 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Levante on the nose, Poniente behind; 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 6, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 08:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No Levante above force 5.
Berth at Águilas confirmed (the club takes boats of 6 to 12 m).
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay in San José. Garrucha, halfway, is the alternative stop if the day turns.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 1.2 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
San José harbour
36°45.7′N
002°06.2′W
09:00 CEST
Depart at no more than 3 kn.
1
San José approach
36°44.9′N
002°06.5′W
197°T
0.8
0.8
09:13 CEST
Clear of the harbour.
2
Off Los Escullos
36°46.0′N
002°00.5′W
077°T
4.9
5.8
10:02 CEST
2.5 nm off, outside the reserve.
3
Off Mesa Roldán
36°56.5′N
001°50.5′W
037°T
13.2
19.0
12:14 CEST
2.5 nm off the light (Fl(4) 20s, 222 m).
4
Off Garrucha
37°10.5′N
001°46.0′W
014°T
14.5
33.4
14:39 CEST
2.5 nm off the harbour.
5
Off Villaricos
37°16.0′N
001°41.5′W
033°T
6.6
40.0
15:44 CEST
2.5 nm off.
6
Águilas approach
37°23.2′N
001°34.0′W
040°T
9.4
49.4
17:18 CEST
South of the harbour. Check on the chart
7
Club Náutico de Águilas
37°24.0′N
001°34.1′W
353°T
0.9
50.2
17:35 CEST
Position from the club.
Tides and time
San José · Mon 10 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
06:24
0.3 m
LW
12:25
0.1 m
HW
20:09
0.3 m
LW
23:41
0.2 m
From the Carboneras station.
Águilas · Mon 10 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
06:25
0.3 m
LW
12:28
0.1 m
HW
20:19
0.3 m
LW
23:30
0.2 m
From the Cartagena station.
Monday 10 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.
Águilas uses the Cartagena station.
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 San José 07:06 CEST. Sunset at Águilas 21:04 CEST.
Weather
An exposed stretch. From Cabo de Gata to Águilas the coast faces east and south-east, open to the Levante.
Sea breeze. In settled weather a south-easterly sea breeze builds from late morning.
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.
The reserve's northern limit is the parallel 36°57.850′N at Barranco del Hondo, near Carboneras. The route stays 2 nm off, outside it.
Carboneras. An industrial port with a power station and a cement works: ships at the jetties and anchored off. Keep clear.
Fishing and fish farms. Small fishing boats and gear, and fish-farm cages off parts of this coast. Check on the chart
Águilas. Islote de la Aguilica (light Fl G 3s) lies off the harbour. Approach from the south by 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.