Leg 21 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Calpe to Valencia
Round the capes of the Costa Blanca, Cabo de la Nao and Cabo de San Antonio, past the coves of Jávea, then north across the Gulf of Valencia to the city.
07:45 CEST from Calpe. About 55 minutes after sunrise (06:48 CEST). A long leg.
Arrive
About 18:45 CEST at Valencia. In the early evening, with about 2 hours 25 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:09 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.1 m: no practical effect
Wind
Light to moderate. A Levante is on the beam across the gulf; a north-easterly on the nose
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 7, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 07:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No north-easterly or easterly above force 5: the gulf crossing is open to both.
Visibility 3 nm or more: Valencia is one of the busiest container ports in the Mediterranean.
Valencia berth confirmed.
If the weather is wrong, stay in Calpe, or go round the capes to Dénia (about 20 nm) and cross the gulf the next day. Valencia has a rest day planned on 17 May.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 1 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 Calpe
38°38.2′N
000°04.1′E
07:45 CEST
Depart.
1
Calpe approach
38°37.6′N
000°04.4′E
161°T
0.6
0.6
07:55 CEST
Clear of the harbour. Round the Peñón to the south.
2
South-east of the Peñón
38°37.2′N
000°06.5′E
104°T
1.7
2.3
08:13 CEST
1 nm off the rock.
3
Off Moraira
38°40.0′N
000°10.5′E
048°T
4.2
6.5
08:55 CEST
1.5 nm off Cabo Blanco.
4
Off Cabo de la Nao
38°43.2′N
000°15.8′E
052°T
5.2
11.8
09:47 CEST
1.5 nm off the light (Fl 5s, 122 m).
5
Off Cabo de San Antonio
38°48.5′N
000°15.5′E
357°T
5.3
17.1
10:40 CEST
3 nm off the light (Fl(4) 20s). Marine reserve inshore: see Hazards.
6
Gulf of Valencia, off Cullera
39°10.0′N
000°07.0′W
321°T
27.7
44.8
15:18 CEST
4 nm off Cabo Cullera.
7
Valencia approach
39°24.0′N
000°17.5′W
330°T
16.2
61.0
18:00 CEST
South of the port. Call the port before closing it. Check the pilot book
8
Real Club Náutico de Valencia
39°25.6′N
000°19.6′W
315°T
2.3
63.3
18:45 CEST
South of the commercial port. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Calpe · Sun 16 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
07:45
0.1 m
HW
12:17
0.2 m
LW
17:09
0.1 m
From the Alicante I station.
Valencia · Sun 16 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
05:01
0.2 m
LW
12:20
0.1 m
HW
18:34
0.2 m
Sunday 16 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.
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 Calpe 06:48 CEST. Sunset at Valencia 21:09 CEST.
Weather
The capes. Cabo de la Nao and Cabo de San Antonio are the easternmost points of this coast: wind accelerates round them and the sea is rougher.
The Gulf of Valencia. 40 nm of open water. Sea breezes from the east in the afternoon; a Levante or north-easterly builds a sea across the whole gulf.
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
Cabo de San Antonio marine reserve. A marine reserve lies off Cabo de San Antonio, between Dénia and Jávea. Its rules could not be checked; the route passes 1.5 nm off. Check on the chart
Jávea coves. Granadella and Portitxol are on the way, but their anchoring rules could not be checked. No stop is planned. Check on the chart
Valencia port. A major container port: ships at anchor off the port and moving in the approach. Cross their line early and at right angles. Port authority emergency line +34 900 859 573.
Fish farms off parts of this coast. Check on the chart
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Calpe
Start
Within the first hour
Real Club Náutico.
Moraira
1.5 nm from waypoint 3
Weather turns before the capes
Club Náutico Moraira, VHF 9, +34 965 744 461. Entrance 7.5 m, basin 2 to 6 m.
Jávea or Dénia
Near waypoints 4 and 5
Weather turns at the capes
Club Náutico de Jávea +34 965 791 025; Real Club Náutico de Dénia +34 965 780 989.
Gandia
4 nm from waypoint 6
Weather turns in the gulf
Port and marina. Check the pilot book
Pilotage
Leaving Calpe
Leave the harbour and round the Peñón de Ifach to the south and east.
Head north-east past Moraira for Cabo de la Nao.
Entering Valencia
From waypoint 6, head north across the gulf, keeping 4 nm off Cabo Cullera.
Close the port from the south, keeping clear of ships at anchor. Port VHF channel: Check the pilot book
Enter the Real Club Náutico de Valencia (+34 963 679 011), south of the commercial port. Entrance details: Check the pilot book
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.