Leg 23 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Columbretes to L'Ametlla de Mar
Back to the mainland and north round the Ebro Delta, a natural park of rice fields, lagoons and sandbanks pushing 10 nm into the sea, to the fishing harbour of L'Ametlla de Mar.
07:30 CEST from Columbretes. 50 minutes after sunrise (06:39 CEST).
Arrive
About 18:44 CEST at L'Ametlla de Mar. In the early evening, with about 2 hours 25 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:11 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Light to moderate; a mestral (north-west) out of the Ebro valley is the wind to watch
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 06:45 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No mestral (north-westerly) above force 5 forecast: it blows out of the Ebro valley straight across this route.
Visibility 3 nm or more: the delta is low and hard to see.
L'Ametlla de Mar berth confirmed.
If the weather turns overnight at the islands, leave early for whichever port gives the best angle: L'Ametlla de Mar, Castellón or Sant Carles de la Ràpita.
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
Puerto Tofiño, Illa Grossa
39°53.8′N
000°41.5′E
07:30 CEST
Slip the buoy. Report leaving to the reserve on VHF 9.
1
Columbretes approach
39°53.0′N
000°42.5′E
136°T
1.1
1.1
07:57 CEST
Out of the restricted zone at under 3 kn.
2
East of Cap de Tortosa
40°42.0′N
000°58.0′E
013°T
50.4
51.5
16:21 CEST
Well off the delta's sandbanks. Check on the chart
3
Off Punta del Fangar
40°48.0′N
000°54.0′E
333°T
6.7
58.3
17:28 CEST
Clear of the Fangar spit and its shoals. Check on the chart
4
L'Ametlla de Mar approach
40°52.0′N
000°48.8′E
316°T
5.6
63.9
18:30 CEST
South-east of the harbour. Check on the chart
5
L'Ametlla de Mar harbour
40°52.4′N
000°48.0′E
303°T
0.7
64.6
18:44 CEST
Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Columbretes · Wed 19 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
04:29
0.2 m
LW
12:03
0.1 m
HW
20:41
0.2 m
From the Sagunto station.
L'Ametlla de Mar · Wed 19 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
03:22
0.2 m
HW
07:33
0.2 m
LW
14:05
0.1 m
HW
20:36
0.3 m
From the Tarragona station.
Wednesday 19 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.
L'Ametlla de Mar uses the Tarragona 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 Columbretes 06:39 CEST. Sunset at L'Ametlla de Mar 21:11 CEST.
Weather
The mestral. A north-westerly funnelled down the Ebro valley, sometimes strong, raising a short sea off the delta.
The delta. Very low land, hard to see until close. Rely on the GPS and the lights, not the eye.
Forecasts to check
AEMET coastal bulletins, aemet.es, predicción marítima: “Costa de Valencia y Murcia” (Aguas costeras de Valencia, de Castellón) and “Costa de Cataluña” (Aguas costeras de Tarragona, de Barcelona, de Girona). High-seas areas Baleares and León.
NAVTEX Cabo de la Nao: 518 kHz, station X, in English. Further north, La Garde (France) on 490 kHz, station S, in French. Check the times against the Admiralty List of Radio Signals. Check the pilot book
Hazards
The Ebro Delta. Sandbanks extend well off the delta, and the Cap de Tortosa light stands about 5 km offshore on them. Shoals run off Punta del Fangar to the north and Punta de la Banya to the south. Their extent could not be checked for this plan: keep at least 3 nm off and use the chart. Check on the chart
Shellfish farms. Mussel and oyster rafts in the Fangar and Alfacs bays. Check on the chart
Leaving the Columbretes. Under 3 kn within 0.5 nm of Illa Grossa. Report leaving on VHF 9.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Sant Carles de la Ràpita
In the Alfacs bay, south of the delta
Weather turns before the delta
Large sheltered bay. Sant Carles Marina, VHF 9, +34 977 745 153; entrance 7 m, pontoons 3 to 4 m.
L'Ametlla de Mar
Destination
First choice
Entrance 6 m, yacht quay 3 to 5 m. Port office +34 977 456 180.
Pilotage
Leaving the Columbretes
Slip the buoy and leave the crater bay to the south-east, under 3 kn.
Report leaving to the reserve service, then head north-north-east for the delta.
Entering L'Ametlla de Mar
From Punta del Fangar, head north-west along the coast.
Approach from the south-east and enter the harbour.
Call the Club Nàutic l'Ametlla (+34 977 457 240) or the port office (+34 977 456 180). VHF: 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.