08:30 CEST from L'Ametlla de Mar. 1 hour 55 minutes after sunrise (06:35 CEST).
Arrive
About 17:31 CEST at Sitges. In the late afternoon, with about 3 hours 40 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:10 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Sea breeze from the south-west in the afternoon is common; a mestral or a Levante less so
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 07:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No mestral or Levante above force 5.
Visibility 2 nm or more: Tarragona is a busy port.
Sitges berth confirmed.
If the weather is wrong, stay in L'Ametlla de Mar. Cambrils, Torredembarra and Vilanova are stops on the way.
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
L'Ametlla de Mar harbour
40°52.4′N
000°48.0′E
08:30 CEST
Depart.
1
L'Ametlla de Mar approach
40°52.0′N
000°48.8′E
123°T
0.7
0.7
08:41 CEST
Out of the harbour.
2
Off Cap de Salou
41°02.0′N
001°10.5′E
058°T
19.2
19.9
11:53 CEST
2 nm off the light (Fl(4) 20s).
3
Off Tarragona
41°03.5′N
001°16.5′E
072°T
4.8
24.7
12:41 CEST
Inside the port's waters: listen on VHF 15 (Tarragona Traffic) and keep clear of ships, the single-buoy mooring and the anchorage.
4
Off Torredembarra
41°06.0′N
001°25.0′E
069°T
6.9
31.6
13:50 CEST
2 nm off.
5
Off Vilanova i la Geltrú
41°11.0′N
001°43.0′E
070°T
14.5
46.0
16:14 CEST
1.5 nm off.
6
Sitges approach
41°13.6′N
001°49.4′E
062°T
5.5
51.5
17:20 CEST
South of Port de Sitges-Aiguadolç. Check on the chart
7
Port de Sitges-Aiguadolç
41°14.2′N
001°49.4′E
002°T
0.6
52.1
17:31 CEST
Position from the port.
Tides and time
L'Ametlla de Mar · Fri 21 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
05:18
0.2 m
HW
08:45
0.2 m
LW
14:25
0.1 m
HW
21:58
0.3 m
From the Tarragona station.
Sitges · Fri 21 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
05:05
0.2 m
HW
08:49
0.2 m
LW
15:00
0.1 m
HW
22:03
0.3 m
From the Barcelona station.
Friday 21 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.
Sitges uses the Barcelona 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 L'Ametlla de Mar 06:35 CEST. Sunset at Sitges 21:10 CEST.
Weather
Sea breeze. A south-westerly builds along this coast most summer afternoons, often fresh by late afternoon.
Mestral near the delta in the morning.
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
Tarragona port. Tarragona Traffic (VTS) works VHF 15, the pilots VHF 14. The port's waters reach south to 41°00′N. There is a single-buoy mooring with a 3-cable clearance, and an anchorage: keep clear of both, and of ships under way.
Cambrils. Shallow berths: much of the yacht harbour is 3 m, some pontoons 1.5 to 2 m.
Fishing and beaches. Fishing boats out of every harbour; swimmers and small craft off the beaches.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Cambrils
2 nm from waypoint 2
Weather turns early
Entrance 6.5 m, most yacht berths 3 m. Port +34 977 360 359.
Torredembarra
At waypoint 4
Halfway stop
VHF 9, operator +34 977 643 234, berths up to 28 m.
Vilanova i la Geltrú
At waypoint 5
Late
Entrance 7 m, berths 2 to 3.5 m. Grand Marina +34 938 105 611.
Sitges-Aiguadolç
Destination
First choice
471 berths, 6 to 32 m. +34 938 942 600.
Pilotage
Leaving L'Ametlla de Mar
Leave the harbour and head east, then north-east toward Cap de Salou.
Entering Sitges-Aiguadolç
From Vilanova, keep 1.5 nm off and approach from the south.
Call Port de Sitges-Aiguadolç (+34 938 942 600). Reception Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 14:30 and 16:00 to 18:00, Sunday 09:00 to 15:00. VHF and depths: Check the pilot book
Lights on the way
Cap de Salou
Fl(4) 20s, 43 m
Tarragona east breakwater
Oc 3s, 27 m
Cambrils west mole
Fl(3) R 9s, 13 m
Torredembarra
Fl(5) 30s, 58 m
Vilanova (Sant Cristòfol)
Fl(3) 8s, 27 m
Communications
Tarragona Traffic (VTS)
VHF 15 · pilots VHF 14 · port emergency +34 900 229 900
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.