Leg 25 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Sitges to Palamós
A long day past Barcelona, outside its port, and along the Maresme to the start of the Costa Brava, where the coast turns to pine-covered cliffs and coves, to Palamós.
07:00 CEST from Sitges. 30 minutes after sunrise (06:29 CEST). A long leg.
Arrive
About 19:40 CEST at Palamós. In the early evening, with about 1 hour 25 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:07 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Sea breeze from the south or south-west in the afternoon; a Levante 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 9, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 06:15 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No Levante above force 5: it is on the nose for 70 nm.
Visibility 3 nm or more: Barcelona is a major port.
Palamós berth confirmed.
If the weather is wrong, stay in Sitges. Arenys, Blanes and Sant Feliu de Guíxols are stops on the way. Palamós has a rest day planned on 23 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
Port de Sitges-Aiguadolç
41°14.2′N
001°49.4′E
07:00 CEST
Depart.
1
Sitges approach
41°13.6′N
001°49.4′E
182°T
0.6
0.6
07:09 CEST
Out of the harbour.
2
Off Garraf
41°13.0′N
001°55.0′E
098°T
4.3
4.8
07:51 CEST
1.5 nm off.
3
South-east of Barcelona
41°17.0′N
002°16.0′E
076°T
16.3
21.1
10:34 CEST
East of the arrival buoys, outside the channels and anchorages. Listen on VHF 10 and 14.
4
Off Badalona
41°25.0′N
002°22.0′E
029°T
9.2
30.3
12:06 CEST
3 nm off.
5
Off Arenys de Mar
41°32.5′N
002°34.0′E
050°T
11.7
42.0
14:03 CEST
2 nm off.
6
Off Blanes
41°38.0′N
002°49.0′E
064°T
12.5
54.5
16:08 CEST
2.5 nm off.
7
Off Tossa de Mar
41°41.0′N
002°57.5′E
065°T
7.0
61.6
17:19 CEST
2 nm off the light (Fl(3+1) 20s).
8
Off Sant Feliu de Guíxols
41°45.3′N
003°03.5′E
046°T
6.2
67.8
18:21 CEST
1.5 nm off.
9
Palamós approach
41°50.0′N
003°08.5′E
038°T
6.0
73.8
19:26 CEST
South of the marina. Check on the chart
10
Marina Palamós
41°50.6′N
003°08.1′E
337°T
0.7
74.5
19:40 CEST
Position from the marina.
Tides and time
Sitges · Sat 22 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
05:57
0.2 m
HW
09:23
0.2 m
LW
15:18
0.1 m
HW
22:44
0.3 m
From the Barcelona station.
Palamós · Sat 22 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
05:49
0.2 m
HW
09:43
0.2 m
LW
15:53
0.1 m
HW
22:45
0.3 m
From the Port Vendres station.
Saturday 22 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.
Palamós uses the Port-Vendres 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 Sitges 06:29 CEST. Sunset at Palamós 21:07 CEST.
Weather
Sea breeze. From late morning a south to south-westerly sea breeze builds: fair for this leg.
Levante. An easterly sets up a sea along the Maresme with few good harbours.
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
Barcelona port. Barcelona Traffic (VTS) works VHF 10 and Barcelona Port Control VHF 14, with VHF 16; a watch on 14 and 16 is mandatory in port waters. Vessels not calling are advised to keep east of the arrival buoys (north buoy 41°20.050′N 002°13.010′E, south buoy 41°16.905′N 002°10.880′E), avoid the channels and anchorages, and not cross the precautionary areas. Boats under 20 m must not impede traffic and cross channels at right angles.
Maresme harbours. Arenys has yacht berths of only 1.5 to 2.5 m: tight for 1.9 m.
Firing areas.Check on the chart
Costa Brava. Rocks close under the cliffs from Blanes on; keep 1 nm off unless entering a cove by chart.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Sitges
Start
Within the first hour
Port de Sitges-Aiguadolç.
Blanes
1.5 nm from waypoint 6
Weather turns
Entrance 8 to 9 m, yacht berths 2 to 8 m. +34 972 330 469.
Sant Feliu de Guíxols
1.5 nm from waypoint 8
Late
Entrance 13 m, berths up to 6 to 8 m. +34 972 320 995.
Palamós
Destination
First choice
Marina Palamós: entrance 10 m, inside 3 to 6 m, fuel 24 h.
Pilotage
Leaving Sitges
Leave the harbour and head east past Garraf.
Before Barcelona, listen on VHF 10 and 14 and keep outside the arrival buoys.
Entering Palamós
From Sant Feliu, keep 1.5 nm off and approach from the south.
Call Marina Palamós on VHF 9 (+34 972 601 000) and go to the waiting quay (3 to 5 m).
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.