Leg 26 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Palamós to Cadaqués
About 31 nautical miles up the Costa Brava past Calella de Palafrugell and the cliffs of Begur to the Medes islands, a marine reserve, then across the Gulf of Roses to Cadaqués at the foot of Cap de Creus.
09:30 CEST from Palamós. 3 hours 10 minutes after sunrise (06:20 CEST).
Arrive
About 16:48 CEST at Cadaqués. In the late afternoon, after a stop at the Medes, with about 4 hours 20 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:10 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Sea breeze in the afternoon; the Tramontana (north) is the wind to fear on this coast
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 08:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No Tramontana forecast: it blows hard from the north down this coast, often with little warning, and Cap de Creus is its worst corner.
A mooring at Cadaqués confirmed, or Roses as the plan.
For the stop only: permission to use a Medes buoy.
If a Tramontana is forecast, stay in Palamós. The weather day held at Gruissan absorbs a day lost here.
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
Marina Palamós
41°50.6′N
003°08.1′E
09:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Palamós approach
41°50.0′N
003°08.5′E
157°T
0.7
0.7
09:41 CEST
Out of the harbour.
2
Off Cap de Sant Sebastià
41°53.0′N
003°14.8′E
057°T
5.6
6.3
10:36 CEST
2 nm off the light (Fl 5s, 167 m).
3
Off Begur
41°57.5′N
003°16.5′E
016°T
4.7
11.0
11:23 CEST
2.5 nm off.
4
Illes Medes
42°02.5′N
003°14.5′E
343°T
5.2
16.2
12:26 CEST to 13:56
Stop only on a reserve buoy, with permission. Anchoring is banned. Check on the chart
5
Off Cap Norfeu
42°14.0′N
003°19.0′E
016°T
12.0
28.2
15:56 CEST
Inside the Cap de Creus natural park. Check on the chart
6
Cadaqués approach
42°16.3′N
003°18.0′E
342°T
2.4
30.6
16:25 CEST
South of the bay entrance, by the Cala Nans light. Check on the chart
7
Cadaqués bay
42°17.1′N
003°16.8′E
312°T
1.2
31.8
16:48 CEST
Mooring field. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Palamós · Mon 24 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
07:22
0.2 m
HW
10:55
0.2 m
LW
16:48
0.1 m
From the Port Vendres station.
Cadaqués · Mon 24 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
07:22
0.2 m
HW
10:55
0.2 m
LW
16:48
0.1 m
From the Port Vendres station.
Monday 24 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 and Cadaqués use 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 Palamós 06:20 CEST. Sunset at Cadaqués 21:10 CEST.
Weather
Tramontana. A cold north to north-westerly from the Pyrenees, strongest round Cap de Creus and in the Gulf of Lion. It can reach gale force within hours.
Sea breeze. In settled weather a south-easterly sea breeze builds in the afternoon.
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
Illes Medes. A protected marine area: anchoring is not permitted, fishing is banned, landing is forbidden, and visits are regulated. There are about 13 buoyed moorings round the islands. Whether a visiting yacht may use one, and at what cost, could not be checked.
Cap de Creus Natural Park. Anchoring outside authorised places and exceeding the speed limit are offences under the park's law. The Encalladora islet is an integral reserve, open only with authorisation. Current anchoring zones, buoy fields and speed limits could not be checked. Check on the chart
Cadaqués. The bay and Portlligat have a marked entrance and exit channel (buoys renewed by the town in 2025). The mooring field's operator, booking and depths could not be checked. Check on the chart
Rocks. The Costa Brava is steep-to but rocky close in; Cap de Sant Sebastià and the Formigues islets need sea room.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Palamós
Start
Within the first hour
Marina Palamós.
L'Estartit
2 nm from waypoint 4
Weather turns at the Medes
Entrance 6 m, berths 1 to 4 m. +34 972 751 351.
Roses
6 nm from waypoint 5
Tramontana, or no mooring at Cadaqués
Entrance 6 m; yacht berths 1 to 3 m, so check yours. Port de Roses +34 972 154 412.
Pilotage
Leaving Palamós
Leave the marina and head east round Cap de Sant Sebastià.
North past Begur toward the Medes.
Into Cadaqués
From Cap Norfeu, head north toward the Cala Nans light (Fl(4+1) 25s).
Enter the bay by the marked channel.
Pick up the mooring you have booked. Operator and 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.