Leg 27 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Cadaqués to Gruissan
About 60 nautical miles: round Cap de Creus, the easternmost point of mainland Spain, and into France, to swim and lunch on a buoy off Collioure, a harbour village painted by Matisse and Derain, then north along the Roussillon coast to Gruissan, to wait there for the right day to cross the Gulf of Lion.
07:00 CEST from Cadaqués. 40 minutes after sunrise (06:18 CEST). A long day with a stop.
Arrive
About 19:48 CEST at Gruissan. In the early evening, after 2 hours at Collioure, with about 1 hour 25 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:14 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
The Tramontana (north-west) is the wind that matters here: strong, sudden, offshore
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. The Collioure buoy must be booked by 11:00 the day before
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 Tramontana forecast: it is at its worst round Cap de Creus and blows offshore along the Roussillon.
Collioure buoy booked (by 11:00 the day before) and Gruissan berth confirmed.
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the Tramontana is blowing, stay in Cadaqués. If it arrives after the cape, stop at Port-Vendres, next to Collioure.
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
Cadaqués bay
42°17.1′N
003°16.8′E
07:00 CEST
Slip the mooring.
1
Cadaqués approach
42°16.3′N
003°18.0′E
132°T
1.2
1.2
07:18 CEST
Out by the marked channel.
2
Off Cap de Creus
42°19.5′N
003°21.8′E
041°T
4.3
5.5
08:01 CEST
1.5 nm off the light (Fl(2) 10s). Keep clear of the Encalladora islet, an integral reserve.
3
Off Cerbère
42°27.0′N
003°14.0′E
323°T
9.5
14.9
09:35 CEST
Spain to France: no formalities between the 2. 3 nm off the border.
4
Off Cap Béar
42°30.8′N
003°10.8′E
328°T
4.5
19.4
10:20 CEST
2 nm off the light (Fl(3) 15s).
5
Collioure buoy field
42°31.5′N
003°05.0′E
279°T
4.3
23.7
11:25 CEST to 13:25
Booked buoy in the bay. No anchoring from June to September. Position approximate. Check on the chart
6
Off Argelès
42°34.0′N
003°06.5′E
024°T
2.7
26.5
13:55 CEST
Back out of the bay, then north.
7
Off Canet
42°42.0′N
003°06.5′E
000°T
8.0
34.5
15:15 CEST
3 nm off the beach.
8
Off Cap Leucate
42°54.5′N
003°07.5′E
003°T
12.5
47.0
17:20 CEST
3 nm off the light (Fl(2) 10s). Wind farm offshore: keep inshore of it.
9
Gruissan approach
43°05.5′N
003°09.0′E
006°T
11.1
58.1
19:11 CEST
South-east of the harbour entrance. Check on the chart
10
Gruissan harbour
43°06.2′N
003°06.2′E
289°T
2.2
60.2
19:48 CEST
Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Cadaqués · Tue 25 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
08:07
0.2 m
HW
11:33
0.2 m
LW
17:28
0.1 m
From the Port Vendres station.
Gruissan · Tue 25 May · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
07:56
0.2 m
HW
11:30
0.2 m
LW
17:22
0.2 m
From the Port-la-Nouvelle station.
Tuesday 25 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 Cadaqués 06:18 CEST. Sunset at Gruissan 21:14 CEST.
Weather
Tramontana. A cold north-westerly from the Pyrenees, strongest round Cap de Creus and along this coast. It can reach gale force in hours, with a clear sky.
Sea breeze. In settled weather a south-easterly in the afternoon: fair for the run north.
Forecasts to check
Météo-France marine forecasts, meteofrance.com/meteo-marine: coastal zones Frontière espagnole to Port-Camargue, Port-Camargue to Saint-Raphaël, and Saint-Raphaël to Menton. Special bulletins (BMS côte) are issued for force 7 and above.
CROSS La Garde on VHF: regular bulletins 3 times a day, announced first on VHF 16. Special bulletins on VHF 80 every hour at 3 minutes past. Transmitters: Néoulos and Port-Vendres VHF 64, Agde 79, La Gâtasse 80, Mont Coudon (Toulon) 63, Camarat 80, Pic de l'Ours (Cannes) 64. Check the time for each transmitter in the Météo-France Guide Marine.
NAVTEX La Garde: sources disagree on the 518 kHz station letter and times. Check them against the Admiralty List of Radio Signals. Check the pilot book
Notices to mariners (AVURNAV) are published on PING, portail.ping-info-nautique.fr, and broadcast on VHF by the signal stations.
Hazards
Cap de Creus. Rocks and islets off the cape; the Encalladora islet is an integral reserve, open only with authorisation. Keep 1.5 nm off.
Collioure bay. A mooring zone (ZMEL) under inter-prefectoral arrêté 277/2022. From June to September, mooring is only on a booked buoy: book online with the tourist office by 11:00 the day before (11:00 to 11:00, no arrivals after 20:00, non-refundable, about €60 for a monohull under 16 m, boats up to 20 m). Free anchoring is allowed only from October to April.
Offshore wind farms. 2 floating wind farms were being built off this coast: EFGL off Leucate and Le Barcarès, and EolMed off Gruissan, both due in service by 2026. Their positions and exclusion rules could not be checked. The route stays 3 nm off the beaches, inshore of them. Check on the chart
Anchoring in France. The Mediterranean maritime prefecture's general anchoring rules apply along this coast (arrêté 123/2019), with stricter rules on seagrass (posidonia) meadows mainly aimed at yachts of 20 to 45 m and over, and a limit on how long a boat may stay at anchor (arrêté 77/2025). The limit itself was not checked for this plan. Check on the chart
Préfecture maritime de la Méditerranée, premar-mediterranee.gouv.fr (arrêtés, AVURNAV).
Lights: The Lighthouse Directory, France (ibiblio.org/lighthouse/froc.htm, frbr.htm, frvar.htm, fralp.htm).
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.