08:30 CEST from Gruissan. About 2 hours 15 minutes after sunrise (06:14 CEST), after the weather day at Gruissan.
Arrive
About 17:31 CEST at Port Camargue. In the late afternoon, with about 3 hours 40 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:13 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Mistral (north) and Tramontana (north-west) are the risks; a sea breeze from the south in settled weather
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 the evening before and again at 07:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No Mistral or Tramontana forecast for the day, and no Météo-France special bulletin (BMS) for the zone.
Wind force 4 or less from any direction.
Port Camargue berth confirmed.
This is the leg the weather day at Gruissan is for. If the forecast is wrong, wait. Cap d'Agde and Sète are stops on the way if it turns.
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
Gruissan harbour
43°06.2′N
003°06.2′E
08:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Gruissan approach
43°05.5′N
003°09.0′E
109°T
2.2
2.2
08:59 CEST
Out of the channel.
2
Off Cap d'Agde
43°14.5′N
003°31.5′E
061°T
18.7
20.9
12:06 CEST
1.5 nm off Fort Brescou (Fl(2) WR 6s).
3
Off Sète
43°22.5′N
003°43.5′E
047°T
11.9
32.7
14:05 CEST
2 nm off. Ships use Sète.
4
Port Camargue approach
43°30.3′N
004°06.5′E
065°T
18.4
51.2
17:09 CEST
South-west of the entrance, clear of the shoals off Pointe de l'Espiguette. Check on the chart
5
Port Camargue
43°31.2′N
004°07.7′E
044°T
1.3
52.4
17:31 CEST
Capitainerie reception. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Gruissan · Thu 27 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
01:17
0.3 m
LW
09:25
0.2 m
HW
13:04
0.2 m
LW
19:31
0.2 m
From the Port-la-Nouvelle station.
Port Camargue · Thu 27 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
01:10
0.3 m
LW
09:18
0.2 m
HW
12:54
0.2 m
LW
19:33
0.2 m
Thursday 27 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 Gruissan 06:14 CEST. Sunset at Port Camargue 21:13 CEST.
Weather
The Gulf of Lion. The windiest stretch of the western Mediterranean. The Mistral (down the Rhône valley) and the Tramontana (from the Pyrenees) can blow at gale force for days, with a short steep sea, even under a clear sky. Both blow offshore here, so the sea is calmer close inshore, which is why the route hugs the coast.
Forecasts are good. Both winds are well forecast 1 to 3 days ahead. Never leave with one forecast.
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
Wind farms. EolMed is off Gruissan; the route stays inshore of it. Check on the chart
Sète. A commercial and fishing port: ships and trawlers.
Port Camargue approach. Shoals off Pointe de l'Espiguette to the east. 5 kn in the channels and mooring zones; no stopping or anchoring in the channels; do not moor to marker buoys (arrêté 342/2026).
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
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Gruissan
Start
Within the first hour
Marina.
Cap d'Agde
1.5 nm from waypoint 2
Weather turns
3,100 berths, +33 4 67 26 00 20.
Sète
2 nm from waypoint 3
Late
Commercial port with a marina. Check the pilot book
Port Camargue
Destination
First choice
Capitainerie open 24 h, every day.
Pilotage
Leaving Gruissan
Leave by the channel and head east-north-east along the coast, 2 to 3 nm off.
Entering Port Camargue
Approach from the south-west, clear of the Espiguette shoals.
Enter between the jetties (west Fl(3) G 15s, east Fl R 4s) at 5 kn.
Call the capitainerie on VHF 9 (+33 4 66 51 10 45) and go to reception with the boat's papers and insurance. The boatmen show you to a berth.
Lights on the way
Fort Brescou (Agde)
Fl(2) WR 6s, 22 m
Sète, Mont Saint-Clair
Fl 5s, 93 m
L'Espiguette
Fl(3) 15s, 27 m
Port Camargue west jetty
Fl(3) G 15s, 9 m
Port Camargue east jetty
Fl R 4s, 8 m
Communications
Port Camargue capitainerie
VHF 9 · +33 4 66 51 10 45 · 24 h
Cap d'Agde
+33 4 67 26 00 20
CROSS weather, Agde
VHF 79
Emergency at sea (CROSS)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · telephone 196, free, 24 h
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Mistral or Tramontana arrives early. Stop at Cap d'Agde or Sète. Do not stand out to sea.
Fog. Fog routine; radar and AIS watch for ships at Sète.
Person overboard. Shout, point, throw the danger buoy, press MOB, DSC distress alert, Mayday on 16.
Before leaving
Forecasts read and logged before the go or no-go time
French notices to mariners (PING) checked for the route
Waypoints entered and checked against the chart
Ship's log started in UTC
Crew briefing: route, watches, safety gear, MOB, fog
2 forecasts read: Météo-France and a second source
Fuel for 10 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 10 hours
Lifejackets with crotch straps, jackstays rigged, harnesses
Liferaft, grab bag, flares in date, handheld VHF
Radar, AIS and navigation lights tested
Passports, boat papers and insurance aboard
Sources
Port Camargue: portcamargue.com (capitainerie, accueil); arrêté 342/2026 (premar-mediterranee.gouv.fr).
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.