Leg 29 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Port Camargue to Cassis
Out along the Camargue shore, across the Gulf of Fos and past Marseille's islands, then along the limestone cliffs of the Calanques National Park to Cassis.
07:30 CEST from Port Camargue. 1 hour 20 minutes after sunrise (06:08 CEST). A long leg.
Arrive
About 19:33 CEST at Cassis. In the early evening, with about 1 hour 35 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:07 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Mistral (north-west) is the risk; 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 7, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 06:45 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No Mistral forecast: it blows hardest across the Gulf of Fos and off Marseille.
Cassis berth confirmed, or La Ciotat or a Port-Miou eco-mooring as the plan.
Visibility 3 nm or more: Fos and Marseille are major ports.
If the Mistral is forecast, stay in Port Camargue. Cassis has 2 nights planned, so a day lost here costs only the rest day.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 1.5 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 Camargue
43°31.2′N
004°07.7′E
07:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Port Camargue approach
43°30.3′N
004°06.5′E
224°T
1.3
1.3
07:47 CEST
Out of the channel.
2
South of l'Espiguette
43°26.5′N
004°09.0′E
154°T
4.2
5.5
08:29 CEST
Clear of the shoals. Check on the chart
3
South of Faraman
43°18.0′N
004°40.0′E
110°T
24.1
29.6
12:30 CEST
3.5 nm off the low Camargue shore.
4
Gulf of Fos
43°14.0′N
004°57.0′E
108°T
13.0
42.6
14:40 CEST
Ships bound for Fos and Marseille. A floating wind farm (Provence Grand Large) lies about 17 km off Fos: keep 150 m from the turbines.
5
South of Planier
43°10.5′N
005°14.0′E
106°T
12.9
55.5
16:49 CEST
1.5 nm south of the light (Fl 5s).
6
South of Riou
43°09.2′N
005°23.5′E
101°T
7.1
62.5
17:59 CEST
Off the Calanques National Park.
7
Cassis approach
43°12.3′N
005°31.8′E
063°T
6.8
69.3
19:21 CEST
South of the harbour. Check on the chart
8
Cassis harbour
43°12.8′N
005°32.2′E
030°T
0.6
69.9
19:33 CEST
Position approximate. Visitor berths very few. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Port Camargue · Fri 28 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
01:59
0.3 m
LW
09:59
0.2 m
HW
14:29
0.2 m
LW
20:44
0.2 m
Cassis · Fri 28 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
02:34
0.3 m
LW
10:08
0.1 m
HW
14:34
0.2 m
LW
20:41
0.1 m
From the Marseille station.
Friday 28 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.
Cassis uses the Marseille 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 Port Camargue 06:08 CEST. Sunset at Cassis 21:07 CEST.
Weather
Mistral. Strongest at the mouth of the Rhône, across the Gulf of Fos and off Marseille. Well forecast.
Sea breeze. From the south in the afternoon in settled weather.
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
The Camargue shore. Low, featureless and shoaling: keep 3 nm off.
Provence Grand Large. 3 floating wind turbines about 17 km off Fos, in service since June 2025. Keep at least 150 m from them; inside the park, boats must be under 25 m, transmit AIS, and keep under 12 kn.
Fos and Marseille. Heavy commercial traffic. VTS channels could not be checked. Check the pilot book
Calanques National Park. 5 kn within 300 m of the shore. Anchoring is banned in En-Vau and Port-Pin, and buoys are compulsory at Pomègues, Sormiou, Morgiou and La Ciotat bay. The white eco-moorings at Port-Miou are reserved for passing yachts; do not tie to the yellow buoys. 7 no-take zones; carry a SHOM chart. Landing is banned when the park is closed for fire risk.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Port Camargue
Start
Within the first hour
Capitainerie 24 h.
Marseille or Frioul
5 nm north of waypoint 5
Mistral arrives
Large harbours. Check the pilot book
Port-Miou
1 nm west of Cassis
No berth at Cassis
White eco-moorings reserved for passing yachts.
La Ciotat
3 nm east of Cassis
No berth at Cassis
Check the pilot book
Pilotage
Leaving Port Camargue
Leave by the channel at 5 kn and head south, clear of the Espiguette shoals.
Turn east along the Camargue, 3 nm off.
Entering Cassis
From Riou, follow the Calanques 1 nm off, at 5 kn inside 300 m of the shore.
Call Cassis harbour for a berth. VHF, phone and depths: Check the pilot book
If the harbour is full, take a white eco-mooring at Port-Miou.
Lights on the way
L'Espiguette
Fl(3) 15s, 27 m
Faraman
Fl(2) 10s, 41 m
Fos, Saint-Gervais
VQ(7) 12s, 45 m
Planier
Fl 5s, 68 m
Château d'If
Fl(2) 6s, 27 m
Communications
Port Camargue capitainerie
VHF 9 · +33 4 66 51 10 45
Calanques National Park
calanques-parcnational.fr
CROSS weather, La Gâtasse
VHF 80
Emergency at sea (CROSS)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · telephone 196, free, 24 h
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Mistral arrives. Run for Marseille or Frioul; do not cross the Gulf of Fos in it.
Fog. Fog routine; radar and AIS watch throughout.
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
Cassis, La Ciotat or Port-Miou plan for the night
Fuel for 12 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 12 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
Provence Grand Large: provencegrandlarge.fr (navigation).
Calanques: calanques-parcnational.fr (plaisance, schéma de mouillage, réglementation en mer, zones de non-prélèvement).
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.