Leg 31 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Porquerolles to Îles de Lérins
East along the Var coast past Cap Bénat, Cap Camarat and the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and the red rocks of the Estérel, to a buoy off Sainte-Marguerite, the larger of the 2 Lérins islands, opposite Cannes.
08:30 CEST from Porquerolles. 2 hours 30 minutes after sunrise (06:00 CEST).
Arrive
About 17:46 CEST at Îles de Lérins. In the late afternoon, with about 3 hours 20 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 21:05 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Westerlies fair; easterlies on the nose. Afternoon sea breezes
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 5, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 07:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No easterly above force 5.
Lérins buoy confirmed with the Port du Moure Rouge office, or a berth at Port Pierre Canto in Cannes.
No warning for the Levant military range.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Porquerolles. Saint-Tropez and Saint-Raphaël are stops on the way.
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
Porquerolles harbour
43°00.2′N
006°12.0′E
08:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Off Cap Bénat
43°03.5′N
006°23.0′E
068°T
8.7
8.7
09:57 CEST
1.7 nm off, north of Port-Cros.
2
South of Cap Camarat
43°11.0′N
006°43.0′E
063°T
16.4
25.1
12:41 CEST
2 nm off the light (Fl(4) 15s).
3
Off Cap Dramont
43°23.0′N
006°53.0′E
031°T
14.0
39.2
15:02 CEST
1.7 nm off the Estérel.
4
South of Saint-Honorat
43°29.3′N
007°03.0′E
049°T
9.6
48.8
16:38 CEST
South of the islands, by Les Moines light (Q(6)+LFl 15s).
5
East of Sainte-Marguerite
43°31.0′N
007°05.5′E
047°T
2.5
51.3
17:08 CEST
Round Pointe du Batéguier to the north side. Check on the chart
6
Lérins buoy field (Anse Sainte-Anne)
43°31.6′N
007°03.0′E
288°T
1.9
53.2
17:46 CEST
Booked buoy. Anchoring banned in the surrounding zone. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Porquerolles · Mon 31 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
05:37
0.4 m
LW
12:28
0.2 m
HW
18:24
0.3 m
From the La Capte station.
Îles de Lérins · Mon 31 May · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
05:31
0.3 m
LW
12:24
0.2 m
HW
18:33
0.3 m
From the La Figueirette station.
Monday 31 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.
The Lérins use the La Figueirette station, near Théoule.
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 Porquerolles 06:00 CEST. Sunset at Îles de Lérins 21:05 CEST.
Weather
Settled in early summer. Mostly light winds and sea breezes; a Mistral reaches here as a fresh westerly.
Easterlies bring swell into the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and the Lérins anchorage.
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
Île du Levant. Most of the island is a military range with restricted waters. The route passes north of Port-Cros and Levant, inside the Rade d'Hyères. Check the restricted zone on the chart and PING.
Lérins buoy field. A mooring zone (ZMEL) at Anse Sainte-Anne, north of Sainte-Marguerite: 30 places for boats of 6 to 20 m, 1 May to 30 September, inside a 43 ha zone where anchoring is banned. At most 7 nights in a row and 21 a season. Check in with the Port du Moure Rouge office on VHF 9 or +33 4 93 94 37 71 (09:00 to 18:00); leave by 12:00 on the day of departure.
Saint-Tropez gulf. Busy with yachts and ferries in summer.
Cannes. Port du Moure Rouge is not suitable (1.4 m maximum draught).
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
Porquerolles
Start
Within the first hour
Harbour.
Saint-Tropez
4 nm from waypoint 2
Weather turns
Marina, usually full in summer. Check the pilot book
Cannes, Port Pierre Canto
2 nm north of the Lérins
No buoy, or easterly swell
VHF 9, 24 h, +33 4 92 18 84 84, draught 2 to 7 m.
Cannes, Vieux Port
2 nm north of the Lérins
Alternative
IGY, +33 4 92 98 70 21, maximum draught 5 m.
Pilotage
Leaving Porquerolles
Leave the harbour and head east, north of Port-Cros and Levant, through the Rade d'Hyères.
Into the Lérins
Pass south of Saint-Honorat, then round Pointe du Batéguier to the north side of Sainte-Marguerite.
Call the Port du Moure Rouge office on VHF 9 and pick up the buoy you are given. Do not anchor.
Lights on the way
Porquerolles (Cap d'Arme)
Fl(2) 10s, 80 m
Titan (Levant)
Fl 5s, 70 m
Camarat
Fl(4) 15s, 130 m
La Moutte (Cap de Saint-Tropez)
Q(3) WR 10s, 11 m
Agay
Oc WR 4s, 28 m
Saint-Honorat, Les Moines
Q(6)+LFl 15s, 12 m
Cannes Vieux Port west mole
VQ(3) R 2s, 22 m
La Garoupe
Fl(2) 10s, 104 m, 31 M
Communications
Lérins buoy field (Port du Moure Rouge office)
VHF 9 · +33 4 93 94 37 71, 09:00 to 18:00
Port Pierre Canto, Cannes
VHF 9 · +33 4 92 18 84 84 · 24 h
CROSS weather, Camarat
VHF 80
CROSS weather, Pic de l'Ours
VHF 64
Emergency at sea (CROSS)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · telephone 196, free, 24 h
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Easterly swell at the Lérins. Go into Port Pierre Canto.
Running late. If Cap Camarat is passed after 16:00 CEST, stop at Saint-Raphaël or Saint-Tropez.
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
Lérins buoy confirmed
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
Lérins mooring zone: cannes.com (zone de mouillage et d'équipements légers); inter-prefectoral arrêté 238/2025.
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.