Leg 34 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Genova to Portovenere
East to the Portofino promontory to swim at San Fruttuoso, an abbey in a cove reached only by sea or on foot, then along the cliffs of the Cinque Terre to Portovenere at the mouth of the Gulf of La Spezia.
09:00 CEST from Genova. Mid-morning, after the rest day in Genova.
Arrive
About 18:37 CEST at Portovenere. In the early evening, with about 2 hours 20 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:59 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Sea breezes in the afternoon; libeccio (south-west) the strong-wind direction
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 San Fruttuoso stop is on a marine-reserve buoy: see Hazards
Track and waypoints 1 to 7, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 08:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No libeccio above force 5.
Portovenere berth or buoy confirmed.
For the stop only: a San Fruttuoso buoy available.
If the weather is wrong, stay in Genova. Santa Margherita, Sestri Levante and Levanto are on the way.
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 Porto Antico, Genova
44°24.5′N
008°55.5′E
09:00 CEST
Depart.
1
Genova approach
44°23.0′N
008°56.5′E
155°T
1.7
1.7
09:25 CEST
Out of the east entrance.
2
Off San Fruttuoso
44°18.4′N
009°10.5′E
115°T
11.0
12.7
11:15 CEST to 12:45
Portofino marine reserve. Approach the buoys at right angles to the shore, at 5 kn or less. Check on the chart
3
South of Portofino
44°17.0′N
009°13.5′E
123°T
2.6
15.3
13:16 CEST
1 nm off the light (Fl 5s).
4
Off Sestri Levante
44°14.5′N
009°23.0′E
110°T
7.3
22.5
14:29 CEST
2 nm off.
5
Off Punta Mesco
44°07.0′N
009°38.0′E
125°T
13.1
35.6
16:40 CEST
1.3 nm off. The Cinque Terre marine reserve begins.
6
Off the Cinque Terre
44°04.0′N
009°44.0′E
125°T
5.3
40.9
17:32 CEST
1.5 nm off Riomaggiore.
7
West of Portovenere
44°02.8′N
009°49.0′E
108°T
3.8
44.7
18:18 CEST
Approach the Bocchette channel between Portovenere and Palmaria. Check on the chart
8
Portovenere
44°03.0′N
009°50.3′E
078°T
1.0
45.6
18:37 CEST
Town quay or buoys. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Genova · Sat 5 Jun · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
04:08
0.1 m
HW
09:03
0.2 m
LW
16:02
-0.0 m
HW
22:13
0.3 m
Portovenere · Sat 5 Jun · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
04:19
0.0 m
HW
09:16
0.2 m
LW
16:18
-0.0 m
HW
22:30
0.3 m
From the La Spezia station.
Saturday 5 June 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.
Portovenere uses the La Spezia 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 Genova 05:42 CEST. Sunset at Portovenere 20:59 CEST.
Weather
Libeccio. A south-westerly sends a heavy sea onto the Cinque Terre cliffs, which have no shelter between Levanto and Portovenere.
Sea breeze from the south in the afternoon.
Forecasts to check
Italian forecasts: Aeronautica Militare Meteomar and gale warnings (avviso di burrasca), meteoam.it. Forecast area Mar Ligure. Zone names and issue times: Check the pilot book
NAVTEX Roma: 518 kHz, station R, at 0250, 0650, 1050, 1450, 1850 and 2250 UTC. Cagliari: 518 kHz, station T. Check the times on the receiver.
Italian coast radio VHF weather broadcasts: Check the pilot book
Hazards
Portofino marine reserve. Zone A: no navigation, anchoring or mooring. Zone B: no anchoring; boats up to 24 m that are not certified low-impact may only go straight in to the San Fruttuoso moorings, at right angles to the shore, at 5 kn or less; the west-side buoys at San Fruttuoso take boats of this size (Cala degli Inglesi, the east side and Punta Chiappa only up to 7.5 m). Zone C: anchoring allowed at least 100 m from shore in set stretches, but banned on the marked seagrass areas and in the Paraggi inlet. 10 kn within 500 m of the coast outside the reserve. The zone limits and the 2027 buoy season and fees could not be checked: the 2026 season ended on 27 September.
Cinque Terre marine reserve. From Punta Mesco to Punta di Montenero, with zones A and B at both ends. Its speed, anchoring and buoy rules could not be checked. Check on the chart
Portovenere. The Bocchette channel between the town and Palmaria is narrow: take it slowly, by chart. Berths and buoys: Check the pilot book
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Genova
Start
Within the first hour
Marina Porto Antico.
Santa Margherita Ligure
2 nm north of waypoint 3
Weather turns
Check the pilot book
Sestri Levante
2 nm from waypoint 4
Halfway
Check the pilot book
La Spezia
Inside the gulf
Portovenere full
Marinas in the gulf. Check the pilot book
Pilotage
Leaving Genova
Leave the old port by the east entrance, calling port control.
Head east-south-east across the Gulf of Paradiso to the Portofino promontory.
Into Portovenere
Approach the Bocchette from the west, slowly, by chart.
Call Portovenere harbour for a berth or buoy. Channel and phone: Check the pilot book
No buoy at San Fruttuoso. Do not anchor in zone B. Carry on and swim at Portovenere.
Libeccio. Stop at Sestri Levante or Levanto; do not run the Cinque Terre in it.
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
Italian notices to mariners (Avvisi ai naviganti) 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
Portofino buoy fee and season checked
Fuel for 9 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
Portofino marine reserve: portofinoamp.it (nautica, statuto e regolamenti, 2026 tariffs).
Cinque Terre marine reserve: Italian Wikipedia, “Area marina protetta Cinque Terre”; DM 24 February 2015.
Lights in Italy: Wikipedia, List of lighthouses in Italy (characteristics, heights, ranges); check against the Italian Navy list of lights (Elenco dei fari).
Italian harbour ordinances (Capitanerie di porto) could not be read for this plan: guardiacostiera.gov.it was unreachable. 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.