Leg 35 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Portovenere to Capraia
About 61 nautical miles south across the open Ligurian Sea, in the Pelagos whale sanctuary, to Capraia, a volcanic island in the Tuscan Archipelago National Park with 1 village and 1 harbour.
08:30 CEST from Portovenere. About 2 hours 50 minutes after sunrise (05:39 CEST).
Arrive
About 18:59 CEST at Capraia. In the early evening, with about 1 hour 55 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:56 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Sea breezes near the coast; offshore, the libeccio (south-west) or mistral (north-west)
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 confirm at 07:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No libeccio or mistral above force 5 for the crossing.
Capraia berth or buoy confirmed.
Visibility 3 nm or more.
If the forecast is wrong, wait in Portovenere. Capraia has a rest day planned on 7 June, which absorbs the wait.
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
Portovenere
44°03.0′N
009°50.3′E
08:30 CEST
Depart.
1
West of Portovenere
44°02.8′N
009°49.0′E
258°T
1.0
1.0
08:44 CEST
Out through the Bocchette.
2
South-west of Tino
44°00.0′N
009°49.0′E
180°T
2.8
3.8
09:15 CEST
Clear of the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto.
3
North of Capraia
43°05.5′N
009°50.5′E
179°T
54.5
58.3
18:20 CEST
Open water. Keep east of the island's west coast, which is a no-entry zone.
4
Capraia harbour approach
43°03.3′N
009°51.0′E
171°T
2.2
60.5
18:47 CEST
North-east of the harbour. Check on the chart
5
Porto di Capraia
43°03.0′N
009°50.3′E
240°T
0.6
61.1
18:59 CEST
Harbour and summer buoy field. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Portovenere · Sun 6 Jun · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
05:13
0.0 m
HW
10:02
0.2 m
LW
17:06
-0.0 m
HW
23:17
0.3 m
From the La Spezia station.
Capraia · Sun 6 Jun · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
05:01
0.2 m
HW
09:49
0.4 m
LW
16:51
0.1 m
HW
23:04
0.5 m
From the Centuri station.
Sunday 6 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.
Capraia uses the Centuri station on Cap Corse, 17 nm west.
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 Portovenere 05:39 CEST. Sunset at Capraia 20:56 CEST.
Weather
Open sea. 55 nm with no shelter. The libeccio raises a long sea from the south-west; a mistral reaches here as a fresh north-westerly.
Calms. On settled June days the crossing can be a motor.
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
Pelagos Sanctuary. The Ligurian Sea, from Toulon to northern Sardinia and Tuscany, is a sanctuary for whales and dolphins. Follow its code of conduct: keep a safe distance, slow down, hold a steady course, and never approach a group with calves. Fin whales and sperm whales are seen on the crossing to Capraia. Report sightings to the Pelagos secretariat (+377 92 16 11 55).
La Spezia. A naval base: military exercise areas off the gulf could not be checked.
Gorgona. A prison island north-east of the route: keep well clear.
Capraia's west coast. Zone 1 of the national park (about 43°01.3′ to 43°03.4′N, 009°46.8′ to 009°47.8′E): navigation, access, stopping and anchoring by any vessel are prohibited. Approach from the north-east.
The Miglio Blu. A 1,100 m corridor marked by 22 buoys, from south of the harbour to Torretta al Bagno, closed to navigation, anchoring and mooring.
The rest of the park. The marine park round the island (about 42°57′ to 43°07.3′N, 009°43.3′ to 009°55.1′E) has zones A to D with their own rules, which could not be read. A monk-seal cave has been closed since 2020. Check on the chart
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Portovenere and La Spezia
Start
Within the first 2 hours
Gulf of La Spezia.
Livorno
25 nm east of the route
Weather turns mid-crossing
Check the pilot book
Capraia
Destination
First choice
Harbour with a summer buoy field and fuel.
Pilotage
Leaving Portovenere
Leave through the Bocchette slowly, then head south past Tino.
Set a course for the north of Capraia.
Entering Capraia
Approach from the north-east, keeping clear of the west coast.
Call Porto di Capraia on VHF 69 (+39 0586 905307 or +39 338 374 4102).
Pick up the buoy or berth you are given. The light on Punta del Ferraione (flash every 6 s) closes the harbour to the south-east.
Lights on the way
Isola del Tino
Fl(3) 15s, 117 m, 25 M
Capraia, Punta del Ferraione
Flash every 6 s, 16 M
Communications
Porto di Capraia
VHF 69 · +39 0586 905307 · +39 338 374 4102
Tuscan Archipelago National Park
+39 0565 919411
Pelagos Sanctuary secretariat
+377 92 16 11 55
Emergency at sea, Italy (Guardia Costiera)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 1530
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Weather mid-crossing. Bear away for Livorno.
Whales close aboard. Slow down, keep a steady course, and let them move off.
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
Capraia berth or buoy booked
Fuel for 11 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
Capraia park rules: DPR 22 July 1996; islepark.it (le regole a mare, il Miglio Blu, zone map Tav. B3).
Porto di Capraia: portodicapraia.it.
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.