Leg 39 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
La Maddalena to Porto-Vecchio
Back north across the Strait of Bonifacio to swim at the Lavezzi, granite islets with clear water between Corsica and Sardinia, then up the long gulf to Porto-Vecchio.
08:30 CEST from La Maddalena. 2 hours 40 minutes after sunrise (05:49 CEST), after the rest day at La Maddalena.
Arrive
About 18:21 CEST at Porto-Vecchio. In the early evening, after a stop at the Lavezzi, with about 2 hours 35 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:58 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Westerlies funnel through the strait
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 Lavezzi stop depends on the reserve's rules: see Hazards
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 westerly above force 5 in the strait.
Porto-Vecchio berth confirmed.
For the stop only: the Lavezzi rules allow a visiting yacht to stop, and the sea is calm enough.
If the weather is wrong, stay at La Maddalena. Porto-Vecchio has a weather day planned on 14 June before the crossing to Elba.
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
La Maddalena, Cala Gavetta
41°12.6′N
009°24.3′E
08:30 CEST
Depart.
1
South of Santo Stefano
41°10.3′N
009°24.5′E
176°T
2.3
2.3
09:05 CEST
Out through the channel.
2
East of Caprera
41°13.0′N
009°30.0′E
057°T
4.9
7.3
09:59 CEST
Round Caprera to the north.
3
Lavezzi
41°20.0′N
009°16.5′E
305°T
12.3
19.6
12:27 CEST to 13:57
Swim stop, only where the reserve allows. Position approximate. Check on the chart
4
East of the Cerbicale
41°31.0′N
009°25.5′E
031°T
12.9
32.5
16:06 CEST
Outside the islets.
5
Gulf of Porto-Vecchio entrance
41°36.0′N
009°24.0′E
347°T
5.1
37.6
17:02 CEST
North of Pointe de la Chiappa. Into the gulf.
6
Porto-Vecchio marina
41°35.4′N
009°17.0′E
264°T
5.3
42.9
18:21 CEST
At the head of the gulf. Follow the marked channel. Check on the chart
Tides and time
La Maddalena · Sun 13 Jun · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
04:11
1.4 m
LW
12:42
1.2 m
HW
17:34
1.4 m
LW
22:24
1.3 m
From the Solenzara station.
Porto-Vecchio · Sun 13 Jun · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
04:11
1.4 m
LW
12:42
1.2 m
HW
17:34
1.4 m
LW
22:24
1.3 m
From the Solenzara station.
Sunday 13 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.
Both ends use the Solenzara 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 La Maddalena 05:49 CEST. Sunset at Porto-Vecchio 20:58 CEST.
Weather
The strait as on leg 38.
The gulf. The Gulf of Porto-Vecchio is sheltered except from the east.
Forecasts to check
Météo-France coastal zone Corse (BMS côte 02-04), with microzones Bastia to Solenzara, Solenzara to Chiappa, Chiappa to Sant'Amanza, and Bouches de Bonifacio; port forecasts for Bastia, Porto-Vecchio and Bonifacio. meteofrance.com/meteo-marine.
CROSS: the Corsica sub-centre at Aspretto (Ajaccio) handles missions within about 20 nm of Corsica. Emergency 196 or VHF 16.
NAVTEX Cagliari: 518 kHz, station T. Roma: 518 kHz, station R. Check the times on the receiver.
French notices to mariners: PING, portail.ping-info-nautique.fr.
Hazards
Lavezzi. Part of the Bouches de Bonifacio nature reserve, with no-take zones and rules on anchoring, mooring and landing that could not be read for this plan. Phone the reserve or the Office de l'Environnement de la Corse before stopping. Without confirmation, look from 1 nm off and carry on.
Strait traffic. As on leg 38.
La Maddalena National Park permit. A ticket is required to sail, moor or anchor within 300 m of the coast in the park. Buy it online at autorizzazioni.lamaddalenapark.it (pagoPA). 2026 rates: €3 per metre of length per day for boats of 10 to 24 m, or a flat €101 for 7 days for 10 to 14 m; sailing boats get 40% off and online purchase 5% off. 2027 rates were not yet published. Navigation, mooring and anchoring in the archipelago for the summers of 2026 and 2027 are set by the La Maddalena harbour office's Ordinanza 33/2026, which could not be read for this plan; nor could the park's zoning map.
The gulf. 9 km long, with shoals off its shores: follow the channel marks to the marina.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
La Maddalena
Start
Within the first hour
Cala Gavetta.
Bonifacio
6 nm west of the Lavezzi
Weather in the strait
Check the pilot book
Porto-Vecchio
Destination
First choice
Marina, 150 visitor berths, up to 50 m, under 4.5 m draught.
Pilotage
Leaving La Maddalena
Leave Cala Gavetta and the channel to the south, then round Caprera to the east and north.
Lights in Corsica: French Wikipedia lighthouse pages (Alistro, Chiappa, Lavezzi, Pertusato).
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.