Leg 45 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Ponza to Ischia
East past Ventotene, a small volcanic island with a Roman harbour cut into the rock, and across the Gulf of Gaeta to Ischia, the green, hot-spring island at the mouth of the Bay of Naples.
08:30 CEST from Ponza. 2 hours 55 minutes after sunrise (05:37 CEST).
Arrive
About 16:15 CEST at Ischia. In the afternoon, with about 4 hours 25 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:39 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.3 m: no practical effect
Wind
Sea breezes; the maestrale (north-west) in the afternoon is common in summer
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 at 07:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5.
Casamicciola berth confirmed.
Visibility 3 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Ponza. Ventotene's harbour is small; Gaeta and Formia are on the mainland 20 nm north.
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
Porto di Ponza
40°53.6′N
012°58.0′E
08:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Ponza approach
40°53.8′N
012°58.8′E
072°T
0.6
0.6
08:40 CEST
Out of the harbour.
2
North of Ventotene
40°49.5′N
013°25.5′E
102°T
20.7
21.3
12:06 CEST
1 nm north of Ventotene. Santo Stefano, east of it, is zone A: keep out. Navigation in zone B is allowed beyond 500 m from the coast.
3
North-west of Ischia
40°46.5′N
013°50.0′E
099°T
18.8
40.1
15:14 CEST
Off Punta Caruso. The Regno di Nettuno marine protected area surrounds Ischia.
4
Casamicciola approach
40°45.6′N
013°54.5′E
105°T
3.5
43.6
16:07 CEST
North of the harbour. Check on the chart
5
Marina di Casamicciola
40°45.2′N
013°54.6′E
169°T
0.4
44.0
16:15 CEST
Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Ponza · Tue 22 Jun · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
05:52
0.1 m
HW
11:35
0.2 m
LW
17:42
0.0 m
Ischia · Tue 22 Jun · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
06:01
0.1 m
HW
11:49
0.2 m
LW
18:01
-0.0 m
From the Napoli station.
Tuesday 22 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.
Ischia uses the Napoli 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 Ponza 05:37 CEST. Sunset at Ischia 20:39 CEST.
Weather
Maestrale. The north-westerly fills in during the afternoon in settled summer weather and is fair on this leg.
Ischia's north coast is open to the north.
Forecasts to check
Italian forecasts: Aeronautica Militare Meteomar and gale warnings (avviso di burrasca), meteoam.it. Forecast area Tirreno centrale, then Tirreno meridionale. Zone names and issue times: Check the pilot book
NAVTEX Roma: 518 kHz, station R. Cagliari: station T. Augusta: station V, further south. Check the times on the receiver.
Italian coast radio VHF weather broadcasts: Check the pilot book
Hazards
Ventotene and Santo Stefano marine protected area. Zone A round Santo Stefano: no navigation, no stopping. Zone B: navigation allowed beyond 500 m from the coast. Keep the island 1 nm off on passage.
Regno di Nettuno marine protected area round Ischia, Procida and Vivara, with zones that limit anchoring and speed near the coast. The zone limits could not be checked against the chart. Check on the chart
Gaeta. Military areas in the Gulf of Gaeta could not be checked.
Ferries and hydrofoils between Naples, Pozzuoli, Procida and Ischia, at speed. Keep a lookout off Casamicciola.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Ponza
Start
Within the first hour
Harbour.
Ventotene
1 nm south of waypoint 2
Emergency
Small harbour. Check the pilot book
Casamicciola
Destination
First choice
Marina, VHF 8, 081 996535, up to 5 m depth.
Ischia Porto
2 nm east of Casamicciola
Alternative
Check the pilot book
Pilotage
Leaving Ponza
Leave the harbour and head east-south-east for Ventotene.
Entering Marina di Casamicciola
Approach from the north-west along Ischia's north coast, 1 nm off.
Call the marina on VHF 8 (081 996535) for a berth. Depths up to 5 m.
Lights on the way
Ponza, Punta della Guardia
Fl(3) 30s, 112 m, 24 M
Ventotene
Fl 5s
Ischia, Punta Imperatore
Fl(2) 15s, 164 m, 22 M
Ischia, Castello Aragonese
LFl 6s
Communications
Marina di Casamicciola
VHF 8 · 081 996535
Ponza harbour office
Check on the chart
Emergency at sea, Italy (Guardia Costiera)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 1530
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Wind rising from the north. Go round to Ischia's south side or into Procida.
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
Casamicciola berth booked
Fuel for 8 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 9 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
Ventotene and Santo Stefano: riservaventotene.it (zoning).
Regno di Nettuno marine protected area (Ischia, Procida, Vivara): areamarinaprotettaregnodinettuno.it.
Marina di Casamicciola: marinadicasamicciola.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.