Leg 54 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Siracusa to Pozzallo
South round Capo Murro di Porco, with a swim in the Plemmirio marine protected area, down the coast past the Vendicari reserve to Capo Passero, the south-east corner of Sicily, then west to Pozzallo.
07:00 CEST from Siracusa. 1 hour 15 minutes after sunrise (05:45 CEST), after the rest day at Siracusa.
Arrive
About 18:17 CEST at Pozzallo. In the early evening, after the Plemmirio stop, with about 2 hours 5 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:22 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Sea breezes; Capo Passero accelerates any wind
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 Plemmirio stop is in the 2 sand areas where anchoring is allowed
Track and waypoints 1 to 8, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 06:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5: Capo Passero adds a force.
Pozzallo berth confirmed, or Marina di Ragusa as the plan.
For the stop only: the sea calm in the bay west of Capo Murro di Porco.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Siracusa. Marzamemi, just north of Capo Passero, is the harbour 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
Siracusa, Porto Grande
37°03.6′N
015°17.1′E
07:00 CEST
Depart.
1
Porto Grande approach
37°02.8′N
015°18.5′E
126°T
1.4
1.4
07:21 CEST
Out of the harbour.
2
East of the Plemmirio area
37°01.5′N
015°21.8′E
116°T
2.9
4.3
07:56 CEST
Outside the area's eastern limit, 15°21.15'E.
3
South of the Plemmirio area
36°59.2′N
015°21.0′E
196°T
2.4
6.7
08:25 CEST
Outside the southern limit, 36°59.44'N.
4
Plemmirio, south sand area
37°00.1′N
015°16.9′E
285°T
3.4
10.1
09:16 CEST to 10:46
Swim stop at anchor on sand, in zone C: anchoring allowed only between 36°59.990'N and 37°00.232'N, 15°16.717'E and 15°17.115'E. 10 kn in the area.
5
Off Vendicari
36°48.0′N
015°08.5′E
209°T
13.8
24.0
13:04 CEST
2 nm off the reserve.
6
East of Capo Passero
36°41.5′N
015°11.0′E
163°T
6.8
30.8
14:12 CEST
1 nm off the island of Capo Passero.
7
South of Isola delle Correnti
36°37.5′N
015°04.5′E
233°T
6.6
37.3
15:18 CEST
1 nm off. The southernmost point of Sicily.
8
Pozzallo approach
36°42.4′N
014°52.0′E
296°T
11.2
48.5
18:05 CEST
South of the harbour. Check on the chart
9
Pozzallo
36°43.0′N
014°51.9′E
352°T
0.6
49.1
18:17 CEST
Small-craft harbour. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Siracusa · Tue 6 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
05:27
0.1 m
LW
11:15
0.0 m
HW
17:40
0.2 m
From the Catania station.
Pozzallo · Tue 6 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
05:27
0.1 m
LW
11:15
0.0 m
HW
17:40
0.2 m
From the Catania station.
Tuesday 6 July 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 Catania 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 Siracusa 05:45 CEST. Sunset at Pozzallo 20:22 CEST.
Weather
Capo Passero. Winds and sea build round the cape, where the Ionian meets the Strait of Sicily.
Pozzallo faces south; a southerly sends a sea into the approach.
Forecasts to check
Italian forecasts: Aeronautica Militare Meteomar and gale warnings (avviso di burrasca), meteoam.it. Forecast areas Tirreno meridionale, Stretto di Sicilia and Ionio. Zone names and issue times: Check the pilot book
NAVTEX Augusta: 518 kHz, station V. Roma: station R. Check the times on the receiver.
Italian coast radio VHF weather broadcasts: Check the pilot book
Hazards
Plemmirio marine protected area, round Capo Murro di Porco. Zone A (no navigation, anchoring or mooring) off the cape between 36°59.94'N and 37°01.04'N, east of the coast to 15°20.45'E. Zone B: sail allowed, engine at 5 kn, no anchoring, mooring only on the park's buoys. Zone C (the rest, out to 15°21.15'E and down to 36°59.44'N): engine at 10 kn, anchoring only on sand in 2 marked areas. Buoys need a paid authorisation bought online (pagoPA), which asks for an Italian fiscal code or the country of residence. Consorzio Plemmirio 0931 449310, [email protected].
Vendicari. A nature reserve on land with its own rules for the shore. Check on the chart
Pozzallo. A commercial port with the daily fast ferry to Malta and a small northern harbour for fishing and leisure craft, up to about 150 boats. Visitor berths, VHF and depths could not be checked. Check the pilot book
Fishing gear off Capo Passero and Marzamemi.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Siracusa
Start
Within the first hour
Porto Grande.
Marzamemi
3 nm north of Capo Passero
Weather turns
Check the pilot book
Marina di Ragusa
10 nm west of Pozzallo
Pozzallo full
VHF 74, +39 0932 230301, 700 berths, 2.5 to 5 m.
Pilotage
Leaving Siracusa
Leave the Porto Grande and pass east and south of the Plemmirio area, outside its limits.
Into Pozzallo
Round Isola delle Correnti 1 nm off and head west-north-west along the coast.
Approach from the south, watching for the Malta ferry. Call the harbour for a berth: Check the pilot book
Pozzallo full or exposed. Go on to Marina di Ragusa, 10 nm west.
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
Pozzallo berth booked, or Marina di Ragusa
Passports ready: the next leg leaves Italy for Malta, inside Schengen
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
Pozzallo: Italian Wikipedia, “Porto di Pozzallo”.
Marina di Ragusa: portoturisticomarinadiragusa.it.
Lights: English Wikipedia, Capo Passero and Isola delle Correnti lighthouses.
Plemmirio: plemmirio.eu (decree of 15 September 2004; disciplinare 2022; ormeggio).
Capitaneria di porto ordinances for Lipari, Milazzo, Messina, Catania, Siracusa and Pozzallo could not be read: guardiacostiera.gov.it was unreachable. Check the pilot book
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.