08:00 CEST from Pozzallo. 2 hours 10 minutes after sunrise (05:49 CEST).
Arrive
About 16:55 CEST at Gozo. In the late afternoon, with about 3 hours 25 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:22 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestrale (north-west) is the summer wind in the channel, on the beam
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 07:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5 in the Malta Channel.
Mġarr berth confirmed: see Hazards.
Visibility 3 nm or more: ships cross the channel east and west.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Pozzallo. Gozo has a rest day planned on 8 July, so the crossing can slip a day.
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
Pozzallo
36°43.0′N
014°51.9′E
08:00 CEST
Depart.
1
Pozzallo approach
36°42.4′N
014°52.0′E
172°T
0.6
0.6
08:09 CEST
Out to the south. Watch for the Malta fast ferry.
2
North-east of Gozo
36°05.0′N
014°21.5′E
213°T
44.8
45.4
15:37 CEST
Malta. Listen on VHF 10 for Mġarr.
3
Off Qala Point
36°02.4′N
014°21.5′E
180°T
2.6
48.0
16:08 CEST
East of Gozo, north of Comino. Into the North Comino Channel at slow speed.
4
Mġarr approach
36°01.3′N
014°18.6′E
245°T
2.6
50.6
16:47 CEST
East of the breakwaters. Ferries.
5
Mġarr Marina
36°01.5′N
014°18.2′E
302°T
0.4
51.0
16:55 CEST
Position from the marina.
Tides and time
Pozzallo · Wed 7 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
06:13
0.1 m
LW
12:02
0.0 m
HW
18:23
0.2 m
From the Catania station.
Gozo · Wed 7 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
06:41
0.1 m
LW
12:18
-0.0 m
HW
19:22
0.1 m
From the Porto Empedocle station.
Wednesday 7 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.
Gozo uses the Porto Empedocle station, about 85 nm away: there is no closer one. Treat the times as a guide only.
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 Pozzallo 05:49 CEST. Sunset at Gozo 20:22 CEST.
Weather
The Malta Channel. 45 nm of open water; the summer maestrale is fresh by afternoon.
Mġarr faces east and is sheltered from the maestrale.
Forecasts to check
Malta Meteorological Office: shipping forecast for Maltese waters, maltairport.com/weather. Issue times: Check the pilot book
Malta Coast Radio broadcasts on NAVTEX; check the station letter and times on the receiver. Check on the chart
Italian Meteomar for the Canale di Sicilia: meteoam.it.
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
Hazards
Arriving in Malta from Italy. Both are in the Schengen area, so there is no passport control between them. Whether a yacht must report its arrival to the police, customs or Transport Malta could not be checked. Ask the marina before sailing.
Mġarr Marina. After damage from Storm Harry the marina stopped taking bookings in 2026, with no reopening date given. Confirm it is open for 2027 before planning on it.
Maltese vessel traffic services. Every vessel in Maltese ports, internal and territorial waters takes part in the VTS. Keep a listening watch on VHF 12 for Valletta (Grand Harbour and Marsamxett), 14 for Marsaxlokk and 10 for Mġarr, Gozo, whether under way or at anchor, and be ready to give position and intentions. Whether a yacht must also report on arrival could not be confirmed. Call to be sure.
Gozo Channel ferries run day and night between Ċirkewwa and Mġarr, with a fast ferry from Valletta. Keep clear of the harbour entrance when one is moving.
Comino and the Blue Lagoon. A swimmers' zone, closed to boats, covers the Blue Lagoon (Transport Malta notice 059/2026); boats keep at least 5 m outside it. A 5 kn limit applies in the Blue Lagoon and its fairways and 10 kn round Comino, marked by yellow buoys (Fl Y 4s) from June to October and in force all year. Mooring to the marker buoys is prohibited. Comino is a Natura 2000 marine site. Other swimmers' zones round Gozo (Ramla, Xlendi, Mġarr ix-Xini and others) have a 20 m safety distance. The 2026 notices expire in October 2026; check the 2027 reissue.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Pozzallo
Start
Within the first hour
Harbour.
Msida, Malta
15 nm south-east of Mġarr
Mġarr closed or full
Marina.
Marina di Ragusa
10 nm west of Pozzallo
Weather turns early
VHF 74, +39 0932 230301.
Pilotage
Leaving Pozzallo
Leave the harbour, watching for the Malta ferry, and head south-south-west.
Into Mġarr
Round Qala Point and enter the North Comino Channel at slow speed.
Call Mġarr LPS on VHF 10, then the marina on VHF 13 (+356 9924 2501).
Enter between the breakwaters; the ferry terminal is in the south-west of the harbour and the yacht pontoons to the north.
Lights on the way
Capo Passero
Fl(2) 10s, 39 m, 11 M
Gozo, Giordan
Fl 7.5s, 180 m, 20 M
Mġarr breakwaters
Check on the chart
Communications
Mġarr Marina
VHF 13 · +356 9924 2501 · office +356 2099 2501
Emergency, Malta
112
AFM Operations Centre (search and rescue)
+356 2249 4016
Valletta VTS
VHF 12 · +356 2555 4491
Mġarr Local Port Service (Gozo)
VHF 10 · +356 2125 5071
Contingencies
Mġarr full or closed. Go on to Msida.
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) and Maltese Local Notices to Mariners (Transport Malta) 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
Mġarr berth booked and the marina confirmed open
Maltese courtesy flag ready
Arrival formalities confirmed with the marina
Fuel for 10 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 11 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: English and Italian Wikipedia.
Transport Malta: VTS communications and participation notices; Local Notices to Mariners 030, 043, 059, 076 and 099 of 2026 (transport.gov.mt).
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.