07:00 CEST from Msida, Malta. 1 hour 5 minutes after sunrise (05:55 CEST), after the rest day at Msida.
Arrive
About 17:44 CEST at Marzamemi. In the late afternoon, with about 2 hours 35 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:20 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.1 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestrale is on the beam; a scirocco is on the nose
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 06:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5, and no scirocco above force 4.
Marzamemi berth confirmed, or Siracusa as the plan.
Visibility 3 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Msida. Pozzallo is the shorter alternative landfall in Sicily.
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
Msida Marina
35°53.8′N
014°29.8′E
07:00 CEST
Depart.
1
Marsamxett entrance
35°54.5′N
014°31.0′E
054°T
1.2
1.2
07:18 CEST
Out, clear of Tigné Point. Call Valletta VTS on VHF 12.
2
Open sea
36°20.0′N
014°55.0′E
037°T
32.1
33.3
12:14 CEST
Halfway. Leaving Maltese waters.
3
South-east of Capo Passero
36°40.0′N
015°11.5′E
033°T
24.0
57.3
16:14 CEST
1.5 nm off the island of Capo Passero.
4
Marzamemi approach
36°44.0′N
015°08.5′E
329°T
4.7
61.9
17:24 CEST
East of the harbour. Check on the chart
5
Marzamemi
36°44.2′N
015°07.3′E
282°T
1.0
62.9
17:44 CEST
Fishing harbour. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Msida, Malta · Sun 11 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
03:42
0.0 m
HW
11:34
0.1 m
LW
17:56
0.1 m
HW
22:54
0.1 m
From the Porto Empedocle station.
Marzamemi · Sun 11 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
03:14
0.0 m
HW
10:30
0.1 m
LW
16:54
0.1 m
HW
21:55
0.1 m
From the Catania station.
Sunday 11 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.
Msida uses the Porto Empedocle station and Marzamemi 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 Msida 05:55 CEST. Sunset at Marzamemi 20:20 CEST.
Weather
Open sea. 50 nm with no shelter.
Capo Passero. Wind and sea build round the cape.
Forecasts to check
Malta Meteorological Office: shipping forecast for Maltese waters, maltairport.com/weather. Issue times: Check the pilot book
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
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.
Marzamemi harbour. A small fishing harbour; visitor berths, depths and VHF could not be checked. Check the pilot book
Fishing gear off Capo Passero and Marzamemi.
Shipping crosses the route between the Strait of Sicily and the eastern Mediterranean.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Msida
Start
Within the first 2 hours
Marina.
Pozzallo
15 nm west of waypoint 3
Weather turns
Harbour.
Siracusa
25 nm north of Marzamemi
Marzamemi full
Porto Grande.
Pilotage
Leaving Msida
Leave Marsamxett on VHF 12, clear of Tigné Point, and head north-east.
Into Marzamemi
Round Capo Passero 1.5 nm off and head north.
Approach from the east. Berths and depths: Check the pilot book
Lights on the way
Malta lights
Check on the chart
Capo Passero
Fl(2) 10s, 39 m, 11 M
Communications
Msida Marina
Check on the chart
Valletta VTS
VHF 12 · +356 2555 4491
Emergency at sea, Italy (Guardia Costiera)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 1530
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Behind time. If waypoint 3 is not reached by 13:00 CEST, go into Pozzallo.
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
Maltese Local Notices to Mariners (Transport Malta) and 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
Marzamemi berth booked
Italian courtesy flag ready
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
Marzamemi: Italian Wikipedia.
Transport Malta: VTS communications and participation notices; Local Notices to Mariners 030, 043, 059, 076 and 099 of 2026 (transport.gov.mt).
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.