Leg 59 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Riposto to Roccella Ionica
Across the mouth of the Ionian to the toe of Italy, round Capo Spartivento, and north-east along the Calabrian coast to the harbour of Roccella Ionica.
06:00 CEST from Riposto. At sunrise (06:00 CEST), after the rest day at Riposto.
Arrive
About 18:30 CEST at Roccella Ionica. In the early evening, with about 1 hour 50 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:18 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Light in settled weather; Capo Spartivento 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. A 12-hour day: meals prepared ahead
Track and waypoints 1 to 5, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide the evening before and confirm at 05:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5, and no easterly or south-easterly above force 4: Roccella's entrance is dangerous in an onshore sea.
Roccella berth and entrance depth confirmed with the harbour.
Crew rested: this is a 12-hour day.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Riposto. There is no good harbour on the Calabrian coast between Reggio and Roccella.
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
Riposto, Porto dell'Etna
37°43.7′N
015°12.7′E
06:00 CEST
Depart at sunrise.
1
Riposto approach
37°43.5′N
015°13.5′E
108°T
0.7
0.7
06:10 CEST
Out to the east.
2
South of Capo Spartivento
37°53.0′N
016°04.0′E
076°T
41.0
41.7
12:29 CEST
2.5 nm south of the light. 40 nm of open water from Sicily.
3
Off Capo Bruzzano
38°01.0′N
016°12.5′E
040°T
10.4
52.2
14:13 CEST
2 nm off.
4
Off Locri
38°13.0′N
016°20.5′E
028°T
13.6
65.7
16:29 CEST
2 nm off.
5
Roccella approach
38°18.5′N
016°26.0′E
038°T
7.0
72.7
18:14 CEST
South-east of the entrance. The entrance silts. Check on the chart
6
Roccella Ionica, Porto delle Grazie
38°19.0′N
016°25.2′E
309°T
0.8
73.5
18:30 CEST
Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Riposto · Wed 14 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
01:01
0.1 m
LW
06:57
0.1 m
HW
13:53
0.2 m
LW
20:22
0.1 m
From the Catania station.
Roccella Ionica · Wed 14 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
01:18
0.1 m
LW
07:20
0.1 m
HW
14:07
0.2 m
LW
20:45
0.1 m
From the Crotone station.
Wednesday 14 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.
Roccella uses the Crotone 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 Riposto 05:49 CEST. Sunset at Roccella Ionica 20:18 CEST.
Weather
Open sea for the first 40 nm.
Capo Spartivento. Wind and sea build round the cape.
The Ionian coast of Calabria is open to the east and south-east, with few harbours.
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
Roccella entrance. The harbour has 4 to 5 m inside after dredging in 2016 and 2017, but the entrance is known to silt. Ask the harbour for the current depth and approach in calm water only.
Strait of Messina traffic crosses the route east of Riposto.
Fishing gear close in along the Calabrian coast.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Riposto
Start
Within the first 2 hours
Porto dell'Etna.
Reggio Calabria
20 nm north-west of Capo Spartivento
Weather turns
Check the pilot book
Roccella Ionica
Destination
First choice
Porto delle Grazie, 450 berths.
Pilotage
Leaving Riposto
Leave at sunrise and set the course for Capo Spartivento, 40 nm.
Into Roccella
Approach from the south-east in calm water, on the depths the harbour gives.
Call Porto delle Grazie for a berth. VHF and phone: Check the pilot book
Lights on the way
Capo Spartivento
Fl 8s, 63 m, 24 M
Punta Stilo
Fl(3) 15s, 54 m, 22 M
Roccella harbour
Check on the chart
Communications
Porto dell'Etna, Riposto
VHF 74 · +39 095 779575
Porto delle Grazie, Roccella
Check on the chart
Emergency at sea, Italy (Guardia Costiera)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 1530
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Behind time. If Capo Spartivento is not abeam by 13:00 CEST, turn back or go to Reggio Calabria.
Swell at Roccella. Do not try the entrance; go on to Crotone or wait offshore for calm only if daylight allows.
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
Roccella berth booked and entrance depth confirmed
Meals for a 12-hour day prepared
Fuel for 13 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 14 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
Calabrian lights: English Wikipedia, List of lighthouses in Italy.
Porto delle Grazie: Italian Wikipedia. Porto dell'Etna: portodelletna.it. Crotone: portodicrotone.com.
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.