Leg 60 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Roccella Ionica to Crotone
North-east past Punta Stilo, across the Gulf of Squillace, and round the outside of the Capo Rizzuto marine reserve and the lone Greek column at Capo Colonna to Crotone.
06:15 CEST from Roccella Ionica. 30 minutes after sunrise (05:43 CEST).
Arrive
About 17:55 CEST at Crotone. In the early evening, with about 2 hours 20 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:17 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Sea breezes; the Gulf of Squillace funnels westerlies off the mountains
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 7, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 05:45 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5, and no easterly above force 4.
Crotone berth confirmed.
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Roccella. Crotone has a weather day planned on 16 July before the Gulf of Taranto.
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
Roccella Ionica, Porto delle Grazie
38°19.0′N
016°25.2′E
06:15 CEST
Depart.
1
Roccella approach
38°18.5′N
016°26.0′E
129°T
0.8
0.8
06:27 CEST
Out to the south-east.
2
Off Punta Stilo
38°26.5′N
016°37.0′E
047°T
11.8
12.6
08:25 CEST
2 nm off the light.
3
South of Le Castella
38°51.0′N
017°05.0′E
042°T
32.9
45.4
13:53 CEST
Outside the Capo Rizzuto marine protected area. 30 nm across the gulf.
4
East of Capo Rizzuto
38°56.0′N
017°14.0′E
054°T
8.6
54.0
15:19 CEST
Outside the area's limit.
5
East of Capo Colonna
39°01.5′N
017°15.0′E
008°T
5.6
59.6
16:15 CEST
Outside the area's limit.
6
North of the reserve
39°04.6′N
017°12.0′E
323°T
3.9
63.5
16:54 CEST
North of the area's limit. Head west for Crotone.
7
Crotone approach
39°05.2′N
017°08.8′E
284°T
2.6
66.0
17:32 CEST
East of the harbour. Check on the chart
8
Crotone
39°05.7′N
017°07.5′E
298°T
1.2
67.2
17:55 CEST
Position from the port.
Tides and time
Roccella Ionica · Thu 15 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
02:30
0.1 m
LW
08:05
0.1 m
HW
14:46
0.2 m
LW
21:23
0.1 m
From the Crotone station.
Crotone · Thu 15 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
02:30
0.1 m
LW
08:05
0.1 m
HW
14:46
0.2 m
LW
21:23
0.1 m
Thursday 15 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 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 Roccella Ionica 05:43 CEST. Sunset at Crotone 20:17 CEST.
Weather
Gulf of Squillace. Westerlies funnel down from the mountains of the Calabrian isthmus.
Crotone is open to the east.
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
Capo Rizzuto marine protected area. From the coast south of Crotone to Le Castella, out to about 4 nm; its outer limit runs through 39°04.00'N 17°12.30'E, 39°01.70'N 17°13.60'E, 38°58.70'N 17°13.90'E, 38°56.60'N 17°12.50'E, 38°52.40'N 17°07.60'E and 38°51.50'N 17°02.90'E. Zone A at Capo Colonna, Capo Cimiti and Capo Bianco: no navigation, anchoring or mooring. Zone B: sail allowed, engine at 5 kn. Zone C: 5 kn within 300 m of the coast, 10 kn beyond; anchoring on sand only, by day, in marked areas. Buoy fields from €18 per day (2024 rates).
Crotone. Commercial port (Porto Nuovo) and the shallower Porto Vecchio for fishing and leisure craft.
Westerly rising in the gulf. Stay close to the Calabrian shore and stop at Le Castella if needed.
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
Crotone berth booked
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
Capo Rizzuto: riservamarinacaporizzuto.it (DM 22 May 2002 zoning; regolamento 2009; disciplinare 2024).
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.