05:45 CEST from Crotone. At first light, at sunrise (05:39 CEST), after the weather day at Crotone.
Arrive
About 17:05 CEST at Santa Maria di Leuca. In the late afternoon, with about 3 hours 5 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:13 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.3 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestrale (north-west) is the summer wind across the gulf, 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. An 11-hour day of open sea: meals prepared ahead
Track and waypoints 1 to 3, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide the evening before and confirm at 05:15 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
Settled forecast for the whole day: no wind above force 5, and no scirocco above force 4.
Leuca berth confirmed.
Crew rested: this is an 11-hour day.
This is the leg the weather day at Crotone is for. If the forecast is still wrong, wait. Gallipoli, 20 nm north of Leuca on the gulf side, is the alternative landfall.
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
Crotone
39°05.7′N
017°07.5′E
05:45 CEST
Depart at first light.
1
Crotone approach
39°05.5′N
017°09.0′E
101°T
1.2
1.2
06:03 CEST
Out to the east.
2
Mid-gulf
39°27.0′N
017°45.0′E
052°T
35.2
36.4
11:28 CEST
Open sea, 25 nm from land on either side.
3
Leuca approach
39°46.8′N
018°20.5′E
054°T
33.8
70.2
16:40 CEST
South-west of the harbour, west of the cape and its shoal.
4
Marina di Leuca
39°47.6′N
018°21.8′E
050°T
1.3
71.5
17:05 CEST
Position from the marina.
Tides and time
Crotone · Sat 17 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
03:48
0.2 m
LW
09:15
0.1 m
HW
15:52
0.2 m
LW
22:28
0.1 m
Santa Maria di Leuca · Sat 17 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
03:59
0.2 m
LW
09:40
0.1 m
HW
16:15
0.3 m
LW
22:46
0.1 m
From the Otranto station.
Saturday 17 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.
Leuca uses the Otranto 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 Crotone 05:39 CEST. Sunset at Santa Maria di Leuca 20:13 CEST.
Weather
Open sea. About 60 nm across the gulf with no shelter.
Capo Santa Maria di Leuca. Wind and sea build where the Ionian and Adriatic meet.
Forecasts to check
Italian forecasts: Aeronautica Militare Meteomar and gale warnings (avviso di burrasca), meteoam.it. Forecast areas Ionio, Adriatico meridionale and Adriatico centrale. Zone names and issue times: Check the pilot book
NAVTEX: Italian stations cover the Ionian and Adriatic; check the station letters and times on the receiver. Check on the chart
Italian coast radio VHF weather broadcasts: Check the pilot book
Hazards
The Gulf of Taranto. Italy claims the gulf inside a line from Punta Alice to Punta Meliso (Leuca) as a historic bay. The naval base at Taranto is at its head; naval exercise areas in the gulf could not be checked. Read the Avvisi ai naviganti before sailing.
The shoal east of the cape. A shoal lies east of Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, covered by a red occulting sector on the lighthouse. The route approaches from the south-west, clear of it.
Shipping to and from Taranto crosses the route.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Crotone
Start
Within the first 2 hours
Port.
Gallipoli
20 nm north of Leuca
Leuca full or weather from the south
Check the pilot book
Santa Maria di Leuca
Destination
First choice
Marina, VHF 12, 760 berths.
Pilotage
Leaving Crotone
Leave at first light and set the course north-east across the gulf.
Into Marina di Leuca
Approach from the south-west, west of the cape.
Call the marina on VHF 12 (0833 758687). Depth up to 7.5 m, 3 kn in port.
Lights on the way
Capo Colonna
Fl 5s, 40 m, 24 M
Punta Alice
Fl(2) 10s, 31 m, 16 M
Capo Santa Maria di Leuca
Fl(3) 15s, 102 m, 24 M; red occulting sector over the shoal to the east
Behind time. If the mid-gulf waypoint is not reached by 11:30 CEST, turn back to Crotone or bear away for Gallipoli.
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
Leuca berth booked
Meals for an 11-hour day prepared
Avvisi ai naviganti for the Gulf of Taranto read
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
Gulf of Taranto: Italian and English Wikipedia.
Marina di Leuca: portodileuca.it.
Lights in Puglia and Calabria: English Wikipedia, List of lighthouses in Italy; Italian Wikipedia lighthouse pages (Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, Punta Palascia, Capo Colonna).
Port descriptions: Italian Wikipedia, Porto di Brindisi, Porto di Monopoli, Porto di Bari, Porto di Trani, Vieste.
Harbour ordinances (Capitanerie di porto) and the Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare Adriatico Meridionale's rules for pleasure craft could not be read. Check the pilot book
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.