Leg 62 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Santa Maria di Leuca to Otranto
North up the cliff coast of the Salento, past the sea caves of the Otranto to Leuca park, with a swim off Castro and the Zinzulusa cave, round Punta Palascia, the easternmost point of Italy, to Otranto.
09:30 CEST from Santa Maria di Leuca. Mid-morning.
Arrive
About 17:21 CEST at Otranto. In the late afternoon, after the Castro stop, with about 2 hours 50 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:12 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.3 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestrale is offshore here; a scirocco puts a sea onto the cliffs
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. Swim stop off Castro
Track and waypoints 1 to 6, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 08:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5, and no easterly or scirocco above force 4: the coast is cliffs with few harbours.
Otranto mooring confirmed: see Hazards.
For the stop only: the sea calm off Castro.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Leuca. Tricase Porto and Castro are small harbours on the way.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 0.5 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
Marina di Leuca
39°47.6′N
018°21.8′E
09:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Leuca approach
39°46.8′N
018°20.5′E
230°T
1.3
1.3
09:49 CEST
Out to the south-west.
2
South of the cape
39°46.0′N
018°23.5′E
109°T
2.4
3.7
10:18 CEST
Round the cape outside the shoal, then north.
3
Off Tricase
39°55.5′N
018°25.5′E
009°T
9.6
13.3
11:54 CEST
1 nm off the cliffs.
4
Off Castro
40°00.3′N
018°26.6′E
010°T
4.9
18.2
13:32 CEST to 15:02
Swim stop at anchor off the Zinzulusa cave, clear of swimmers and boats visiting the cave. Position approximate. Check on the chart
5
Off Punta Palascia
40°06.4′N
018°32.5′E
036°T
7.6
25.8
16:25 CEST
1 nm off the easternmost point of Italy.
6
Otranto approach
40°08.9′N
018°30.6′E
330°T
2.9
28.7
17:08 CEST
East of the harbour.
7
Otranto, Lega Navale
40°08.8′N
018°29.8′E
257°T
0.7
29.3
17:21 CEST
Position from the Lega Navale.
Tides and time
Santa Maria di Leuca · Sun 18 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
04:28
0.2 m
LW
10:10
0.1 m
HW
16:45
0.3 m
LW
23:14
0.1 m
From the Otranto station.
Otranto · Sun 18 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
04:28
0.2 m
LW
10:10
0.1 m
HW
16:45
0.3 m
LW
23:14
0.1 m
Sunday 18 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 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 Santa Maria di Leuca 05:33 CEST. Sunset at Otranto 20:12 CEST.
Weather
Sheltered from the maestrale under the cliffs.
Scirocco and easterlies send a sea straight onto this coast.
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
Otranto has no marina. Visiting yachts under 24 m use the Lega Navale moorings or the town's berths, through the harbour office. Book with the Lega Navale (0836 801141) or the mooring service (389 687 7286). The Lega Navale's published transit rates are for its members; ask about rates for other boats.
Sea caves. The Otranto to Leuca coast is a regional park with many caves; boats ferry visitors into the Zinzulusa and others. Marine rules for the park could not be found. Check on the chart
The shoal east of Capo Santa Maria di Leuca. Pass outside it.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Leuca
Start
Within the first hour
Marina.
Tricase Porto or Castro
On the way
Weather turns
Small harbours. Check the pilot book
Otranto
Destination
First choice
Lega Navale moorings.
Pilotage
Leaving Leuca
Leave the marina and round the cape outside the shoal, then head north 1 nm off the cliffs.
Into Otranto
Round Punta Palascia 1 nm off and head north-west.
Enter the harbour past the Punta Craul light and call the Lega Navale mooring service (389 687 7286).
No berth at Otranto. Anchor in the bay in settled weather, or go back to Castro.
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
Otranto mooring booked
Fuel for 6 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 8 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
Otranto: portodiotranto.it; lniotranto.it.
Costa Otranto to Leuca park: Italian Wikipedia.
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.