08:30 CEST from Otranto. 2 hours 55 minutes after sunrise (05:33 CEST).
Arrive
About 16:34 CEST at Brindisi. In the afternoon, with about 3 hours 40 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:15 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.3 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestrale is on the nose in the afternoon
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 07:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5, and no north-westerly above force 4: it is on the nose.
Marina di Brindisi berth confirmed.
Visibility 3 nm or more: ferries and ships use the port.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Otranto. San Foca and San Cataldo 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 1.2 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
Otranto, Lega Navale
40°08.8′N
018°29.8′E
08:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Otranto approach
40°08.9′N
018°30.6′E
077°T
0.7
0.7
08:40 CEST
Out to the east, then north.
2
Off Torre Sant'Andrea
40°15.5′N
018°29.0′E
350°T
6.7
7.4
09:47 CEST
2 nm off.
3
Off San Cataldo
40°23.5′N
018°21.5′E
324°T
9.8
17.2
11:25 CEST
2.5 nm off the light.
4
Brindisi approach
40°40.0′N
017°59.5′E
315°T
23.5
40.7
16:07 CEST
North of the Pedagne islands. Ferries and ships: listen on VHF 16.
5
Marina di Brindisi
40°39.6′N
017°57.8′E
253°T
1.4
42.1
16:34 CEST
Between Isola Sant'Andrea and Forte a Mare. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Otranto · Mon 19 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
04:55
0.2 m
LW
10:38
0.0 m
HW
17:13
0.3 m
LW
23:41
0.0 m
Brindisi · Mon 19 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
04:50
0.2 m
LW
10:23
0.1 m
HW
16:55
0.2 m
LW
23:32
0.0 m
From the Taranto station.
Monday 19 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.
Brindisi uses the Taranto 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 Otranto 05:33 CEST. Sunset at Brindisi 20:15 CEST.
Weather
Maestrale on the nose in the afternoon: an early start keeps it short.
Brindisi marina is sheltered from the maestrale and exposed to the scirocco.
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
Brindisi port. An industrial outer harbour, a commercial middle harbour and ferries to Greece and Albania. Military areas and the rules for pleasure craft in the port could not be read. Keep clear of ships and follow the harbour office's instructions on VHF.
The Pedagne islands lie east of the harbour entrance; enter north of them.
Fishing gear close in along the Salento coast.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Otranto
Start
Within the first hour
Lega Navale.
San Cataldo
Waypoint 3
Weather turns
Small harbour. Check the pilot book
Brindisi
Destination
First choice
Marina di Brindisi, VHF 08, 638 berths.
Pilotage
Leaving Otranto
Leave the harbour and head north, 1.5 nm off the coast.
Into Brindisi
Approach from the east, north of the Pedagne islands, keeping clear of ships.
Call Marina di Brindisi on VHF 08 (+39 0831 411516). Depths up to 11 m.
Maestrale rising. Stop at San Cataldo or San Foca.
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
Marina di Brindisi berth booked (2026 rate for 12 m in August: €100 per day)
Fuel for 9 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 10 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
Marina di Brindisi: marinedi.com; marinadibrindisi.it (2026 tariffs).
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.