Leg 71 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Rimini to Porto Garibaldi
North past Cesenatico and Ravenna, threading out round the gas fields off the Romagna coast, to the fishing port of Porto Garibaldi at the edge of the Comacchio lagoons.
08:30 CEST from Rimini. 2 hours 35 minutes after sunrise (05:56 CEST).
Arrive
About 16:53 CEST at Porto Garibaldi. In the late afternoon, with about 3 hours 45 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:38 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.7 m: time the arrival at Porto Garibaldi's canal for the flood
Wind
Sea breezes; a bora is the danger
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 6, 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 bora or easterly above force 4: the canal entrance breaks in an onshore sea.
Porto Garibaldi berth confirmed, with the canal depth.
Visibility 3 nm or more: the platforms must be seen.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Rimini. Cesenatico and Ravenna (Marinara) are on the way.
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
Marina di Rimini
44°04.6′N
012°34.4′E
08:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Rimini approach
44°05.0′N
012°35.5′E
066°T
0.9
0.9
08:43 CEST
Out of the canal.
2
Off Cesenatico
44°13.0′N
012°31.5′E
340°T
8.5
9.4
10:08 CEST
Between the Benedetta and Morena platforms, about 1.5 nm from each.
3
Off Cervia
44°20.0′N
012°33.0′E
009°T
7.1
16.5
11:19 CEST
Between Morena and the Arianna field.
4
East of Ravenna
44°30.0′N
012°36.5′E
014°T
10.3
26.8
13:02 CEST
East of the Armida and Garibaldi fields.
5
North of the gas fields
44°36.5′N
012°36.0′E
357°T
6.5
33.3
14:07 CEST
Head west for Porto Garibaldi.
6
Porto Garibaldi approach
44°40.6′N
012°16.5′E
287°T
14.5
47.8
16:32 CEST
East of the canal entrance. Check on the chart
7
Porto Garibaldi
44°40.6′N
012°15.0′E
270°T
1.1
48.8
16:53 CEST
Canal harbour. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Rimini · Sat 31 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
04:00
-0.2 m
HW
11:15
0.4 m
LW
15:45
0.3 m
HW
21:19
0.6 m
From the Ravenna station.
Porto Garibaldi · Sat 31 Jul · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
04:00
-0.2 m
HW
11:15
0.4 m
LW
15:45
0.3 m
HW
21:19
0.6 m
From the Ravenna station.
Saturday 31 July 2027. Tides. The northern Adriatic has the largest tides in the Mediterranean: about 0.5 to 1 m between high and low water here. That matters at the canal and river-mouth harbours, where the depth at the entrance changes with the tide, and at the inlets of the Venice lagoon, where the stream runs hard. Wind and air pressure can add as much again.
Both ends use the Ravenna 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 Rimini 05:56 CEST. Sunset at Porto Garibaldi 20:38 CEST.
Weather
Low coast of beaches and lagoons.
A bora raises a dangerous sea at the canal entrances.
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
Gas platforms. Dozens of gas platforms stand off this coast, some as close as 2 km from the shore, each lit and charted. The official list (UNMIG, end of 2025) was used to keep the track at least 1.5 nm from the platforms named on this plan's map, but there are more structures than are shown. Keep a lookout, keep well clear and do not pass between a platform and its tenders. The size of any exclusion zone round them could not be checked. Check on the chart
Mussel farms. Long-line mussel farms lie off the coasts of Romagna and the Veneto, marked with yellow buoys. Their positions could not be checked: look for them on the chart and keep outside the marks. Check on the chart
Porto Garibaldi. One of the largest fishing ports in Emilia-Romagna: trawlers use the canal. Marina degli Estensi's VHF, depths and silting could not be checked. Check the pilot book
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Rimini
Start
Within the first hour
Marina.
Cesenatico
Waypoint 2
Weather turns
Canal harbour. Check the pilot book
Ravenna, Marinara
8 nm west of waypoint 4
Weather turns
Marina. Check the pilot book
Pilotage
Leaving Rimini
Leave the canal and head north, between the platforms.
Into Porto Garibaldi
Approach the canal from the east, watching for trawlers.
Call the marina for a berth and the canal depth. VHF and phone: Check the pilot book
Lights on the way
Cesenatico
Fl(2) 6s, 18 m, 15 M
Porto Corsini
Fl 5s, 35 m, 20 M
Porto Garibaldi, Molo Nord
Fl(4) 15s, 14 m, 15 M
Gas platforms
Each lit; see the chart
Communications
Marina di Rimini
VHF 69 · +39 0541 29488
Porto Garibaldi marina
Check on the chart
Emergency at sea, Italy (Guardia Costiera)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 1530
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Sea at the canal entrance. Go on to Ravenna's Marinara, which is easier to enter.
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
Porto Garibaldi berth booked and canal depth confirmed
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
Porto Garibaldi and Lido degli Estensi: Italian Wikipedia.
Gas platforms: UNMIG, Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, platform list at 31 December 2025 (unmig.mase.gov.it).
Lights on the Italian Adriatic: English Wikipedia, List of lighthouses in Italy; Lighthouse Directory (ibiblio.org/lighthouse).
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.