Leg 86 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Orikum to Sarandë
Out of the Bay of Vlorë between Karaburun and Sazan and south down the Albanian Riviera, under the Ceraunian mountains, past Dhërmi and Himarë to Sarandë, opposite Corfu.
06:15 CEST from Orikum. At sunrise (06:15 CEST), after the rest day at Orikum.
Arrive
About 17:25 CEST at Sarandë. In the late afternoon, with about 2 hours of daylight in hand (sunset 19:25 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.1 m: no practical effect
Wind
The afternoon north-westerly is behind the yacht
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 10, 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: the Riviera is steep with few harbours.
Sarandë agent booked.
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Orikum. Porto Palermo, south of Himarë, is the only shelter on the way.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 0.4 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
Orikum Marina
40°20.1′N
019°28.3′E
06:15 CEST
Depart.
1
Orikum approach
40°23.4′N
019°26.4′E
336°T
3.6
3.6
07:09 CEST
North up the bay, clear of Pasha Liman.
2
Bay of Vlorë
40°27.0′N
019°24.0′E
333°T
4.0
7.6
07:46 CEST
3
Mezokanal
40°28.0′N
019°17.4′E
281°T
5.1
12.8
08:48 CEST
Between Karaburun and Sazan. Check on the chart
4
West of Cape Gjuhëz
40°25.2′N
019°14.4′E
219°T
3.6
16.4
09:21 CEST
2 nm off the end of Karaburun.
5
Off Karaburun
40°18.0′N
019°19.2′E
153°T
8.1
24.5
10:36 CEST
2 nm off.
6
Off Dhërmi
40°12.0′N
019°27.0′E
135°T
8.5
32.9
11:54 CEST
3 nm off.
7
Off Himarë
40°06.0′N
019°41.4′E
119°T
12.5
45.5
13:50 CEST
3 nm off.
8
Off Lukovë
40°00.0′N
019°50.4′E
131°T
9.1
54.6
15:14 CEST
2 nm off.
9
Off Kakome
39°55.2′N
019°54.0′E
150°T
5.5
60.2
16:05 CEST
2 nm off.
10
Sarandë approach
39°51.9′N
019°59.1′E
130°T
5.1
65.3
17:07 CEST
West of the harbour.
11
Sarandë
39°52.2′N
020°00.2′E
067°T
0.9
66.2
17:25 CEST
Port of entry.
Tides and time
Orikum · Mon 23 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
07:04
0.1 m
HW
13:15
0.3 m
LW
19:15
0.2 m
From the Kerkyra station.
Sarandë · Mon 23 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
07:04
0.1 m
HW
13:15
0.3 m
LW
19:15
0.2 m
From the Kerkyra station.
Monday 23 August 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 Kerkyra 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 Orikum 06:01 CEST. Sunset at Sarandë 19:25 CEST.
Weather
The Ceraunian mountains drop straight into the sea; gusts come down off them.
Sarandë faces south-west.
Forecasts to check
Croatian DHMZ forecast for the South Adriatic (meteo.hr); Greek forecasts for the North Ionian (Hellenic National Meteorological Service, emy.gr).
NAVTEX Kerkyra: station K on 518 kHz in English, at 01:40, 05:40, 09:40, 13:40, 17:40 and 21:40 UTC, with weather at 05:40, 09:40, 17:40 and 21:40.
Albanian weather broadcasts on VHF: Check the pilot book
Hazards
Karaburun-Sazan National Marine Park. Rules could not be found; keep 1 nm off and do not anchor inside it without permission.
Himarë is not a port of entry: a yacht that stopped there without clearance was detained. Stop only at ports of entry or in an emergency.
Entering Albania. A yacht must clear in at a port of entry before anyone goes ashore. Most cruising reports say an agent is needed; agents meet yachts at Durrës, Vlorë and Sarandë. Visitors may stay 90 days in any 180. Whether an agent is required by law in 2027 could not be checked from an official source. Book an agent before sailing.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Orikum
Start
Within the first hour
Marina.
Porto Palermo
5 nm south of Himarë
Emergency
Sheltered bay. Check the pilot book
Sarandë
Destination
First choice
Port with agents.
Pilotage
Leaving Orikum
Go north up the bay and out through the Mezokanal between Karaburun and Sazan, then south.
Into Sarandë
Approach from the west.
Call the agent and the port; berth as directed.
Lights on the way
Kep i Gjuhëzës
Fl 6s, 58 m
Sazan, south point
Fl 6s, 18 m
Sarandë, Lëkurës
Fl(3) 30s, 215 m
Sarandë, south-east
Fl(4) 12s, 37 m
Communications
Sarandë agent
Check on the chart
Emergency at sea, Albania
VHF 16 · 125
Albanian coast guard working channel
VHF 11
Police
129
Contingencies
Wind rising. Go into Porto Palermo.
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
Albanian notices to mariners 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
Sarandë agent booked
Fuel for 10 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 11 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
Karaburun-Sazan: English Wikipedia. Himarë and Sarandë: noonsite.com.
Montenegro and Albania formalities: noonsite.com (cruising reports, dated); Portonovi: portonovi.com; Orikum Marina: marinaorikum.com.
Albanian and Montenegrin lights: Lighthouse Directory (ibiblio.org/lighthouse), characteristics and heights only.
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.