09:00 CEST from Sarandë. Mid-morning (Albanian time, CEST), cleared out of Albania.
Arrive
About 13:15 EEST at Corfu. Early in the afternoon, Greek time, with about 7 hours 10 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:24 EEST).
Tides
Range about 0.1 m: no practical effect
Wind
Light; afternoon north-westerly
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. Clocks go forward 1 hour in Greek waters (EEST)
Track and waypoints 1 to 5, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 08:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5.
Cleared out of Albania, and TEPAI paid.
Visibility 2 nm or more: ferries use the channel.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Sarandë.
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
Sarandë
39°52.2′N
020°00.2′E
09:00 CEST
Depart, cleared out of Albania.
1
Sarandë approach
39°51.9′N
019°59.1′E
247°T
0.9
0.9
09:14 CEST
Out of the port.
2
North Corfu channel
39°50.4′N
019°59.4′E
171°T
1.5
2.4
09:32 CEST
Down the channel. The Greece to Albania border runs through it.
3
Off Kassiopi
39°46.8′N
019°58.2′E
194°T
3.7
6.1
11:16 EEST
Greek waters. Clocks forward 1 hour.
4
Off Corfu north-east
39°43.2′N
019°56.4′E
201°T
3.9
10.0
11:55 EEST
1.5 nm off.
5
Corfu approach
39°39.6′N
019°55.2′E
194°T
3.7
13.7
12:32 EEST
North of the old fort. Ferries.
6
Corfu, Mandraki
39°37.5′N
019°55.6′E
172°T
2.1
15.8
13:15 EEST
Under the old fort. Clear in at the port. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Sarandë · Tue 24 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
01:19
0.3 m
LW
07:52
0.2 m
HW
14:33
0.2 m
LW
20:20
0.2 m
From the Kerkyra station.
Corfu · Tue 24 Aug · EEST (UTC+3)
HW
02:19
0.3 m
LW
08:52
0.2 m
HW
15:33
0.2 m
LW
21:20
0.2 m
From the Kerkyra station.
Tuesday 24 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 Sarandë 06:00 CEST. Sunset at Corfu 20:24 EEST.
Weather
The North Corfu channel is narrow and sheltered.
Afternoon north-westerly in the Ionian.
Forecasts to check
Hellenic National Meteorological Service (emy.gr): marine forecast for the North Ionian.
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.
Kerkyra Radio covers the Ionian Sea east to 22°30'E; urgent warnings go out first on DSC 70, then on VHF 16.
Hazards
Entering Greece from Albania. Albania is outside Schengen, so the yacht must enter at a Greek port of entry: on Corfu that is Corfu town only, not Gouvia. Customs, immigration and the port police are in the pink building at the west end of the commercial port; berth in Mandraki or anchor under the old fort and walk over. Order: port police, immigration, customs, then the port police again. Every yacht over 7 m must pay the Greek cruising tax (TEPAI) online before arrival and show proof. Non-EU boats get a Transit Log (stamped in every port); EU boats keep a crew and passenger list. The Coast Guard works on VHF 12. The 2027 TEPAI amounts and procedure could not be checked: aade.gr did not load.
Ferries between Corfu, Sarandë and Igoumenitsa, and cruise ships into Corfu. Corfu has a vessel traffic service.
The border. Do not stop or anchor in Greek waters before clearing in at Corfu town.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Sarandë
Start
Within the first hour
Port.
Corfu town
Destination
First choice
Mandraki or anchorage under the old fort.
Pilotage
Leaving Sarandë
Clear out with the agent, then head south-west into the North Corfu channel.
Into Corfu
Follow the channel south past Kassiopi, 1.5 nm off.
Berth in Mandraki or anchor under the old fort, then walk to the port to clear in. After clearing, move to Gouvia Marina if booked.
Lights on the way
Sarandë, Lëkurës
Fl(3) 30s, 215 m
Sidero (Corfu)
Fl(2) 6s, 78 m
Communications
Corfu port police
Check on the chart
Hellenic Coast Guard
VHF 16 · 108
Emergency
112
Coast Guard working channel
VHF 12
Emergency at sea, Albania
VHF 16 · 125
Contingencies
Mandraki full. Anchor under the old fort.
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 and Greek 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
Cleared out of Albania
TEPAI paid online and proof printed
Greek courtesy flag and Q flag ready
Crew list with passport numbers and dates of birth
Fuel for 5 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 6 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
Corfu clearance: noonsite.com; North Corfu channel: English Wikipedia.
NAVTEX and Kerkyra Radio: Hellenic Navy Hydrographic Service, hnhs.gr.
Lefkas Marina: d-marin.com.
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.