Leg 88 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Corfu to Paxos
South down the east coast of Corfu to Paxos and Antipaxos, small olive-covered islands with clear water, to swim off Antipaxos and spend the night in Gaios harbour.
09:00 EEST from Corfu. 1 hour 55 minutes after sunrise (07:03 EEST), after the rest day on Corfu.
Arrive
About 17:38 EEST at Paxos. In the late afternoon, after the swim stop, with about 2 hours 40 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:19 EEST).
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. Swim stop off Antipaxos
Track and waypoints 1 to 5, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 08:00 EEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5.
A plan for Gaios: the quay fills early; Lakka and the Antipaxos anchorages are the alternatives.
For the stop only: calm water off Antipaxos.
If the weather is wrong, stay on Corfu.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 0.8 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
Corfu, Mandraki
39°37.5′N
019°55.6′E
09:00 EEST
Depart.
1
Corfu approach
39°36.5′N
019°57.0′E
133°T
1.5
1.5
09:18 EEST
Out to the south-east.
2
Off Lefkimmi
39°27.0′N
020°08.0′E
138°T
12.7
14.2
11:25 EEST
2 nm off the south-east of Corfu.
3
East of Paxos
39°16.2′N
020°13.2′E
160°T
11.5
25.7
13:20 EEST
1.5 nm off.
4
Antipaxos
39°08.9′N
020°14.0′E
175°T
7.3
33.1
14:34 EEST to 16:34
Swim stop at anchor off the east-side beaches. Position approximate. Check on the chart
5
Gaios south approach
39°11.1′N
020°12.6′E
334°T
2.5
35.5
17:11 EEST
Between Paxos and the Agios Nikolaos islet. Check on the chart
6
Gaios
39°11.9′N
020°11.2′E
306°T
1.3
36.9
17:38 EEST
Town quay. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Corfu · Thu 26 Aug · EEST (UTC+3)
HW
04:18
0.2 m
LW
13:01
0.2 m
HW
20:34
0.3 m
From the Kerkyra station.
Paxos · Thu 26 Aug · EEST (UTC+3)
HW
04:18
0.2 m
LW
13:01
0.2 m
HW
20:34
0.3 m
From the Kerkyra station.
Thursday 26 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.
Paxos uses 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 Corfu 07:03 EEST. Sunset at Paxos 20:19 EEST.
Weather
The afternoon north-westerly builds down the Corfu channel.
Gaios is sheltered by its 2 islets.
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
Gaios harbour. Narrow and crowded in summer; berthing arrangements and the port police contact could not be checked. Arrive early. Check the pilot book
Transit Log or crew list. Report arrival and departure to the port police at each port, as required since 2022.
Ferries between Corfu, Paxos and Igoumenitsa.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Corfu
Start
Within the first hour
Mandraki or Gouvia.
Lakka
North of Paxos
Gaios full
Bay with anchorage.
Gaios
Destination
First choice
Town quay.
Pilotage
Leaving Corfu
Leave Mandraki and head south-east down the Corfu channel.
Into Gaios
From Antipaxos, head north to the southern entrance of the channel behind the Agios Nikolaos and Panagia islets.
Go slowly; the channel is narrow. Moor on the town quay where directed.
Lights on the way
Sidero (Corfu)
Fl(2) 6s, 78 m
Paxos and Antipaxos lights
Check on the chart
Communications
Paxos port police
Check on the chart
Hellenic Coast Guard
VHF 16 · 108
Emergency
112
Coast Guard working channel
VHF 12
Contingencies
Gaios full. Go round to Lakka, 4 nm north.
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
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
Transit Log or crew list stamped at Corfu
Fuel for 6 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 8 hours
Lifejackets with crotch straps, jackstays rigged, harnesses
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.