Leg 90 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Lefkas to Parga
The start of the return: north through the Lefkas canal and past Preveza, up the Epirus coast to Parga, a Venetian town of coloured houses below a castle, facing small islets.
09:00 EEST from Lefkas. Mid-morning, after the rest day at Lefkas, timed for the bridge opening.
Arrive
About 15:07 EEST at Parga. In the afternoon, with about 5 hours 5 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 20:14 EEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
The afternoon north-westerly is on the bow
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 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, and no southerly above force 4: Parga's bays are open to the south.
Bridge opening time known.
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Lefkas. Preveza is the shelter 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
Lefkas Marina
38°49.8′N
020°42.8′E
09:00 EEST
Depart through the bridge.
1
Lefkas canal, north entrance
38°51.0′N
020°42.5′E
349°T
1.2
1.2
09:24 EEST
Out by the buoyed channel. Check on the chart
2
North of Lefkas
38°53.0′N
020°40.0′E
316°T
2.8
4.0
09:58 EEST
Clear of the Gyra spit.
3
Off Preveza
38°57.0′N
020°40.0′E
000°T
4.0
8.0
10:38 EEST
West of the Preveza channel. Ferries and fish farms.
4
Off Kanali
39°06.0′N
020°30.0′E
319°T
11.9
19.9
12:37 EEST
2 nm off the beaches.
5
Parga approach
39°16.0′N
020°24.5′E
337°T
10.9
30.8
14:48 EEST
South of the islets. Check on the chart
6
Parga
39°16.9′N
020°24.0′E
337°T
1.0
31.8
15:07 EEST
Anchor in the town bay or Valtos, or on the town quay if there is room. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Lefkas · Sun 29 Aug · EEST (UTC+3)
LW
03:59
0.2 m
HW
09:32
0.3 m
LW
15:46
0.1 m
HW
22:22
0.3 m
From the Kerkyra station.
Parga · Sun 29 Aug · EEST (UTC+3)
LW
03:59
0.2 m
HW
09:32
0.3 m
LW
15:46
0.1 m
HW
22:22
0.3 m
From the Kerkyra station.
Sunday 29 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 Lefkas 07:03 EEST. Sunset at Parga 20:14 EEST.
Weather
The afternoon north-westerly builds along this coast.
Parga is sheltered from the north but open to the south.
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
Lefkas bridge. The floating swing bridge opens at set times, reported as hourly; the times could not be confirmed. Ask the marina.
Parga. Small and busy in summer, with tripper boats to Paxos and the beaches. Quay space, holding and the port police contact could not be checked. Check the pilot book
Fish farms along the Epirus coast: keep outside their marks.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Lefkas
Start
Within the first hour
Marina.
Preveza
Waypoint 3
Weather turns
Marina. Check the pilot book
Pilotage
Leaving Lefkas
Go through the bridge at its opening and north out of the canal in the buoyed channel.
Into Parga
Approach from the south, east of the islets.
Anchor in the town bay or in Valtos bay west of the castle, clear of the swimming areas and tripper-boat routes.
Lights on the way
Lefkas, Santa Maura fort
Fl(2) WR 12s, 17 m
Sivota island
Fl(3) 20s, 87 m
Communications
Lefkas Marina
VHF 69 · +30 2645 026645
Parga port police
Check on the chart
Hellenic Coast Guard
VHF 16 · 108
Emergency
112
Coast Guard working channel
VHF 12
Contingencies
Parga full or exposed. Go on 8 nm to Sivota.
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 and 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
Bridge time confirmed
Transit Log or crew list stamped at Lefkas
Fuel for 6 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 7 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.