07:30 EEST from Othonoi. 20 minutes after sunrise (07:12 EEST), after the weather day at Othonoi.
Arrive
About 14:21 CEST at Otranto. In the afternoon, with about 4 hours 55 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 19:15 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
North-westerly on the beam; a tramontana or scirocco funnels through the strait
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 back 1 hour in Italian waters (CEST)
Track and waypoints 1 to 4, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 06:30 EEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5 in the strait, and no tramontana or scirocco above force 4.
Otranto mooring confirmed with the Lega Navale.
Leaving formalities done: see Hazards.
Visibility 3 nm or more.
This is the crossing the weather day at Othonoi is for. If the forecast is still wrong, wait. Santa Maria di Leuca, 47 nm, is the alternative landfall.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 1.5 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
Othonoi, Ammos
39°50.2′N
019°24.2′E
07:30 EEST
Depart.
1
Othonoi approach
39°50.5′N
019°25.0′E
064°T
0.7
0.7
07:40 EEST
Out of the harbour.
2
Strait of Otranto
40°00.0′N
019°00.0′E
296°T
21.4
22.1
10:58 EEST
Mid-strait. Ferries and ships between the Adriatic and the Ionian.
3
Italian waters
40°05.0′N
018°42.0′E
290°T
14.7
36.8
12:13 CEST
Clocks back 1 hour to CEST.
4
Otranto approach
40°08.9′N
018°30.6′E
294°T
9.6
46.3
14:08 CEST
East of the harbour, north of Punta Palascia.
5
Otranto, Lega Navale
40°08.8′N
018°29.8′E
257°T
0.7
47.0
14:21 CEST
Position from the Lega Navale.
Tides and time
Othonoi · Fri 3 Sep · EEST (UTC+3)
LW
06:41
0.1 m
HW
12:36
0.3 m
LW
18:42
0.1 m
From the Kerkyra station.
Otranto · Fri 3 Sep · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
05:53
0.3 m
LW
11:48
0.0 m
HW
17:55
0.2 m
Friday 3 September 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.
Othonoi uses the Kerkyra station and Otranto its own.
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 Othonoi 07:12 EEST. Sunset at Otranto 19:15 CEST.
Weather
Open sea. About 40 nm with no shelter.
The strait funnels north and south winds: a tramontana or scirocco is stronger here than the forecast for the open sea.
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.
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
Hazards
Leaving Greece for Italy. Both are in the Schengen area, so there is no passport control. A non-EU boat must surrender its Transit Log to Greek customs when leaving Greek waters; EU boats keep their crew list. Whether an EU boat must formally check out of Greece, and whether Italy expects any declaration on arrival from Greece, could not be checked. Ask the port police at Corfu before leaving.
Shipping. Ferries between Greece and Brindisi, Bari, Ancona and Venice, and ships in and out of the Adriatic. Cross the main flow at right angles.
Naval exercise areas in the southern Adriatic could not be checked. Read the Avvisi ai naviganti. Check on the chart
Otranto has no marina. Use the Lega Navale moorings (0836 801141; mooring service 389 687 7286).
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Othonoi
Start
Within the first 2 hours
Ammos.
Santa Maria di Leuca
20 nm south of Otranto
Weather from the north
Marina, VHF 12, 0833 758687.
Otranto
Destination
First choice
Lega Navale moorings.
Pilotage
Leaving Othonoi
Leave Ammos and set the course north-west across the strait.
Into Otranto
Approach from the east, north of Punta Palascia.
Enter past the Punta Craul light and call the Lega Navale mooring service (389 687 7286).
Lights on the way
Othonoi, Kastri
Fl 10s
Punta Palascia
Fl 5s, 60 m, 18 M
Otranto, Punta Craul
Fl(3) WR 10s, 12 m, 13/8 M
Communications
Lega Navale Otranto
0836 801141 · moorings 389 687 7286
Emergency at sea, Italy (Guardia Costiera)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 1530
Emergency on land
112
Hellenic Coast Guard
VHF 16 · 108
Contingencies
Wind rising in the strait. Turn back to Othonoi if under 15 nm out; otherwise run for Otranto or Leuca.
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
Transit Log surrendered or crew list closed, as the port police advise
Otranto mooring booked
Italian courtesy flag ready
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
Strait of Otranto and Othonoi: English Wikipedia.
Greek formalities: noonsite.com.
Otranto: lniotranto.it; portodiotranto.it.
Lights in Puglia and Calabria: English Wikipedia, List of lighthouses in Italy; Italian Wikipedia lighthouse pages (Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, Punta Palascia, Capo Colonna).
Port descriptions: Italian Wikipedia, Porto di Brindisi, Porto di Monopoli, Porto di Bari, Porto di Trani, Vieste.
Harbour ordinances (Capitanerie di porto) and the Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare Adriatico Meridionale's rules for pleasure craft could not be read. 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.