Leg 95 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Brindisi to Bari
North-west past Torre Guaceto, the trulli country behind Monopoli and the cliffs of Polignano a Mare to Bari, the capital of Puglia, with its old town and the basilica of St Nicholas.
07:00 CEST from Brindisi. 40 minutes after sunrise (06:20 CEST), after the rest day at Brindisi.
Arrive
About 17:46 CEST at Bari. In the afternoon, with about 1 hour 30 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 19:17 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.3 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestrale is on the nose in the afternoon: start early
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. A 10-hour day
Track and waypoints 1 to 8, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 06:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5, and no north-westerly above force 4.
Bari berth confirmed.
Visibility 3 nm or more off Bari.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Brindisi. Monopoli splits the leg.
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
Marina di Brindisi
40°39.6′N
017°57.8′E
07:00 CEST
Depart.
1
Brindisi approach
40°40.0′N
017°59.5′E
073°T
1.4
1.4
07:20 CEST
Out of the harbour, north of the Pedagne.
2
Off Torre Guaceto
40°45.0′N
017°52.0′E
311°T
7.6
8.9
08:36 CEST
Outside the marine protected area.
3
North of Torre Guaceto
40°47.5′N
017°46.5′E
301°T
4.9
13.8
09:25 CEST
Outside the area's northern limit.
4
Off Torre Canne
40°51.0′N
017°29.5′E
285°T
13.3
27.1
11:38 CEST
1 nm off the light.
5
Off Monopoli
40°58.5′N
017°19.5′E
315°T
10.7
37.8
13:25 CEST
1.5 nm off.
6
Off Polignano a Mare
41°01.5′N
017°14.0′E
306°T
5.1
42.9
14:16 CEST
1 nm off the cliffs.
7
Off Mola di Bari
41°06.5′N
017°06.0′E
310°T
7.8
50.7
15:34 CEST
2 nm off.
8
Bari approach
41°08.3′N
016°52.5′E
280°T
10.3
61.1
17:38 CEST
North of the old port. Ferries and cruise ships. Check on the chart
9
Bari, old port
41°08.2′N
016°52.0′E
255°T
0.4
61.5
17:46 CEST
Circolo della Vela base on the Molo Borbonico. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Brindisi · Mon 6 Sep · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
07:39
0.2 m
LW
14:00
0.1 m
HW
19:20
0.2 m
From the Taranto station.
Bari · Mon 6 Sep · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
07:37
0.3 m
LW
13:50
0.1 m
HW
18:42
0.2 m
Monday 6 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.
Brindisi uses the Taranto 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 Brindisi 06:20 CEST. Sunset at Bari 19:17 CEST.
Weather
Maestrale on the nose in the afternoon.
Bari's new port opens to the north-north-west and is exposed to the tramontana and maestrale.
Forecasts to check
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
NAVTEX: Italian stations cover the Ionian and Adriatic; check the station letters and times on the receiver. Check on the chart
Italian coast radio VHF weather broadcasts: Check the pilot book
Hazards
Torre Guaceto marine protected area, north of Brindisi, about 8 km of coast out to the 50 m line. Its outer limit runs through 40°45'24"N 17°46'04"E, 40°43'15"N 17°50'56"E, 40°41'44"N 17°49'36"E and 40°43'24"N 17°46'00"E. Zone A: no navigation, access, mooring or stopping. Zone B: regulated use. Zone C: navigation allowed. Anchoring rules and speed limits could not be read. The route passes outside the area. Check on the chart
Bari. Ferries to Croatia, Greece and Albania, and cruise ships. Keep 2 nm off the port until the approach and cross it at right angles.
Bari berths. The old port is just over 2.5 m deep. Guest berths at the Circolo della Vela (Molo Borbonico) and the Lega Navale, and their VHF channels, could not be checked. Check the pilot book
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Brindisi
Start
Within the first hour
Marina.
Monopoli
Waypoint 5
Weather turns or behind time
Harbour.
Bari
Destination
First choice
Circolo della Vela or Lega Navale.
Pilotage
Leaving Brindisi
Leave the harbour north of the Pedagne and head north-west, outside Torre Guaceto.
Into Bari
Approach from the east, outside the new port's breakwater.
Call the Circolo della Vela (+39 080 521 0312) or the Lega Navale (080 523 7766) for a berth; the port authority is +39 080 528 1511.
Lights on the way
Punta Torre Canne
Fl(2) 10s, 35 m, 16 M
Bari, Punta San Cataldo
Fl(3) 20s, 66 m, 24 M
Bari, Molo Sant'Antonio
Fl G 5s, 17 m
Communications
Circolo della Vela Bari, Molo Borbonico
+39 080 521 0312
Lega Navale Bari
080 523 7766
Capitaneria di Bari
+39 080 528 1511
Emergency at sea, Italy (Guardia Costiera)
VHF 16, DSC 70 · 1530
Emergency on land
112
Contingencies
Behind time. If Monopoli is not abeam by 13:00 CEST, stop there.
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
Bari berth booked
Fuel for 11 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 12 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
Bari: circolodellavelabari.it; leganavale.it/bari; adspmam.it; Italian Wikipedia, Porto di Bari.
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.