About 15:17 CEST at Barletta. In the afternoon, with about 4 hours of daylight in hand (sunset 19:18 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.3 m: no practical effect
Wind
The maestrale is on the nose in the afternoon
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 08:30 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5, and no north-easterly above force 4: Barletta's entrance silts and breaks in an onshore sea.
Barletta berth and entrance depth confirmed.
Visibility 2 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Bari. Trani is the easier alternative to Barletta.
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
Bari, old port
41°08.2′N
016°52.0′E
09:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Bari approach
41°08.3′N
016°52.5′E
075°T
0.4
0.4
09:36 CEST
Out of the port.
2
Off Bari north
41°10.5′N
016°48.0′E
303°T
4.0
4.4
10:16 CEST
Clear of the new port.
3
Off Molfetta
41°14.0′N
016°36.5′E
292°T
9.3
13.8
11:50 CEST
1.5 nm off.
4
Off Trani
41°18.6′N
016°26.0′E
300°T
9.1
22.9
13:21 CEST
1.5 nm off.
5
Barletta approach
41°20.5′N
016°18.0′E
288°T
6.3
29.2
14:56 CEST
North-east of the entrance. The harbour silts. Check on the chart
6
Barletta
41°19.6′N
016°17.2′E
214°T
1.1
30.3
15:17 CEST
Lega Navale. Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Bari · Tue 7 Sep · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
08:28
0.2 m
Barletta · Tue 7 Sep · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
08:28
0.2 m
From the Bari station.
Tuesday 7 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.
Barletta uses the Bari 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 Bari 06:25 CEST. Sunset at Barletta 19:18 CEST.
Weather
Low coast with harbours every few miles.
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
Barletta. Sand and mud bottom, at most 6.6 m; silting has been the port's main problem since the 1800s, and only the west mole is in service. Ask the Lega Navale or the harbour office for the current depth.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Bari
Start
Within the first hour
Old port.
Molfetta
Waypoint 3
Weather turns
Check the pilot book
Trani
Waypoint 4
Barletta unsafe
Lega Navale, 0883 484832.
Pilotage
Leaving Bari
Leave the old port and head north-west, clear of the new port.
Into Barletta
Approach from the north-east in calm water.
Call the Lega Navale (0883 533354) for a berth; the harbour office is +39 0883 531020.
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
Barletta berth booked and depth confirmed
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
Barletta: Italian Wikipedia, Porto di Barletta; leganavale.it/barletta; adspmam.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.