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Chartering in the Egadi Islands: marine reserve, zones and mooring buoys
Short answer
Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo lie in a marine reserve divided into zones.
In the strictest zones navigation and anchoring are banned,
elsewhere rules and mooring buoys apply,
and some areas need prior registration.
Chartering in the Egadi Islands usually starts from Trapani or Marsala at the western tip of Sicily. Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo and the waters around them form a marine reserve, the Area Marina Protetta Isole Egadi. The reserve is divided into zones. In the strictest ones navigation, anchoring and swimming are banned; in the others they are allowed but regulated. For some areas the reserve requires leisure craft to register or obtain a permit, and in the popular bays mooring buoys are laid in summer.
What matters most for a charter crew is where you may tie up. Around Favignana, for example at Cala Rossa, and off Levanzo anchoring is restricted in many places because the bottom is protected seagrass; paid mooring buoys take its place. Marettimo lies further out and is open to the sea, and the island harbours are small and full in high summer. The weather shifts quickly here: a mistral from the north west or a scirocco from the south east can make an anchorage untenable and the sea between the islands lumpy.
At handover in Trapani or Marsala ask for the current reserve map and whether your yacht needs to be registered; the base often handles it or shows you how. Plan your nights on buoys or in harbour and book early in summer. Check the forecast before every leg and keep a sheltered bolt hole in mind. Damage the yacht does to buoys, pontoons or other boats falls on you as skipper, so make sure your own skipper liability insurance applies in Italy.
Worth remembering
Buoy booked, zone checked
quiet night, no trouble with the rangers
Anchor in the seagrass
breach of reserve rules, fine
In the Egadi Islands the buoy is the anchorage: plan early, tie up early.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Can I anchor anywhere in the Egadi Islands?
No. In the strictest zones of the marine reserve navigation and anchoring are banned, and elsewhere anchoring on seagrass is restricted. Paid mooring buoys are laid in summer instead.
Do I need a permit for the marine reserve?
For some zones the reserve requires leisure craft to register or hold a permit. Ask the base before you set off; it often deals with this or explains the process.
Where do Egadi Islands charters start?
Usually in Trapani or Marsala on the western tip of Sicily. Favignana and Levanzo are a few hours away, Marettimo lies well further out.
Related
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