Enseada de Belixe

About This Anchorage

Enseada de Belixe is a small, remote anchorage just east of the rock face of Cape St. Vincent — the most SW point of continental Europe. It is used almost exclusively as a waiting anchorage for boats preparing to round the Cape in the morning window. The setting is dramatic and wild: the cape lighthouse towers above, the Atlantic swells roll in from the west, and the cliffs are home to nesting shearwaters and choughs. The anchorage provides marginal shelter from the NW/N but strong acceleration gusts from the cape can occur. The orca interaction zone is directly outside — approach under engine.

Hazards

• !Cape acceleration gusts: even light forecast can produce sudden F5–6 gusts around the cape face — set anchor with generous scope
• !ORCA INTERACTION ZONE: approach to and departure from this anchorage is within the primary orca zone — maintain engine, do not sail alone
• !Completely exposed to S/SE — any southerly development requires immediate departure
• !Rocky bottom patches; position at anchor means significant swell can be transmitted from the open Atlantic

Skipper's Tips

• →The classic use: anchor here at 17:00–18:00 after a Nortada day, wait for the evening calm, then depart at 05:00–06:00 to round the Cape in the pre-Nortada window
• →Radio check on VHF Ch. 16 to Sagres Coast Guard before and after Cape rounding — they monitor this area actively
• →Orcas.pt app should be active with real-time sightings checked before departure — orca encounters reported within 3nm of the cape routinely
• →No facilities whatsoever — carry all provisions, water and fuel for the onward passage from Lagos

Nearby Anchorages