Syrna

The sea area between Crete, Rhodes, Kardamena and the better-known Dodecanese islands is one of the busiest in summer in Greece. Here, then, a “simple” anchorage, which has the not inconsiderable advantage of being sheltered from the meltemi, can come in handy in case one finds oneself having to make an unscheduled, or even emergency, stop.

Or one wants to spend a day in the wilderness: or almost, in short, considering that the island of Syrna-a small piece of land halfway between Niriso and Astipalea, but further south; and really small: 4 square kilometers its area-is completely uninhabited, offers no facilities except for two chapels, and the only activities it allows are swimming, fishing and walking. All of which can be done with great ease and much pleasure: the scenery is really pleasant.

As mentioned, Syrna is located at an interesting crossing point especially for those coming back this way from Rhodes, toward the Italian coast to be clear. Very small, the islet is almost round in shape and offers shelter in its southern part. Here, awide “double”bay offers excellent shelter from northern winds of all origins, while it obviously offers little shelter from southerly winds (which are not the most frequent here in summer anyway).

The island is uninhabited, so there are no villages or other structures, but in summer you may find inhabitants of neighboring islands coming here to graze cattle and farm.
The bay located to the south offers the best protection in its northwestern part, which not coincidentally is also the one most frequented by fishermen; here you can drop anchor in about 8-10 meters deep, even reaching up to 10 meters from the shore. Or, if you wish, stay farther out and anchor in about 30-40 meters depth.

Pulling mooring lines ashore is a must, although the operation can be difficult since the shoreline is rather bare of rocks that offer an easy and safe foothold. If you arrive early and the bay is liera, the best solution is to go as far inland as possible, put an anchor at the stern and moor with two lines at the bow.
Beware as you enter the bay, keep to the west because there are numerous rocky outcroppings to the east.
There are no facilities, of course, but if there are fishermen you might be able to retrieve fresh fish at bargain prices!

Syrna offers two other anchorages: a bay east of the one just described, where the anchor does not hold well, however, and one on the west coast of the island. The latter would also be beautiful, deep and rather sheltered, with good holding bottom, but it is completely open to the north, which makes it to be avoided most of the time during the summer