Frikes

Frikes is located at the northeastern end of the island of Ithaca and is a popular little landing place, despite offering many “cons” and few “pros,” as we shall see in a moment. From its has, perhaps, the one advantage of being in a strategic location for those approaching the island of Ithaca.
It is also one of the few villages in the archipelago still untouched by tourism, and this allows one to enjoy a very genuine, peaceful atmosphere here, to get to know, in short, a little piece of “traditional” Ithaca.

In fact, it goes without saying, there is not much to do in Frikes. Or to see. It is a place to enjoy the tranquility of nature, enjoy good seafood dishes in one of the quaint waterfront taverns, and savor the beautiful colors that the sea and coastline offer.

It is a pity that, on the tranquility front, the idyllic atmosphere of Frikes is marred on the one hand by the heavy ferry traffic that takes place right in front of the village (causing not a few repercussions on the safety of mooring in the ports) and on the other hand by the fact that in the summer it is a favorite destination for many charterers. There is therefore a risk, at times, of not being able to spend a quiet night.

That of the ferries is a far from minor problem: it seems to be customary that, when they are behind schedule, they “cut” the route by passing closer to Frikes than they should, causing strong currents and wave motions whose effects are amplified by the funnel shape of the bay at the bottom of which the village is located.
Numerous cases of accidents have also been reported: unfortunately, this is an unpredictable eventuality and moorings can easily be blown, with all the consequences.

As for sheltering from winds, Frikes does not excel here either. The bay is completely open to the east and therefore with strong winds from this quadrant it is to be avoided. From the prevailing winds (northwest) it offers a fair amount of shelter, but still currents always enter the small ports in sustained winds. The afternoon breezes blowing in from the mountains behind Frikes are often sustained and can cause difficulty in mooring.

Getting to Frikes presents no particular problems; however, the entire coastline to the north is full of outcropping rocks, so one must always keep a safe distance. Once you enter the bay, several possibilities open up.
The first and easiest, but practicable only with favorable weather conditions (no wind), is to moor outside the breakwater extending from the south coast. It fits about ten boats in 10-12 meters depth.

On the inner side of the breakwater there is room for 6-8 boats moored sideways, the depths sopno about 2 meters and the shelter is soo decent (insufficient in easterly winds). The safest moorings are those that extend from the base of the breakwater to the west, on the quay: there are few, 2 or 3, but these are the most sheltered from all winds.
On the opposite side of theal bay, to the north, there is room for at least 15 boats in about 3 meters depth but these are the moorings most exposed to the waves caused by the poassing ferries.
The central part of the harbor is occupied by the fishermen’s boats.

Caution: avoid the floating docks located at the northeast end of the ports; they are old and unsafe structures, and one should not moor there at all.
Should one not find a place in ports, north and south of Frikes Bay there are many coves and inlets with significant depths where one can drop anchor. However, there remains the problem of the sheltering and passage of ferries: these are to be considered only in very favorable weather conditions, and care must be taken with wave motion.

As mentioned earlier, Frikes is not a tourist center and therefore offers virtually nothing in the way of services. Neither water nor fuel at the dock (the latter can be delivered from the nearby gas station), a small supermarket in the village, lots of cafes and taverns, and… that’s it.