Hydra gulf is a small gulf between the big Argolic and big Saronic Gulfs, with Hydra Island partially closing it to the South, with the continent closing it to the North, partially closed to the East by several Islands, being Spetses the bigger one.
Probably it would be more correct to consider Dokos island as the gulf western closure, instead of Spetses but, for the purpose of this region, I will consider it as going from Chinitsa and Spetses Islands, on the West, to the Kelevini islands, on the East.
This is a very beautiful region, with all the islands and the indented continental coast contributing to a magnificent scenario. However, sailing conditions are far from being as good as on the Argolic Gulf, with many periods without wind, and sudden wind changes, sometimes increasing from almost no wind to 20kt in a blink of an eye. It has also a much bigger density of cruising boats if compared with the Argolic gulf, and some anchorages tend to be crowded.
When Helen and Paris sailed together for Troy, Hermione was cared for by Helen's sister Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon, King of Argos and Mycenae....
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Lefke, Ermione on the right |
The city sent 3 trireme warships to fight the Persians at the naval Battle of Salamis in 480 BC and a year later sent 300 heavily-armed hoplite warriors, and an equal number of support troops, to fight the Persian invaders at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC.....
Hermione continued to flourish in the 5th and 4th Centuries BC, and during the Classical period ..grew during the Hellenistic and Roman periods and had a population of over 7,000 inhabitants (there are just over 3,000 permanent residents today)...."
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| Spetses Island, anchored outside the village |
https://ermioni.info/things-to-know/history-ermioniLet's start looking at what this region has to offer, starting from the Argolic Gulf and Heli port and sailing East and following the coast. You will find the big Kranidi Peninsula and on both sides, you will find plenty of anchorages, even if none are protected from all the winds. You can have a look at them on Navily:
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Lots of cruisers motoring in the gulf |
https://www.navily.com/carte/mouillage/26252Choosing one over the other will depend on the number of sailboats that are on each anchorage and on wind direction, but remember that in this region wind changes direction frequently and that the direction of the wind at midday is often different than the direction during the night and it can change again in the morning. However, the winds during the night and morning are generally weak.
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| Dokos Island - Ormus Skindos |
But to those, I prefer one that is located on the Island that lies just in front, Zogerias, at the south of Spetses Island. Probably it offers the best protection from the predominant, afternoon and night, SE winds: it is relatively big, I never saw it crowded and the bottom is sand, with some rocks. Good holding, beautiful scenery, and you have a nice beach restaurant on the little cove to the west (where it is forbidden to anchor). Prices are a bit high, as in most restaurants in these parts, the food is average, but it has a nice view.
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| Ormos Skindos |
Spetses and Hydra Islands are both nice but very touristic places with few good anchorages. The village ports are always full, subjected to heavy ferry traffic and disorganized mooring, with many charters wanting to come in at any cost, many times without a clue about what they are doing. So, even if you can find a place there be prepared for having the anchor fouled, and to avoid being hit, to push the boats that want to moor at your side. Many times charters try to put the boat in an insufficient space or maneuver the wrong way, so if you like action, you will have plenty.
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Ormos Skindos |
If the wind is right you can anchor out of Spetses Port, I mean out of the cove, where it is forbidden to anchor, for having a look at the urban landscape, and if somebody stays aboard you can even visit the town. I would not leave there the boat unattended, but I saw it done.
The bottom has a reasonable depth but the holding is not good. To the right, you have a small beach where the holding is much better. Anyway, for passing the night there are in the vicinity much better places to anchor.
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Ermione, the cove entrance |
Hydra is even worse, not possible to anchor in front of the nice village, the island anchorages are quite deep and in most cases, you will need to tie the boat to land.That with only two aboard is not easy, especially when only one knows how to handle the boat, and the bottom has only average holding. If you want to visit the villages of Hydra and Spetses, I would suggest you leave the boat in Porto Cheli or Ermioni and pick up a ferry to the Islands' ports: you would be much more relaxed regarding boat security and would enjoy your visit a lot more. Porto Cheli has a good port and Marina.
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| Ermione |
Ermione has a small port that is normally crowded. You will find only a place on the outside quay that is not protected. But Ermioni anchorage is better than anything you can find in Spetses or Hydra, and soon will have a marina too.
Continuing sailing East along the continent, past Kranidi Peninsula, after passing a large bay with some average anchorages you will find two other smaller bays, that will offer good shelter on a mud and sand bottom.
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| Ermione |
The first is Kouverta and the second one is Lefkes. Lefkes has Ermione on the right. I don't know why, but these are the ones in the region that are never crowded, being nice and quiet, and Lefkas has a good taberna ashore. Lefkes is one of the best anchorages in this region, and a nice one too.
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| Ermione |
In the same bay, on the south side of Ermioni, you have a quay, but it is the base of a catamaran charter fleet, with a fair deal of movement, and when the wind turns from South, it offers little shelter.
To go to Ermione, which is a nice place, less touristic than Spetses or Hydra, with better prices, good markets, and restaurants, go on the other side, inside the cove. Avoid the port that is always crowded, and don't put the boat on the outside quay, where at the end of the afternoon conditions can be nasty.
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| Ermione. The ruins of the ancient city are just ahead |
The place I prefer for being on anchor there is at the entrance of the new village, and at the end of the ancient one (today a forest).
There is a place to leave the dinghy and it is the most sheltered place. You can also leave the boat further in, in front of the port but will find out that at the end of the afternoon there will be more swell there. I do really like Ermioni, especially in the evening when it is quieter. It has a really nice atmosphere.
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| The ferry does not create a big wash wave |
To the East of Ermioni, there is another big bay, with a particularly sheltered spot on the right side. More to the East and till the entrance of the gulf, the coast continues to offer good bottom for anchoring and several spots that offer some protection. The problem here is the number of sailing boats in all anchorages, and staying overnight, because the winds tend to change direction from morning to afternoon and again late in the night. Have a look at the region, on Navily:
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| Ermione |
https://www.navily.com/carte/port/1484Ermioni (both sides) offers the better overall protection in the gulf (it is not by accident that the ancient city was there) being the second best anchorage probably the one in Dokos Island, just in front of Ermione. There, the best is Ormos Skindos, on a bay, more or less protected on one side or the other, depending on wind direction.
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| Ermione |
Because it is rather deep, many choose to anchor there with a line to the shore, but I prefer to stay on anchor and that is possible in several places, namely just in front of the small chapel.
When the wind is from the North, and that is not unusual, you can find shelter in a small cove at the entrance of Ormos Skindos, to the right. Good holding in sand, but you will need to tie the transom to the shore, and this anchorage is normally crowded.
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| Ermione |
If the wind changes to the north and you cannot find a place here, you can always find shelter in the bay just in front, on the continental coast, the one I have already referred to, and that has Ermioni to its right.
https://www.navily.com/carte/mouillage/13882
Not a big gulf and a bit spoiled due to having not good options to explore Hydra and Spetses villages, but a very beautiful one, with breathtaking scenery anywhere you look.
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| Ermione |
I have sailed there many times when the Meltemi makes it uncomfortable to cruise in the Cyclades, and Ermioni has been a popular place for us, as a stopping place and to get provisions.
The anchorage is good providing a nice view from the boat, there is Spirandreas restaurant, which offers one of the best Gemista (stuffed tomatoes and peppers) in Greece.
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| Ermione, the cove entrance |
And don't miss Drougas bakery, which offers not only excellent bread but a lot of great cookies and biscuits including, the ones that are salty and can be eaten at lunch. It has also small, but nice supermarkets, and even a good butcher.
Nothing is perfect, and sometimes there is some swell on the anchorage, nothing to worry about and a small payment for not having it full of charters.
Probably things will change when the big marina is built, limiting the places available to anchor.
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| Ermione view from the other side (Lefkes bay) |
Like the Argolic gulf, this one is going to get more crowded with the two new marinas (Porto Heli and Ermione), which will not add much to the availability of places for cruisers, because they will be full of charter fleets, and these ones will contribute to crowding the available anchorages.
This small gulf is in between the Argolic and Saronic Gulfs and those who cruise here probably will visit the three. We will talk next about the Saronic gulf. We have already talked about the Argolic gulf and you can look for information about it here:
https://cruisingalma.blogspot.com/2022/11/argolic-gulf-cruising-in-different.html
