Corfu · Greece · Reef · Cave & cavern
The Anchor
A lost steamer's anchor and chain at 26 m, plus two big caves
Area photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Anchor combines two big caves with a piece of history: a huge ship's anchor with its chain still attached, all that remains of a wartime shipwreck, lying at 26 m. The site averages around 18 m with normally no current and visibility usually beyond 30 m, reached on a boat run of under 30 minutes.
Also known as Anker.
Where it is and how deep
39.6244° N, 19.7403° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive is planned around the anchor: descend to 26 m, where the huge anchor lies with its chain still attached — the only trace of a lost ship whose story is unsettled: one catalogue calls it a steamer lost in the First World War, another a Second World War ammunition vessel torpedoed by a submarine. There is normally no current, and with visibility typically better than 30 m the artefact and the rock around it are easy to take in from a distance before you move in close.
The rest of the dive belongs to the caves — the site is dived as the big caves, and there are two of them cut into the reef. Work them at the mid-depths after the anchor, keeping the average around 18 m so the deeper start does not use up the whole dive. Depth and boat traffic are the flagged hazards, so surface close to the reef or under a marker at the end.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Corfu: No operator publishes opening months; ratings follow seatemperature.info's Corfu monthlies (below 18°C Nov-Mar, 26.4°C peak in August), with April kept open on operators' own spring dive reports.
Know before you go
- Depth — the anchor is at 26 m and the site averages 18 m, so no-deco time runs down early in the dive.
- Boat traffic overhead — make your ascent close to the reef or under a surface marker.
Sources
- The Anchor dive site — Scubago
- Anker (Anchor) dive site — Wannadive.net
More dive sites in Corfu
Pinnacle
A rock rising from over 40 m to break the surface
An islet whose walls drop towards 60 m, five minutes from shore
Reef
A clear-water reef 100 m offshore below the Aggelokastro castle
Reef
A deep offshore reef complex averaging 30 m
Reef
A reef from 1.5 to 30 m with a wreck at 40 m beyond, dived day and night
Wreck
An unidentified wreck at 32 m, reached down a slope from 10 m
A north-east-coast wall averaging 18 m, bottoming out at 30 m
Reef
A beach-entry house reef by the Nissaki marina, averaging 12 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A statue of Eros on a reef of cavities and a steep drop-off
Faults and small caves between 5 and 30 m, with groupers and congers in the holes
,_Paleokastritsa_--_2018_--_1235.jpg){kind=link}
A fish-rich reef hiding a 50 m long cave
Reef
Kavalouros Reef
Lesbos · Greece
Petrified tree trunks among small caves and arches off Sigri