Octopus Reef

Octopus Reef sits on the southern, seaward face of the Keri Peninsula at the southern tip of Zakynthos, in the Ionian regime where the swell that matters is the W-SW component funnelling up the channel. The peninsula bulk to the north and northeast fully shields the site from northerly weather and the summer meltemi influence, and the Marathias headland to the northwest cuts the WNW-NW sector, so the calmest conditions are the norm. The exposed window is the open Ionian from the S through SW, which is also the direction of the dominant swell — a sustained W-SW blow or a southerly storm builds surface chop and surge over the shallow boulder top and can force the dive to be moved to a more sheltered Keri site. The Laganas-bay side to the SE-E is partly screened by the cape point and its offshore rocks.