Seagull Island

Seagull Island is a boat dive in the south bay of a small island, about 5 miles from the port of Agios Nikolaos in Crete. The bay is protected from wind and waves, and depending on weather and the experience of the group there is a choice of dives, some suited to beginners and others only to experienced divers.

The boat anchors in 5 to 7 m. The main dive follows a wall to a maximum depth of 14 to 20 m, and the return to the boat passes through a small underwater gorge that is entered at 14 m and left at 6 m. Pottery and ancient amphorae can be seen along the way.

The wall holds groupers, moray eels, schools of salema, banded and saddled bream, stingrays, sea rabbits and red and black scorpionfish, along with sponges and sea anemones. Near the end of the dive, in 14 to 8 m, a group of barracuda often follows divers to the safety stop.