What happened to Captain Yiannis Avranas

I finished reading my copy of "OCEANOS Survivors Stories" by Ian Uys, and now I can't wait to get a copy of "Standby" by Dick Lord and read the story from the rescuers view.  The book OCEANOS survivors stories was fascinating and I cried several times, especially reading the parts about those that were in the Life Boats and what they had to endure in the dark, how one survivor almost lost her child, were it not for a Chinese lady pulling him back in the boat.  How everyone was getting sea sick, my heart went out to all those people, little did we know what they were going through while we sat and waited for the helicopters.  I think those passengers were more traumatized than most of us, they really are the true survivors even though we are all survivors.  A brilliant book which I will read again and again.


So what did happened to Captain Yiannis Avranas, well in the last chapter of the book, the author tells us what happened directly after the sinking and how the Captain was given another boat to command.  I would say he is probably retired now as he was 52 when the Oceanos sank which makes him 71 this year, so thank God he won't be captaining many more ships, however the mere fact that Epirotiki protected him will be my reason never to sail on any ship owned by them ever again.  There are so many questions unanswered, for example did the Captain know the ship was going to sink?  Why did he put everyones lives in danger by sailing into a Gale force storm?

We read time and time again about disasters like this, rust buckets being put to sea but nothing is really ever done about it.  Next time the passengers may not be as lucky as the Oceanos!

OCEANOS Survivors' Stories

I was delighted to receive and Advance copy of the book "OCEANOS Survivors' stories" in the post yesterday, actually it was while I was sitting watching the Oceanos production on NBC's website, that the door bell rang.  The post man had a bundle of stuff for me it felt like Christmas, and amongst this was the book from Ian Uys.   He even signed and dated it.

What was more unbelievable was that the book contained my whole story as I wrote it on my Oceanos blog, also majority of the photos that I sent him are in the book too.  So last night I went to bed early so I could read, and by the time I put the book down two hours had past, my story is intermingled with other survivors stories, which makes for fascinating reading as I know my story, but don't really know anyone else's.

My name and my photographs are all over the book and I am first mentioned in Chapter 1, page 1 " Cape of Storms" in the last paragraph and then all over the book, it's weird reading my story in a book.  I have not gained financially from this book, but who knows where it may lead to.

If you would like a copy of the book, you can order directly from Fortress Books, it retails for R195.00 plus postage of R20.00 per book.

Here are the details:

Fortress Books,P O Box 2475,
Knysna, 6570
South Afica

Call or Fax Us at:
Tel (027) 044 382 6805 Fax (027) 044 382 6848.
E-mail us at fortress@iafrica.com

For local USA orders contact:
Uys Enterprises
1159 Luthersville Road
Luthersville, GA 30251
partsforsale@uys.com 


http://uys.com/fortress/index.htm

Miracle on the Wild Coast - NBC

I just had a phone call and email from Justin @ NBC in New York to tell me that after many months of getting an Oceanos production together, they will be airing it on NBC tomorrow evening, 23rd May 2010, but here is the email he sent me:

Just wanted to pass along some exciting news. Our Oceanos program, "Miracle on the Wild Coast" is set to air here in the states tomorrow night, Sunday May 23rd. The show is Dateline NBC and we are on at 7pm (1900) EST (for any of your states-based readers.) So sorry about the last minute notice. I just found out myself a day or two ago and it's a bit of a sprint to the finish.

After our airing, most of the show will be available to watch on our website: www.dateline.msnbc.com   ...along with a slideshow and some web exclusive clips featuring more rescuers and survivors whose interviews didn't make the television program. The show, incidentally is an hour-long and reported by our correspondent Keith Morrison.

Here is a clip from tomorrow nights show.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Titanic - the artifact exhibition

There is a Titanic artifact exhibition being held in Dublin, which should be very interesting, I am going to book to see it and then will hopefully post some photos and an account of my visit here.

Just to let you know some information in the meantime, it is being held at The Citywest Event Centre at the citywest hotel, which is located in Citywest, Saggart, Co. Dublin.

You can book through Ticketmaster for this event and for more information have a look at the Titanic artifact exhibition website.