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

New Passenger List

I am eventually getting round to posting a new passenger list with added names, if you were on the Oceanos and your name was not on the old passenger list and you have not previously left a comment on this blog, please email me at oceanos.survivors @ gmail.com and I will ensure your name is included on the list.

A full list of all the passengers is published in the book "OCEANOS survivors stories" by Ian Uys, I will seek permission to copy it here.

The Oceanos Tragedy by Davina Avrana

I was floored to see that the Captain's wife has written a book about the Oceanos, I have to get my hands on this but there is no way I am paying £55.00 for it, so will have to go off to the local library.

The Oceanos Tragedy by Avrana, Davina

USA: Dorrance Publishing, 1994 0805934294. The story of the sinking of the Oceanos, the rescue of passengers and crew and subsequent treatment of the captain; written by his wife. First edition. Octavo, 111pp. Fine in near Fine dust jacket. Very scarce. .
Ordering information
£55.00