The highly experienced captain and instructor Kostas Sklavounos, from the seafaring island of Syros, speaks on “Fair Winds & Following Seas” and Voice of Greece. He comes from a long line of sailors – a true maritime family – and from a very young age he knew he would follow the same path.
At just 13, with his father’s written permission, he began working during the summers on the small local boats. In 1982 he made his first major voyage. From Rostock in East Germany he boarded the M/V THALASSINI CHARA of the Lemos company, bound for Finland, the Netherlands, and beyond.
Captain Kostas has seen much at sea and lived through many demanding situations – among them, crossing from West to East Germany with the intense inspections and the Berlin Wall, as well as confronting extreme temperatures of –45°C, which he encountered twice during his 29-year maritime career.
He now teaches at the Merchant Marine Academy of Syros (AEN Syros) and stresses that “all the students of the Syros Academy are truly fine young people.”
Produced and presented by Antonis Karagiannakis