Veteran captains Antonis Koukas and Leonidas Matthaiou, both from the village of Filoti on the island of Andros, spoke to Fair Winds and Following Seas during Posidonia 2026.
Reflecting on a lifetime at sea, they share their deep bond with the maritime profession:
“The sea is everything. We were born by the sea, and we have lived our lives with it. It is our passion—it is in the Greek DNA. Our minds are always drawn back to the voyages we made around the world, to the easy times and the difficult ones alike, and to the joys and sorrows that life at sea brought us. From childhood to this day, ships, the sea, and shipping have been at the heart of our lives. They have given us so much and taught us even more. It was the best school we could have had. It was the dream of a lifetime—and we are still living it.”
Produced and presented by Antonis Karagiannakis