A story of the sea ~ 1913

In Chios

My name is Georgios N. Pontikos, I am a resident of Oinousses, Chios, I am the captain of the Ottoman-flagged sailing ship ''Panagia Akathistou'' and I will tell you a story.

Based on the charter party issued in Smyrna on November 4, 1913, I loaded acorns, both closed and open, in Selefkia for transport and delivery to the merchant in Smyrna, Pantelis D. Kassapoglou.

So on December 12, I set sail for my destination, but during the voyage we fell into a severe storm and the rudder broke and got lost, and the ship became a prey to the waves! For five days, me and the crew, struggled at sea to save the ship and the cargo and so we made an attempt to make a rudder from the ship's mast, unfortunately without success.

Fortunately for us, on December 18, the Ottoman-flagged steamer ''Despina Aivatzoglou'' appeared and attempted to tow us. After an hour of effort, my crew and I were forced to abandon ship.

Then, I learned that the ''Panagia Akathistou'', my ship, was towed the next day by Captain Konstantinos Zentefilis with the Romanian-flagged steamer ''Princess Eleana'' and handed over to the Italian authorities in Rhodes. On January 2 of the new year, that is, in 1914, the Italian Harbormaster there, inspected the ship, sealed it and sent it towed by the Italian destroyer ''Atlas'' to Symi.

AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT! While entering the port of Symi, my towed ship hit a reef, resulting in damage to the reefs of the bow!!

The Italian Harbour Master of Rhodes decided that my ship should be detained in Symi until a settlement was reached between the shipowners and the ship's salvager, Konstantinos Zentefilli, for the payment of the salvage fees, and in the meantime, the recipient of the cargo I transported, Pantelis Kassapoglou, declared in a notarial deed that he waived all rights to his cargo on the ship.

Long story short, the general average expenses incurred in this entire ship's adventure cost 51,154.92 gold francs. So, in September 1914, I applied to the Court of First Instance of Chios for the appointment of expert assessors to assess the various damages and losses and settle the average expenses of my ship.

Indeed, they were set in 1918... but the continuation of my story was lost in the waves of the sea and the passage of time... 100 plus years later, perhaps it is waiting for a modern researcher to reveal it!

~The text is inspired by a court document of application by Captain G.N. Pontikos to the Court of First Instance of Chios and as it describes an impressive story with a terrible series of events, we thought it was fitting to highlight!