“Captain Giannis” Skopelitis, Who Sailed When No One Else Would, Dies at 68
Giannis Skopelitis, the captain who kept Greece's most remote Cycladic islands connected to the outside world for decades, has died at 68. Known across the Small Cyclades simply as "Captain Giannis," he spent his life at the helm of the Express Skopelitis, a 45-meter ferry that served Amorgos, Donousa, Koufonisi, Schinousa, Iraklia and Naxos six times a week.
What set him apart was not the route but the conditions he was willing to sail in. While larger ferries stayed in port during winter storms, Skopelitis kept going, delivering medicine, mail and basic supplies to island communities that had no other way to receive them. He once described getting medication to Donousa as something that could determine whether someone lived or died, and said plainly that waiting for better weather was never an option.
"We take risks in order to serve passengers and the needs of islanders. It takes courage." — Captain Giannis Skopelitis
"The essence is to do what you believe must be done," he told Kathimerini in a past interview. "We take risks in order to serve passengers and the needs of islanders. It takes courage."
He was continuing a family tradition started by his father, Dimitris Skopelitis, a fisherman from Koufonisi who launched the service back in 1965 to connect the Small Cyclades with Naxos and the Greek mainland. The family kept the line running through multiple vessels over six decades before the Express Skopelitis became the sole ship on the route.
His grandson Dimitris Skopelitis and Captain Giannis Fostieris will continue operating the vessel. Tributes poured in from islanders, former passengers and maritime communities across Greece. His funeral is expected Sunday.
