Zakynthos:- Tourists stranded, former lifesaver comes to the rescue

“I managed to get the people into their boat with a life jacket”

A dangerous incident occurred in waters around the Myzithres area, when a family of tourists from abroad were stranded due to strong waves.

The family, who had rented a boat, panicked, whilst the woman and her daughter swam to an isolated beach in the area. The man and son stayed on the boat, but found that due to the waves, they would not be able to safely return to the boat. At the critical moment Dimitris Tsironis, a former lifeguard who works for a private boat company, heard the family’s calls for help and intervened to rescue them.

“While going to Myzithres to watch the sunset, we noticed a boat calling for help from afar. I approached to see what was happening, and the man who was about 45 years old with his minor son told me that they had a problem with the boat and could not approach the shore, they had taken on water and the waves were very high. In fact, approaching by boat was impossible, because in the first two meters of the shore there was a wave of 1.5 meters, as a result of which I had to swim out with a life jacket to get the woman and daughter swimming”, initially emphasized Mr. Tsironis, who explained that he helped the woman and daughter get back to the boat.

“I took the little girl, the minor, first. The woman was in a panic and I tried to calm her down, and then I “tugged” her with a life jacket to get into the boat, which was about 50-60 meters from the shore”.

He then explained how the incident happened and why the people got off the boat.
“They got off the boat because they were scared. However, they later realized that the only way to escape was by boat, but the man could not bring them back to shore due to the waves. I swam, because there were too many waves and I could not reach them with my own boat. Also, the beach is an hour from Marathonisi and is isolated, meaning that after me, no other boat passed, and it was getting dark. They got into their boat and returned to their destination.”

Mr. Tsironis stressed that boat owners should be careful and give orders when giving a boat to a tourist who may not know how to handle it.
“It would be good for boat owners to give orders and do an inspection before giving out a boat, even if it is less than 30 horsepower, because there are people who have never been to sea. If they judge that they are not capable, it is better not to give out a boat, because someone could be in danger.”
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Mr. Tsironis explained that the legislation allows someone who does not have a license to drive a boat under 30 horsepower, however, if someone does not know how to handle it, it is dangerous.
“Under 30 horsepower, if it is a boat, someone does not need to have a speedboat license. I think that an evaluation should be made. Certainly, it will be bad if the legislation changes for some owners. There are also cases where they go to areas where people swim and pass by bathers without understanding the danger.”

Zakynthos Informer mentioned on their group page that:- Our island is one of the most beautiful in Greece and it is worth exploring.. However, please take note when travelling around our island either by land or sea.
A family of four (2 adults 2 children) rented a boat and needed to be saved by a private tour operator, who lucky enough, was a life saver, too. The family got stuck near Myzithres as they could not deal with the weather conditions at that time. This area is well known for swells and dangerous conditions at times.
Their holiday could have turned into a disaster if it were not for the life saver.
This is not the first time we have had people saved as they could not handle the boat, hence the reminder, please do not put your life and others in danger, if you are not 100% sure of what you are doing or the conditions you might face, PLEASE leave it to the local professionals that do.

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Source:- www.imerazante.gr/