Turning to her col-
league,travelagentDe-
braleRicheheldupa
faxfrom TFCTours
thathadbeencirculat-
edin-houseatRennies
TravelinPortEliza-
beth.Theheadingread“Opportunityto
Cruise”andcontaineda specialofferfor
travel agentstotakeatriponthe
Oceanos from East London to Durban at
a hugely discounted rate.
It was mid-July 1991 and the Greek
cruise liner had started plying her trade
in southern African waters the previous
month.
“Are you keen?” Debra asked. Her co-
worker, Tanya Stoddart, took the memo
and carefully read through it. “Wow! Let
me talk to my hubby, but I’m in.”
edit to
herfamilyaroundthedinnertable. Her
twochildren,Raymond(then8)and
Megan(5),wereraringtogo.Her hus-
band,René,respondedinmoremeas-
uredtones.“Howmuchisthisgoing to
cost?”
“R200a person,”repliedDebra. “This
offeris justtoogoodtomiss.It will be the
experienceofa lifetimeforallofus.”
Andwiththat,thedecisionwasmade.
Early on the morning of 3 August, the
Le Riche family and four other couples
set off on the three-hour drive from Port
Elizabeth to East London in a hired kom-
bi, travelling along the Eastern Cape
coastline. The plan was that they’d sail
overnight to Durban and then fly back
home.
They arrived in the late morning and
boarded the Oceanos around lunchtime.As they were boarding, Debra noticed
a tiny door in the hull of the ship, just
above the waterline. “That’s my escape
route when the ship capsizes,” she joked
to Tanya.
Given that a gale-force wind was howl-
ing around them, Tanya didn’t find it
particularly funny.
“Don’t say that, Debra! You’ll bring bad
luck on the ship.”
Stepping aboard, they were warmly
welcomed by the Greek crew and served
bite-size pizzas and cocktails.
Spiro, one of the waiters, was especial-
ly taken by little Megan’s charm. “What a
beautiful girl and what beautiful hair you
have,” he said, fussing over her.
The adults and children made them-
selves comfortable in the ship’s lounge,
with the wind howling outside under the
overcast skies.THE SINKING OF
THE OCEANOS
It should have been a dream cruise –
but it turned into a nightmare when
the Greek liner went down off the Wild
Coast in 1991. In this extract from a new
book we revisit how terrified passengers
werelefttofendforthemselves
AVEyouseenthis?” ThateveningDebramention
LEFT: Debra and René le Riche with their kids, Raymond and
Megan (on the couch beneath the window), and other pas-
sengers soon after boarding the Oceanos in East London.