On Tripolitsiotis family at Vine of Paros, I have known her for 35 years and I believe that her life and ethos come from other eras. It is no coincidence that in my book "Paros, Travelogue in place and time" (2008) I had done for them, as well as for other 8 Parians (like the forgiven ones Captain Linardos, or the sunArmy) an extensive tribute.

How to forget the kind smiles, if one afternoon meets (even nowadays) the whole family to eat at the marble table in the yard - when you wish them"Good appetite", to answer you with the classic for them, "Work hard", remnant of the noble era of the '60s (invitation to lunch…)

Ο Christos Tripolitsiotis was born in 1939 in Ambelas. Together with his parents and his seven brothers, they lived in a house and what he remembers from his childhood was walking on winter days, in the rain, as they all went to school on foot, four kilometers away, in Naoussa. Poverty forced many young children to go to sea and little Christos as a sailor went to some posters of the disaster that befell the Cyclades-Dodecanese. At the end of his military service, a young man now 23 years old, he makes his maiden transatlantic voyage to Argentina and then to all the oceans, while at the age of 28 he marries Anna and the transatlantic voyages and the planetary Argentina are cut off! Barba Christos retired young. In his fifties, he was already thirty-five retired.

From 1980, in parallel with the captaincy, built the first hotel in Ambelas, next to his paternal residence, and in the same place the tavern "Christiana" (abbreviation of Christos and Anna). Vassilis takes care of the fishing and the needs of the tavern, while another son Michalis and one of his daughters Zambeta and his bride Litsa (Christos's mother and Vassilis's wife) run the restaurant together.

This time I had the pleasure to meet the new naval member of the family, the son of Vassilis Tripolitsiotis, Christos, an excellent young man, thirteen years old, a student of Monday High School of Naoussa, a fan of Mathematics and Physics and with him we made a trip for red mullets.

The boat of the Tripolitsioti family, the Christiana, is a 15-meter treadmill built at the Vlamis shipyard in Ermoupolis, Syros, in 2000. It has two 140-horsepower FIAT engines each. Its tools (networks) in total exceed five thousand orgies.

Christos, from 9 years old, used to go to Ambelas's baby with a rod and fish for sarees, moogria, a lot of gopias. Then he threw nets, from one boat to another and collected his first crates of fish. Vassilis first took him to the boat at the age of 10 and today he is a "complete" captain.

His first job is to untie the ropes and the palms, and then the preparation of the nets for molting. He does not miss the opportunity to learn the art of molaring from his friends, as here to Mr. Andreas of Melina cafe in Plaka, old sailor, who had forgotten the art of fishing for years and Christos reminded him of it!

The crew of the boat completes o Pentias, from Egypt, 10 years crew, who as another Persephone lives 6 months in Vineyards and 6 months in Tomatoes of his homeland together with his large family.

The boat has two rudders. The bow with all the aids, covered, with the bunk, and everything necessary for long trips, makeshift kitchen, and everything else that needs to be protected and the stern outdoor rudder, for the captain to control the winch and the squats.

Captain Vassilis, from Easter to October - we are talking about 120 strong per diems - goes out to sea every day, to bring the red mullet and the kakavia fish to the family tavern, the only one in Paros that has fish of the day, every day.

Inside the bridge, at the bow rudder, it has the radios, the sonar, the radar that tracks the course, the danger signal, the concretes for a special fishing, the books of the boat, the danger sparklers, the kitchen for days when you travel for cooking .

The two captains have no reason to hide their joy. THE Captain Vassilis because he has near him and boasts his son, while the Captain Christos, because at the age of 13, he shows his maturity and commands an entire boat!

The viralization (collection) of networks is one long story which lasts about an hour and a half - as much as the molaring (throwing) - until the networks of 4.000 orgies are gathered. "In the past, with these tools we could collect 100 kilos of fish, today, there are days when if we collect 20 kilos we will be happy. There are times when we do not gain even 5 kilos… !!! ”

Gathering the nets and every time a fish comes, the heart skips, now after 300 orgies of picking a net without a fish, a great scorpion!

Captain-Christos, fished her, grabs her by the gills -he knows! - pays attention to the three thorns of the back and the two of the abdomen and shows it to us.

At some point, a large octopus arrives. He falls on the blanket and with very fast movements spreads his tentacles to escape. Here, too, Christos does not climb, grabs the knife and with two movements immobilizes it and nails it to the hood between the 2 eyes, where the central nerve passes. Fishermen used to bite it there and do their job without a knife.

Christos looks at his trophy and declares… “I will cook the smallest one myself, in the pan ρω I know from them. I throw the octopus in the pan, cut, its waters come out and after a while they are absorbed again. When the sauce is tight, I add olive oil, the juice of half an orange, a little salt, lemon, oregano and you extinguish it with sweet black wine. A good meze for the guests of our house".

A scorpion at 700 grams and a dracaena at 400 grams frame the red mullets and gossips of the first basket.

The second basket was richer and the third even better, 20 kilos of fish were collected at the end, the expenses and a small pocket money came out.

Here came to us a big red mullet at 450 grams, he was about to cross his leg Captain-Pitta number 48!

The life of coastal fishermen has been very difficult for the last 20 years. Do you want the overfishing by the thousands of amateurs, the continuous destruction of the seabeds by the trawlers, do you want the increase of the dolphin populations, - they are no longer threatened by the swords, since they have been limited - which now attack the fishermen's nets puts the profession in a difficult position.

Great, Parian fishermen got tired and stopped or reduced their activity by reducing their boats.

The "Christiana" put a bow on Ambelas. The fish were brought in batches, red mullets, goblins in one crate, scorpions, dragons and others for the cockroach in another, octopuses and cuttlefish in the last. The boat is washed, the nets are cleared; the customers in the Tavern are waiting for the red mullet of the moment, while Captain Christos, after taking out his day job, dreams of going to his room, to become a child again, and watch the latest episode on NETFLIX, some adventure, "The Perfect Robbery" with robbers and cops!

Christara, thank you very much… there is hope!