Ioannis Dimitriou Falangas (also known by the nicknames “Kafas” and “Soustouris”) was born in Gyalia of Stenies, Andros, on June 15th of 1908, the son of Dimitrios Falangas and Irini Falanga, née Maris.

He was orphaned by father when he was 7 years old. At the age of 13, he became a seaman and started as a sailor, quickly ascending the hierarchy, and before too late became a captain on the ships of the Maris family, with whom he held kinship ties.

His legendary illegal fishing expeditions during the Italian/German Occupation of Andros fed the people of Stenies and saved many lives (in one of his “fish-catches” that have remained proverbial since, he caught 2 tons of sardines!)

After the war, already a Captain by then, he transferred from Famagusta to Haifa the persecuted Israelis who had survived the War and the Holocaust and were trapped in Cyprus, abandoned there by its British rulers.

Through hard work, he bought his own vessels already in the 1960s.

He had an exuberant, loud and generous personality that did not go unnoticed and was much loved and respected by all. He was a keen fisherman and, once retired, he daily pursued his great passion: fishing with his boat “Castella” and a crew of several “apprentice fishermen”.

The cosmopolitan traveler “Captain Giannoulis Falangas” and his wife Anna, née Valmas, had three children: Dimitris (“Tsirous”), Leonidas and Irini (“Bebou”).

From their children they were fortunate to see six grandchildren: Francesca from their elder son Dimitris; Anna-Maria, Giannis and Marina from their son Leonidas, and Lyla and Stavros Hatzis from their daughter Irini.

Captain Giannoulis Falangas passed away on July 27, 1999. As per his wish, he was buried in the cemetery of his beloved Stenies.