Spiros, our favourite ship chandler. His shop is soon 100 years old!

• ... You have a serious problem with your windlass, your engine breaks down 50 miles away from his stall, you have an important problem to resolve on your rudder or on your hydrolube ring on the propeller shaft...

Vous avez un souci avec votre guindeau, vous tombez en panne de moteur à plus de 50 milles de son échoppe , vous avez un problème grave à résoudre au niveau de votre safran ou de votre bague hydrolube sur l'arbre d'hélice...

• If you are not too far from Poros, then don't hesitate, make yourself known to Spiros. His Shop is like the cave of Ali Baba, especially since his brother has closed down his own paint shop, after the crisis, and now since he joined him.

•  It needs an hour every morning at “Mister 10 minutes” to instal all the buoys outside the property, the fenders of all sizes, the anchors, the drums, the flags of all nationalities, the shoes, the nautical maps, the pumps, the brooms and brushes, the little table and chairs to take your coffee...all to say that the shop kept its beauty and the life of its shopfront with all its charms from the old days.

• If you come inside and Spiros is there, he will always welcome you with a warm smile and would always take his time to understand your needs and what you are looking for. If, as well, you are lucky enough to become one of his friends, he will welcome you with open arms. He is incredibly available and is generous towards you, even if there is a lot of clients behind waiting to be served.

• To see him strive in his shop is an unforgettable show. He looks after three clients at the same time, answers the phone calls non stop, is aware of his brother's requests, as well as his wife's or “the Mister 10 minutes” requests. There are many books, notebooks and catalogues to take notes on all orders, finding the correct material or provider who could deliver rapidly in the next ferry.He is everywhere at the same time: it is crazy...especially when on top of that he suffers fromstrong allergies, which by the way doesn't seem to stop him. All the clients don't seemto realise “the show must go on!”.

(*) Nicolas is the only employee and we gave him a nickname”Mister 10 minutes”, because he is the only person who constantly answers phone calls if the boss isn't available, “Spiros in ten minutes” is about the only words he knows in english. This nickname, which he likes, stayed with him.
(*)Nicolas est le seul employé et nous l'avons surnommé ainsi car il répond invariablement au téléphone , en cas d'absence du maître des lieux « Spiros in ten minutes », à peu prés les seuls mots d'anglais qu'il connaisse... Ce surnom, qu'il aime bien, lui est resté.

• He never loses his temper, well not that we saw, even though some of the situations were quite difficult, he always stays kind and serene. You need to forgive him when there are some oversights on odds and ends, because in real emergencies, he is really reliable and his professional connections are the best quality. And if you are in difficulty in a far away port, a quick phone call and our man will find a solution to your problem. He is a person you need to know, and who will make you love Greece and particularly Poros. That is why we decided to put our anchor.

The history behind the shop is that Spiros' granddad opened a shop in the area in 1919, it is about 100 years (birthday which will be celebrated truly and with dignity in September next year).
Spiros n'est pas là par hasard: son grand père a ouvert un commerce en ce lieu et place en 1919, il y a quasiment 100 ans (anniversaire qui sera fêté dignement en septembre de l'année prochaine).

• He came from Piree where he fell in love with a teacher, and even though his parents were against it, he left his supermarket which he was a manager for 3 years, to get settled in Poros.Taking in account his wife's view who was concerned about the opening of a tavern where people could consume lots of alcohol, he decided to open a shop of materials for construction and supplies for maintenance of “caiques” which were commuting between the island and the continent, as well as towards Thessalonique, to export some famous lemons and the olive oil against the wine and other commodities which were necessary to the local life. Note at this period, the fishermen were so poor that they couldn't buy anything to maintain their boats in good shape.He was passionate in elaborating paints, as much for buildings as for navy equipment. He never stopped developing some process to obtain different colours and best quality paints, which his son (Spiros) carried on.

Arrivé du Pirée où il avait su séduire une jolie enseignante, et ce malgré l'opposition parentale de la promise, il avait laissé son supermarché qu'il gérait depuis 3 ans pour s'installer à Poros. Tenant compte de l'avis de sa femme qui craignait que l'ouverture d'une taverne ne s'accompagne d'une trop grande consommation d'alcool, il décida d'ouvrir un magasin de matériaux de construction et de fournitures pour l'entretien des caïques qui faisaient la navette entre l'île et le continent, notamment vers Thessalonique, pour exporter les citrons réputés et l'huile d'olive du Péloponnèse contre du vin et autres denrées nécessaires à la vie locale. A noter qu'à cette époque les pêcheurs étaient si pauvres qu'ils n'achetaient rien pour maintenir leur barques en état. Il se passionna pour l'élaboration de peintures, tant pour le bâtiment que pour la marine. Il n'aura de cesse de mettre au point des procédés pour obtenir différentes couleurs et qualités, activité qui sera relayée plus tard par son fils.

• His dad kept all the secrets of all productions until 1965 which was the year of the opening of the big factory on the continent. At this time it was running industrial production. The surface dedicated at these activities were about 4 times more important than the nautical hardware store the grandson is owning today. You need to remember that all the granulat, sand, cement and other materials were stored on site. Most of the trades were made by boats. The big square today is now occupied by coffee houses . It used to be a landing dock and embarkation of many goods. The docks also were receiving the “caiques” which was essentially used for transport.

Le père de Spiros saura garder tous les secrets de fabrication jusqu'en 1965, année de l'ouverture d'une grande usine sur le continent consacrée à la production industrielle dans ce domaine. La surface vouée à  ses activités représentait alors prés de 4 fois celle qu'occupe aujourd'hui la quincaillerie marine du petit fils. Il faut rappeler que tout le granulat, le sable, le ciment et autres étaient stockés sur place. L'essentiel des échanges se faisait par bateau et la grande place aujourd'hui occupée par les terrasses de café était utilisée pour le débarquement et l'embarquement des matériaux, et le quai recevait les caïques qui assuraient le transport.

• Everything was done with man's arm or a wheelbarrow. There were never lots of yearly employees Maybe one or two at most, especially when the son came to work with his dad just before the last war. The most busy period was obviously the spring one, when the maintenance of the houses with the whitewash and of the boats were needed, that is where they found all the essentiel to repair the sails, rigging, caulking and repainting the hulls, changing the fittings...

Tout se faisait à bras d'homme ou à la brouette. Il n'y a jamais eu beaucoup d'employés à l'année , un ou deux, surtout quand le fils a rejoint son père un peu avant la dernière guerre. La période la plus chargée était évidemment celle du printemps, au moment de l'entretien des maisons à la chaux et celui des bateaux qui trouvaient là le nécessaire pour réparer les voiles, le gréement, calfater et repeindre les coques, changer l'accastillage...

• When Spiros' dad stopped working, the shop was separated between his 4 sons and big parts of the local was sold to be able to share between them 4. But all of them have kept the family tradition: one took over the painting and another took over the electricity.Then the third one took over the fishing. Which left Spiros to take over the maintenance of the boats. He iwas the only one to have stayed in the initial premises.

Quand le père de Spiros a cessé ses activités , le commerce à été séparé entre les 4 fils et une grande partie des locaux a été vendue pour effectuer le partage. Mais tous les quatre se sont inscrits dans la tradition familiale: l'un a repris le secteur peinture, un autre celui de l'électricité, le troisième celui de la pêche et Spiros, enfin, celui de l'armement et l'entretien des bateaux. Il fut le seul à être resté dans les locaux initiaux.

• But of course the context for them all has greatly improved, especially with the arrival of the yachting and the tourism, but the spirit of the beginnings remained. Although Spiros went to Athenes where he studied to be a bookseller for 4 years, so it seemed he would have chosen a different path.But he couldn't resist to come back in his island to escape the noise from the big town and to follow his granddad's path. He managed to get used to his new job thanks to Thomas who he met at the end of the 80s,Thomas was a dutch adventurer, who sailed a bit everywhere in the world and who ended his trip in Poros where he lives now. In 87, He created a small charter company, and for the boat maintenance you need to talk to Spiros. This alliance between them was not just professional, it became a strong relationship, and gave them a successful and passion in their work.

Bien sûr le contexte pour tous a considérablement évolué , principalement avec l'arrivée de la voile de plaisance et du tourisme , mais pour l'essentiel l'esprit des débuts est resté .Et pourtant Spiros, qui était parti à Athènes pour effectuer des études de libraire pendant 4 ans, semblait avoir pris une autre voie. Mais il n'a su résister au désir de revenir dans son île, de fuir les bruits de la grande ville et de poursuivre l'histoire de son grand père . Il a pu s'imprégner de son métier grâce à une rencontre fin des années 80 avec Thomas. Thomas était un bourlingueur hollandais qui avait navigué un peu partout dans le monde et qui au final avait choisi de s'installer à Poros. Il avait créé en 87 une petite compagnie de charter et pour l'entretien des bateaux s'adressait à Spiros. Cette collaboration, qui visiblement alla bien au delà de l'aspect professionnel, fut très fructueuse et lui permit d'acquérir l'essentiel des ficelles de la profession et surtout la passion pour son travail...

Merci à Spiros et sa femme pour les éléments transmis à Céline qui a traduit en anglais le texte de ce billet, ce qui n'a pas été facile et à Chantal pour l'aide à la rédaction.