12
THE GREYTON POST
NOV /DECEMBER 2025
Interview with Elsa Rogers: Surviving the Oceanos
I n August 1991, the world was gripped by the unfolding drama of the Oceanos cruise liner sinking off the Wild Coast of South Africa. The ship went down in ferocious seas after flooding crippled its engines — but in a miracle of courage and composure, every one of the 571 passengers and crew survived. Among them was Greyton’s own Elsa Rogers , today well known for her cheerful smile at the EARS charity shop and her steady hand on the bowls green. Elsa recalls the extraordinary series of events that changed her life forever. “It was my first cruise,” she begins with a wry smile. “I’d won some money at the casino in Pretoria and thought, why not? It was a cheap holiday! My boss teased me, saying, ‘Don’t go sinking like the Titanic !’ and I told him not to be silly.” The cruise set off from Durban, stopping in East London and Cape Town before heading back up the coast. From the start, the sea was rough. “Plates were flying out of cupboards, and food was sliding off table and a few people were sea sick” Then came the night of 3 August. Around 8 p.m., a loud noise echoed through the ship, followed by a deep, unsettling list to one side. “I was thrown into a mirror,” Elsa recalls. “Roulette wheels went flying,
crockery smashing everywhere. We were told to go to the lounge and sit on the floor, and that’s exactly what we did. No one screamed, no one cried — it was the strangest calm.” What the passengers didn’t know was that the Oceanos was fatally compromised. A maintenance fault had left a valve open, flooding the ship. As the situation worsened, many of the crew — including the captain — abandoned ship, leaving passengers and entertainers behind. “It was quite disgraceful,” Elsa says firmly. “The captain was one of the first to leave, supposedly to ‘organise things from shore’. We were left in the hands of the entertainers and tour guides, who were the real heroes.” Among those heroes were Moss Hills and Robin Boltman , members of the onboard entertainment team who took charge of the evacuation. “They got on the radio, called for help, and refused to leave until every last person was off,” Elsa says. “Moss went up and down with the helicopters until he collapsed from exhaustion.” At 4 a.m., passengers were told to crawl out to the open deck and hold onto the rails as 40m waves raged below them. “We sat in rows, holding onto each other. Some started singing Abide With Me . It was eerie but
strangely peaceful. Nobody panicked — not once. Everyone just accepted what was happening and did what had to be done.” When her turn finally came to be lifted into a helicopter, Elsa felt an unexpected calm. “I accepted I was going to die when I was on the ship, but I wasn’t afraid. I just didn’t want my children to find out through the news.” Rescued at dawn, she watched from the air as the Oceanos gradually slipped beneath the waves. Remarkably, no lives were lost. “It was a miracle,” she says softly. Today, at 85, Elsa lives a full and happy life in Greyton. She volunteers at the EARS charity shop, plays bowls, and cherishes her five children, twelve grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. “Greyton gave me a new lease on life,” she smiles. “My motto has always been This too shall pass .” From the sinking Oceanos to the safe harbours of village life, Elsa Rogers remains a living testament to the strength, humour, and quiet courage of South Africans — calm under pressure, compassionate in crisis, and always ready to find light after the darkest storm.
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