Aquanaut

A Life Beneath The Surface – The Inside Story of the Thai Cave Rescue

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Aquanaut

By: Rick Stanton

Narrated by: Don Gilet, Rick Stanton

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE ENTHRALLING INSIDE STORY OF THE THAI CAVE RESCUE

'They were utterly alone inside the mountain, isolated from the rest of the world. They might as well have been on another planet . . .'

In July 2018, twelve boys and their football coach disappeared into Tham Luang Cave in Thailand.

Trapped miles beneath the surface, not even the Thai Navy SEALs had the skills to bring them to safety. With the floodwater rising rapidly, time was running out . . .

Any hope of survival rested on Rick Stanton, a retired Midlands firefighter with a living room full of homemade cave-diving equipment. As unlikely as it seemed, to those in the know, Rick and his partner, John Volanthen, were regarded as the A-team for exactly this kind of mission.

The Thai Cave Rescue was the apex of a lifelong obsession, requiring every ounce of skill and ingenuity accumulated by Rick through a near forty-year pursuit of the unknown.

While the world held its breath, Rick, John and their assembled team raced against time in the face of near impossible odds. There was simply no precedent for what they were attempting to do . . .

In Aquanaut Rick reveals the real story of the cave rescue for the first time. And of a life lived without compromise in which any mistake could have been his last. It's an edge-of-your-seat story of courage and conviction that will take you deep into the most remote and unforgiving places on the planet, told with humour, unflinching honesty, and a relentless drive for adventure.

Adventurers, Explorers & Survival

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Critic reviews

"The British divers are all heroes." (Clive Cussler)

"A case study in courage." (Ron Howard, Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13)

"The Thai cave rescue was phenomenally dangerous, and the work of true heroes." (inews)

Most relevant

I had this book sat, waiting in my library for weeks. I had chosen to read other books waiting to be listened to before this because, despite the positive reviews, I wasn't entirely certain how engaging it would be. After all, most of us are aware of the incredible rescue of those thirteen lives in Thailand back in 2018, what more could we learn? How could this rescue, regardless of how epic it was, fill an entire book.

I am so pleased any misgivings I had were unfounded.

Aquanaut is a gripping page turner from start to finish and I genuinely feel enriched to have read it. This is a book that will leave you in that way all good books should, pondering what you've just read and feeling satisfied with a brilliantly told story.

Before I go on, I'd like to just point out, in case some out there think that a book about cave diving is not something of interest to them, to reconsider. I have zero interest in cave diving and yet was enthralled by this fascinating story.

You can immediately tell a well written story about someone's personal passion, when you can feel that passion coming through in the writing. You don't have to be a fellow cave diver to appreciate that deep passion for something that consumes you. That's one of the key ways this book succeeds, it pulls the reader down into those deep, dark and foreboding caves with only the life support system strapped to you to keep you alive.

Before I go on, I should clarify that this book is split between the developing account of the rescue of those thirteen lives in Thailand and Rick Stanton's history of cave diving. The book skilfully interweaves past experiences in Rick's cave exploration career with events in Thailand to illustrate how past situations and experiences all furnished Rick with the required skills to accomplish a near impossible rescue. Far from being an interruption to the flow of the Thailand story, these interludes provide the reader with real insights into both the man and his passion, all proving vital elements in the story to help the reader truly understand and appreciate the kinds of learning that needed to be done through years of often highly dangerous diving. For most out there like me that have no interest in cave diving, this book will immerse you into this most hazardous of hobbies. To the experienced cave diver, or diver in general, it will fascinate you with many accounts of some of the most dangerous cave diving in the world. And, for all of us, it informs us of the unbelievable courage of such people, despite most of us totally failing to understand why anyone would do such a thing.

Cave diving has to combine all the most common primal human fears, total darkness, claustrophobia, submerged in water, becoming hopelessly lost, trapped and disoriented. Any of these alone would be reason enough for most people to shun such experiences in the name of "fun". However, combine all of them into a hobby, and you have something that 99.99% of sane humans would never, ever consider, let alone participate in. Nevertheless, Rick Stanton's consuming passion for this most insane of pursuits comes across brilliantly in this book, and if it wasn't for the crazy dangers involved, could almost convince me to try it.

Without trying to sound conceited in any way, what also appealed to me was that Rick Stanton shares some traits with me. I've always enjoyed problem solving, being one of those people who'd spend hours untangling some wires. I'd relish the challenge of achieving something that was not easy. Similarly, I am a person who cares little for the upkeep of my property, finding other interests far more pressing. Stanton's philosophy of "Keep it simple" is something I've attempted to echo in my career too, as well as preparation. My father was like Rick's, telling me that preparation and organization pays off and to mind what you're doing. Perhaps this is a dying trait in our modern world where the rush to accomplish something takes precedence over taking the time to think things through first and then doing them well.

Aquanaut illustrates perfectly the organizational skills that Rick Stanton has. His cautious, diligent approach teaches us all how to think in respect of tackling difficult situations. He is calm, practical and focused, a series of personality traits that has kept him alive. In addition, he analyses and learns from mistakes to improve and refine procedures and practices for future exploits. His intensely practical approach has seen him shun expensive off the shelf equipment to build his own, to his own requirements, based on years of experience. he has achieved more with home made equipment than many have done spending thousands on top of the line kit, surely an object lesson to take away from the ever increasingly materialistic world so many, particularly the young, seem to covet so much today.

As all well written books of this type do, Aquanaut takes the reader on a journey. We become used to the vernacular and turns of phrase used by cave divers, one of them inspiring the tag line for this review. We also learn of some of the tragedies that cave diving inevitably features. Rick Stanton's stoic constitution for dealing with death and recovery of dead bodies is illustrated here. I can't think of a more terrifying way to die than in the dark, under dozens of metres of water and alone.

Rick's experience and meticulous planning was in stark contrast to the chaotic and disorganized Thai military. We also learn of that ever frustrating bureaucracy that impedes and not facilitates the rescue efforts. Most rewarding of all, we learn of the saved lives and the immense gratitude of the mothers of those children as they came to thank those brave men that dived those caves. I think there was something wrong with the atmosphere while listening to that part, I somehow found tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes.

In a world that sees rich Hollywood celebrities receiving accolades and awards for their highly paid work, congratulating one another as if what they did was Earth shattering, true heroes like Rick Stanton fly largely under the radar. Society reveres the shallow, self absorbed celebrity culture so perverse in western culture today and doesn't give a second glance to those real people that do more for peoples lives in a day than they could in a lifetime.

Aquanaut is a must read and highly recommended.