Additional information
by Yannis Detorakis (Author)
Stathis G. Hatzis was the head diver among Symi's and the Dodecanese's hundreds of free divers - sponge divers in the early 20th century. In 1913, he dived to a depth of 88 meters, for 4 minutes, in his attempt to locate and tie the anchor of the Italian battleship Regina Margherita which had been lost on the ocean floor. The book is the biography of Stathis Hatzis and follows Stathi in his three day adventure to find and secure the lost anchor, making a total of 16 record free dives from 50 to 88 meters depth. Stathis Hatzis' unique accomplishment was representative of the incredible abilities of this humble sponge diver, as well as his generation's, the last free divers - sponge divers, diving with the kampanelopetra, who disappeared along with a unique in the world tradition, which had endured uninterrupted until then, since the depths of antiquity. In the pages of this book, the adventures and legendary dives of Stathis Hatzis become the reason to chronicle the entire history of free diving in Greece, from its origins in ancient times to the late 20th century. Rare photos and documents reveal the achievements of an island population consisting of thousands of free divers and their families, who, with Symi and the Dodecanese as an epicentre, achieved greatness in the Aegean for centuries, thanks to the precious sponges gathered from the depths of the Mediterranean and traded in the markets of Europe and America.
Author Biography
Yannis Detorakis was born in Athens, Greece, in 1967 and his parents come from Crete. He started free diving and scuba diving at the age of 17 and continues since. He studied biology and made several research programs in diving - hyperbaric physiology. He is a scuba and free diving instructor since 1991 (today a Master Instructor PADI) and a Free Diver Instructor Trainer CMAS since 2002. He is the first PADI Freediving Instructor in Greece since 2004 and since 2016 he is a Freediver Instructor Trainer PADI for the new PADI Free diving courses. Yannis is a designer of Free Diving Courses: At 2001 he founded his Diving Center "Atlantis Diving" in Athens and at 2004 he started his own - designed 3 PADI Free Diving Distinctive Specialties (Free Diver - Advanced Free Diver and Master Free Diver) teaching hundreds of student free divers the following years. As an author he has written 6 books about free diving: The History, The Technique for the first 10 meters, The Physiology, The Equipment and others, now being translated in English.
