The enthralling inside story of the Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand—told by the leader of the daring underwater rescue mission In July 2018, twelve boys and their soccer coach disappeared into the 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 British firefighter with a living room full of homemade cave-diving equipment. As unlikely as it seemed, Rick and his partner, John Volanthen, were regarded as the A-team for exactly this kind of mission. The Thai Cave rescue was the culmination of a lifelong obsession, requiring every ounce of skill and ingenuity accumulated by Rick over a four-decade 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 humor, unflinching honesty, and a relentless drive for adventure.