The opening to a chapter I wrote for a newly published book called Close Calls. With 70 individual chapters each written by some of the world’s best divers the book looks at the mistakes we’ve made in a hope others can learn from them. But it’s also to foster a culture which promotes ‘black box thinking’ – the honest admission and assessments of mistake in order to prevent them happening again to anyone. Technical and Cave diving can be done safely but the margin for errors is often small with the consequences being fatal. Anything that can help us all to avoid mistakes, or at least be able to rectify them in time, is important. And I was proud of how many of the authors are not just acquaintances but very close friend. A useful read for any diver.

ANDY TORBET

Thanks Stratis, Edo and M2 for putting this book together. It’s a “grippa” read. Great to share a few (non fiction) stories along the way.

PETE MESLEY

I can only be super happy and honored to be in the pages of this book along with so many friends and great divers. I think that Stratis with the collaboration of Edoardo and Michael have created this incredible collection of stories, which in addition to being a compelling reading, can be a guide to survive the potential risks that diving and caving can present. Great Job!

SIMONE VILLOTTI

So excited to have gotten to contribute to this! ❤️

MARISSA ECKERT

Very honored to be featured along side so many other well known underwater explorers in Stratis Kas’s excellent new book “Close Calls”! If you haven’t already ordered one, don’t hesitate to do so. It will definitely keep you glued to it!

RANDY THORNTON

Look what finally arrived! Thanks Stratis Kas for asking me to contribute to this MUST HAVE book. I just started reading it and WOW can’t put it down. And yes that is the sidemount wing from that fateful day back in 2006……. 10,000 feet back in Jackson blue……. I still have it! If you are a cave diver you have to get this book!!!

EDD SORENSON

I feel very honored to have contributed my part to this book, too. Thanks to Stratis Kas and Michael Menduno for the hard work you put in it.
Warning!!! When you buy (or win!) your copy, make sure you have nothing to do for a couple of hours, it’s hard to put it down once you start reading.

FRAUKE TILLMANS

Finally arrived. I am honored to have contributed to this fantastic book with my story, I am sure it will be a very interesting book for both divers and non divers. Thank you Stratis for including me in your exceptional work.

DANIELE PONTIS

Exley has ‘borrowed’ my newly arrived copy of @Close Calls to check out what mistakes his Dad and Dad’s friends have made in their diving careers. Well done Stratis Kas, Edoardo Pavia and Michael Menduno for such an amazing publication! Thank you for considering me, in a lineup of divers I have looked up to for years. If you have not ordered a copy, go do so as we can all learn from mistakes.
Now to go get my book back……….

EDD STOCKDALE

Received my copy of Close Calls’ today, a book I am proud to of authored a chapter for. I’m honoured to be among the 60+ divers telling their ‘Close Calls’. True Stories that as divers we can all learn from. Thank you Stratis Kas for your determination and hard work to see this project through to completion 🙏

PHIL SHORT

Earlier this week my copy of ‘close calls’ arrived. Like many of my diving friend I’ve written a story for this book by Stratis Kas. Found time to read a few of the other stories earlier 🙂

CHRIS JEWELL

Big shout out and shameless plug for Stratis Kas Edoardo Pavia and Michael Menduno for putting together this incredible book of “near misses” in scuba diving. Proof in their own words, that many of today’s most prominent explorers have all had “come to Jesus” moments in the underwater environment. Thanks lads for including my own tale of what “almost” happened.

RICHIE KOHLER

A courier has just this moment delivered a hard copy of Stratis Kas’s wonderful book, ‘Close Calls’; one packed with stories of diving misadventures told by so many outstanding contributors. It’s a book that I’m looking forward to reading in its entirety – and, having contributed a ‘near-miss’ tale, one that I feel honoured to be part of. Thank you, Stratis. 🙂

DAVID STRIKE

Today I received my receipt copy of Close Calls. Many thanks to Stratis Kas, Edoardo Pavia and Michael Menduno for the great honor of being able to contribute to this book. It’s a book where many experienced divers from all over the world report about situations that almost ended in tragedy. Each of us can learn something from one story or the other. A very large part of the book price goes into the “” Claudius Obermaier Foundation “, that means a lot to me personally because I knew Claudius. He was one of my diving partners at the beginning of my technical diving training. My experience, which I report on in this book, has made me at the same dive site Claudius died. I hope as many of you as possible support this wonderful book project.

SABINE KERKAU

Finalmente riesco a leggere materialmente questo libro, a cui l’amico Stratis Kas mi ha chiesto cortesemente di partecipare e per me é stato un grande onore poter condividere una delle mie esperienze subacquee che più hanno segnato la mia memoria. E insieme alla mia, tantissime altre storie che ho iniziato a leggere e sono già certo che non potro fermarmi fino alla parola fine. Una lettura che consiglio veramente a tutti, subacquei e non, che le storie certo riguardano il mondo delle immersioni, ma sono avventure e disavventure cosi avvincenti da divenire una lettura interessante e coinvolgente per tutti. Impara tutto ciò che ti è possibile dagli errori degli altri. Non avrai tempo a sufficienza per farli tutti. (Alfred Sheinwold)

ALDO FERRUCCI

I’d to thank Stratis Kas for letting me add a story to his book Close Calls. It’s a really wonderful collection by fellow divers who have some very interesting stories and close calls that we can all learn from. And for my Mom, yes it’s my first time in hard cover, but you may not want to read these stories!
Enjoy!

EVAN KOVACS

Thanks for the opportunity Stratis Kas. It’s been said, “The greatest teacher can be failure”. This is especially true if the mistake is one you can live to learn from. The book Close Calls, is a literary culmination of potentially near fatal experiences explained by the technical divers who survived them.
My contribution is a story of a deep air cave dive that nearly cost me my life. I was much younger, uniformed and inexperienced.

BRETT B HEMPHILL

Got my copy!!! When Stratis Kas ask me to write up my close call it took some thought. The caves keep trying to teach me. Twice gravel banks have sluffed off and buried me. Once rock slide plugged my exit to a room. Once my dive buddy didn’t follow the plan got stuck in a restriction and trapped me. Flooded drysuit with 2 hours of deco in 53 deg. Water. I think the one I chose is the one we can learn most from. Hope everyone looks at this book as a huge learning opportunity. We can learn so much from each other if we are not afraid to share.

MIKE YOUNG

“Close Calls” has finally reached my desk as well and this was definitely an awesome start of the week! Thank you so much to Stratis, Edoardo and Michael for the great idea and work, and for asking me to join the impressive list of contributors for this book! The stories in the book are an amazing source of knowledge and starting points for reflections. We are human, we are fallible. Mistakes and oversights simply happen. Honestly sharing our stories is fundamental for the learning process to take place. Each situation involved feelings, emotions, training practice, instinctive reactions… so many factors involved that the book should have three time its size to have them all. So, my suggestion is: Get the book, read them, contact the author of the story and ask questions if you want! Then read them again… and start sharing So, once again… WELL DONE GUYS! ps: BTW… I tried to memorise all of them through the osmosis but…apparently it does not work.

BEATRICE RIVOIRA