Nick Pelios
Freediver, Creator
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Nick Pelios
Freediver, Creator
Envision an era where diving didn't involve wetsuits or any semblance of modern equipment but instead required descending into the depths with nothing more than a stone and an indomitable spirit. Now, consider a man daring to plunge 87 meters under these challenging conditions. That man was Stathis Hatzis, and this remarkable dive unfolded more than a century ago.
Born in 1878 on the island of Symi, Stathis Hatzis' early years remain shrouded in mystery, except for his unwavering passion for fishing that ignited during his youth. Starting from the shores with a fishing rod and later navigating various boats, the sea became his lifeblood. As he matured, Hatzis evolved into a "naked diver," a term unrelated to swimwear but emblematic of sponge divers who delved into profound depths without modern equipment. Armed solely with a "kampanellopetra" in Symi or "skandalopetra" in Kalymnos—a flat stone weighing approximately 12 okas—he, tethered to a kagkaba (sponge diving boat), would descend, with the stone hastening his seabed journey. This perilous method, rife with risk and pain, claimed lives and health. The advent of industrialized diving halted the "kampanellopetra," yet Hatzis persisted, earning renown as a daring diver capable of remarkable depths with just a single breath. It was this very reputation that, 111 years ago, etched his name into the annals of legend.
In August 1913, the Italian battleship "Regina Margueritta" anchored outside the port of Karpathos. After replenishing supplies, it prepared to weigh anchor. As it was leaving, a link of the heavy chain broke, causing the anchor to fall back into the water, fatally injuring an Italian sailor.
The "Regina Margueritta," a counterpart to the Greek battleship "Averof," had to retrieve its anchor, which had sunk to a depth of 48 fathoms (87.5 meters, approximately). This depth was prohibitive for diving during that era. Someone from Karpathos, aware of the skills of the sponge diver Stathis Hatzis in deep-sea diving, recommended him to the warship's captain, who ordered them to bring him from Symi.
The 33-year-old Symian diver was taken to Karpathos, accompanied by his friend Pachos, who would assist him in the endeavor. Hatzis had to dive to a depth of 87 meters and simultaneously work to reconnect the chain to the anchor using a wire rope. The Symian diver made a bold decision, enticed by a golden pound, a substantial sum for that time.
Eventually, he reached the battleship's ladder. Plunging into the water, he quickly attempted to secure the anchor with the chain. Running out of breath, his eyes hurting, and the cold unbearable, he passed the wire rope through the chain link and the anchor but failed to secure it. He signaled quickly, and they pulled him up. Upon reaching the surface, he was almost unconscious. Trembling from the cold, his face reddened, and his nose and ears were bleeding. Stathis Hatzis had achieved the impossible: surviving after a dive to 87 meters.
The Italians were astonished, unable to believe what they had witnessed. Just as they couldn't believe they could leave without the anchor. Seeing that Hatzis had the capability, they pressured him to repeat the dive. However, he refused, and they insisted. He suggested they wait a few days until his wounds healed and then try again. Stathis Hatzis had few choices, as the Dodecanese were then under Italian rule.
A few hours later, he was back at the battleship's ladder. He tied himself again with the Scandalopetra or Kamanelopetra (as it was called in Symi), the rock sponge divers used to quickly dive to great depths, and reached the incredible depth of 87.5 meters again. He managed to secure the wire rope. However, when he ascended to the surface, he was nearly dead. Stathis Hatzis eventually survived this tremendous ordeal. As a reward for his achievement, Hatzis asked the Italian admiral, in addition to the Golden Pound, for the freedom to travel anywhere across the Aegean Sea.
In 1918, he boarded an English ship that was torpedoed by a German submarine in the Atlantic. He was the only survivor and floated on a plank for three days until an English submarine spotted him. The English could not believe how he had survived for so long. He later traveled to America, where he undertook daring ventures. He returned to Symi and opened the first motorized mill. He died at the age of 53 from lung cancer.
His remarkable feats became a subject of discussion in Italian newspapers, shedding light on many aspects of this superhuman's narrative. His accomplishment stands out, especially when one considers that contemporary elite athletes achieve similar or even greater depths, albeit with the assistance of rigorous training and state-of-the-art equipment. However, when compared to Stathis Hatzis, they are distinctly set apart by a century, diving without any modern gear, completely exposed, relying solely on a rock to etch a historic milestone in the annals of diving.