News
London schoolgirl, 12, is one of world’s youngest master scuba divers
A schoolgirl from Hampstead in London in the UK has become one of the youngest master scuba divers in the world – aged just 12.
Indigo Bolandrini, a pupil at North Bridge House School in Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, has completed more than 60 dives in less than a year in the UK and Egypt.
“I just do it because it’s enjoyable and you get to know everyone on the boat. It’s fun to see what’s underneath what most of the planet is made of,” Indigo said.
Indigo, who is half Danish and half Italian, dives mainly in the Egyptian resort of El Gouna, where her family has a house, and received her qualifications with Finchley Road-based dive club Scuba Zone.
The deepest she has dived is 21 metres, which is the limit for her age, however she cheekily recounts a small “accident” where she exceeded this depth while diving above a deep, vertical drop.
“I thought I saw a type of rare octopus and swam down,” she explained.
“It turned out to be just a rock but I looked at my readings and suddenly found myself at 32 metres. I was fine in the end but it was scary!”
This explains the attitude of her mother, Tina Bolundrani, 45, towards her daughter’s hobby.
“My mother hates it,” said Indigo, “but she hasn’t tried it yet.”
Since her first dive in August 2013, Indigo has dived various wrecks, and is also a qualified night diver.
Indigo cites one of her best experiences as meeting a school of dolphins for the first time.
“We were on our way back to the dive boat when we saw them and they played with us in this amazing shallow lagoon,” she explained.
So what’s next for the girl who has already achieved so much at just 12 years of age?
She is friends with another master scuba diver, Charlotte Burns, also 12, of Biggin Hill, Kent, and the pair would like to go diving together in Silfra Crack, Iceland.
The renowned dive site comprises a whopping 200-metre deep fissure between two tectonic plates and has the clearest water on earth.
“And… when I turn 15, I can dive to 40 metres!” Indigo added.
Source: www.hamhigh.co.uk
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Gemma and Ian chat to Dawn Kernagis. Dawn joined DEEP in 2023 as the Director of Scientific Research. DEEP is an ocean technology and exploration company with a mission to ‘Make Humans Aquatic.’ DEEP’s undersea habitat and submersible systems, combined with multi-phased diver and human performance training, will create the next evolution of subsea science, research, and exploration capabilities. Dawn is a NASA-trained NEEMO Aquanaut, Explorer’s Club Fellow and Women Divers Hall of Fame Inductee and who is also tasked to establish DEEP’s first US presence in North Carolina. Dawn has also been a diver with numerous underwater exploration, research, and conservation projects since 1993, including the mapping and record-setting exploration of some of the deepest underwater caves in the world.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-kernagis-995383152/
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