Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Secret Scuba Diving Agent 008 ‘Shark Boy’ – alias Master Seal Christopher Jackson – has become the first and youngest scuba diver to achieve the PADI Master Seal Team diving certification in
Now the eight-year-old from Budaiya – who is becoming a ‘legend in his own dive boots’ – says ‘diving is my favorite thing in the whole wide world’ and wants to become an oceanographer and help save the planet.
Mum Belinda said: “When my husband and I got certified as PADI Open Water divers, here in Bahrain in 2006, Chris begged us for scuba diving lessons so on his eighth birthday we let him do a PADI Bubble Maker dive in the swimming pool.”
And after that there was no stopping this water baby.
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) has developed dive education programmes specifically for children aged 8-12 years which are conducted in the confined waters of a swimming pool and allow youngsters to experience the thrill of diving safely, participating in a variety of activities such as diving at night and taking photographs underwater, all under direct professional instruction.
“Then my family took a vacation on the Maldives Islands. I went scuba diving two metres down on the house reef and it was amazing!
“I did four sea dives and saw a baby shark. Now diving is my favorite thing in the whole wide world.”
Chris’s father Brent added: “We’re so proud of him. So far in his short life, Chris has spent over 18 hours under water and has logged 22 dives which is more than I have! It’s so incredible to see your child underwater, let alone be down there too sharing in the experience as a family activity.”
Bahrain is home to the most experienced, active, female PADI course director in the Gulf region. Known as Barracuda Babe to her junior dive students or Mother of Pearl to her adult divers, Australian born Robin Bugeja has taught scuba all round the world for more than 16 years.
She said: “Naturally I was delighted to teach Chris as I had previously trained and certified both his parents as PADI Open Water Divers. He’s quite a unique young man, with enormous enthusiasm and dedication for such a tender age.
“It wasn’t easy getting Chris into the discipline of cleaning his dive gear after use but we’ve managed to find a fun way of doing the scuba chores. In my eyes, he’s a role model for all children of all ages and a little legend in his own dive boots!”
Belinda added: “Chris just lives for his diving and he gets so angry with me if we have to cancel or delay a lesson.”
And Shark Boy concluded: “It’s much more fun learning to do things underwater. As Master Seals we practice safety drills, play games with a rocket and a frisbee for fun at the end of the lesson and learn how to take care of our aquatic world. Next I will do my Kids’ Emergency 1st Aid course and my mum and I will do our
Project Aware Environment course together because I want to be an Oceanographer when I grow up so I can help save our planet.”
