Northampton Scuba School train UK's youngest 'Master Scuba Diver' at 12
On Friday 13th September 2024 (unlucky for some) Zak Egan completed his PADI Jnr Advanced Open Water, Jnr Rescue Diver and Jnr Master Scuba Diver qualifications on his 12th Birthday becoming the youngest Master Scuba Diver in the UK with Northampton Scuba School. As he did this on his 12th birthday (the minimum age) it’s a record that can’t be beaten and our research shows that there’s only one other person in the world to have achieved this previously which was completed in the warm waters of Dubai.
He’s arguably the worlds most experienced scuba diver at his age being the youngest in the world to complete this feat in cold water. Zak’s experience is extremely varied with over 50 dives at many locations including a number of UK inland dive sites where the water is cold and murky often with poor visibility. These sites have included Gildenburgh Water, Vobster Quay, Capernwray, Dosthill, Stoney Cove and The Blue Lagoon (here in MK).
Outside of the UK he’s dived around some small wrecks in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Cyprus, a lost sunken city at the Archaeological Marine Park of Baia situated on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples and also in the Grottos off Nerano, the picturesque bay nestled between Sorrento, the Island of Capri and the Amalfi coast.
Being extremely interested in marine wildlife he has dived with sharks at the Blue Planet Aquarium completing a shark aware course and also interacting with wild seals off the shores of Lundy Island in the Atlantic Ocean.
Zaks diving started with the bubble maker course when he was 8 years old. When he was 10 (the minimum age) he became a qualified scuba diver gaining his Open Water licence. When he was 11, Zak completed his Adventure Diver and Speciality qualifications for Boat Diving, Drysuit, Digital Underwater Imaging, Peak Performance Buoyancy and, Fish Identification. On his 12th birthday he completed his Advanced Open Water qualification with a deep dive down to 21 metres (nearly 70 feet) and then his Rescue Diver where he had to perform exercises dealing with a distressed diver and find a missing buddy at the bottom of Stoney Cove, bring the unconscious adult diver to the surface, then tow them to the shore whist performing emergency care. Completing all this along with over 50 scuba dives Zak gained the Junior Master Scuba Diver which is the highest of all the recreational qualifications. Fewer than two percent of divers join this elite group to achieve the Master Scuba Diver rating, let alone at such a young age.
Diving isn’t Zak’s only passion. He’s always been a very active and into many sports. His dedication shows through his approach to training which is often around 20 hours a week. He’s a brown belt in Kick Boxing currently working towards his Black Belt with Total Dojo in Milton Keynes. He’s also a competitive gymnast having competed in numerous competitions including the English Silver Tumbling competition representing Milton Keynes Gymnastics.
Most of the future qualifications for Zak are a few years away as he needs to wait until he is 15 but he intends to build on his experience and do some diving with Enriched Air (Nitrox) and at night. He also want’s to complete qualifications for full face mask and driver propulsion vehicle (DPV). Many more diving adventures to come.