Thai teen makes a splash in Phuket dive community

PHUKET: A 15-year-old Thai girl has set her sights on becoming one of the youngest Thai Dive Masters in the world, having already completed 55 dives.

Nicole Christin-Hartmann attends Satree Phuket School, but in her free time she has been racking up dive experience with Nick Fawcus-Robinson of ScubaNicks.

Already she has completed her PADI Openwater, Advanced and Rescue Diver certifications. She also has an Emergency First Responder certification and has completed a handful of diving specialty certifications, including qualifications in deep diving and digital photography.

Despite having become a popular face within the dive community at Chalong Pier, she will still have to wait until she is 18 to get her Dive Master certification, according to Nick. However, when that time comes there is little doubt that she will bring a great deal of dive knowledge and experience to the table.

“She is a most accomplished and mature diver, who has been extremely diligent in all of her training and dives… Nicole is a diver of the future!” said Nick.

See next week’s issue of the Phuket Gazette for a full interview with this young and talented diver.

Today’s news of Nicole’s remarkable accomplishments follows 10-year-old Emil Engahl being awarded his Jr PADI Open Water certificate, which allows him out into the open water. Click here to read this young man’s engaging story.

— Isaac Stone Simonelli