Not your average 6th grader, Mee Rae Firkins recently became the youngest Scuba diver ever to earn her ‘Master Diver’ level certification from National Aquatic Service.
As 11 year old Burton Street Elementary student, Mee Rae started Scuba diving as part of a family activity picked out by her mother Sue Firkins. The Firkins took Scuba lessons in the fall and went to Little Cayman in the Caribbean for their certification when the weather got better. This was little Mee Rae’s first encounter with eagle rays, stingrays, barracuda and turtles. The girl has since accomplished 80 dives and completed the necessary trainings in stress and rescue, night diving, low visibility diving, underwater navigation, boat diving and dry suit diving to reach the ‘master diver’ level, all in a span of 6 months or so.
In a sport like diving, acquiring the necessary skill sets from assembling her scuba equipment on her own, controlling her buoyancy underwater, calculating and monitoring depth and time while being careful not to surface to quickly, Mee Rae Firkins was always a quick learner and her mother credits this to her love for water and a natural talent when it comes to this sport.
While the rest of the Firkin family too dives, Mee Rae and Sue are crazy about the sport. Sue Firkin is comfortable with daughter Mee Rae as her dive buddy, saying she stays close by and is a vigilant buddy making eye contact assuring her mom she’s okay. She’s also confident that even though there are risks involved in the sport, her children are careful and responsible divers, who know to dive safely. The Firkin family have dived in the Caribbean, Skaneateles Lake, Alexandria Bay, Dutch Springs and Cazenovia Lake.
Mee Rae was last said to be taking part in an underwater pumpkin carving contest, this Halloween, not an easy task considering the 50 pounds of diving equipment a diver wears while doing this.
Information and image via Cazenovia Republican
