A Biggin Hill girl is to make history by becoming the first child in the world to dive between the two tectonic plates separating the North American and Eurasian continents.
Charlotte Burns, 13, has obtained special permission from the Icelandic government to attempt the Silfra fissure – the only place where you can dive or snorkel in the crack between two continental plates.
The government agreed to allow the Newstead Wood School pupil to do the dive, which normally has a lower age limit of 18-years-old, after she campaigned for eight months.
The Silfra fissure in the Thingvellir National Park is one of the world’s most famous diving locations due to the astounding clarity of the water with a visibility of over 100 metres.
Charlotte began diving aged 10 after being inspired by a photograph of her brother Will, 28, receiving a certificate for becoming the Professional Association of Diving Instructors youngest junior master scuba diver at 14.
Photo: Terry Scott
Two years after she started diving, Charlotte beat her brother’s record and became the youngest junior master scuba diver at just 12 years old.
The youngster, who has also persuaded her mum Louise to take up diving, told News Shopper: "I guess you could call it sibling rivalry.
"He has really inspired me. If I hadn’t seen that photo then I might not have started diving."
When asked how she was feeling about becoming the youngest person ever to dive the fissure, she said: "I am really excited but really not too scared as I have great training and great equipment.
"I feel a slight pressure but I know that I have got my family supporting me.
"My dad is an ex-Commando and he says life is like an apple orchard and the experiences are the apples.
"As you go through life, you have to collect as many apples as possible until you have a full basket to look back on."
Newstead Wood School pupil, Charlotte Burns
Coventry University is filming a documentary about the dive, which she will complete with British explorer Monty Halls in September, to teach young people about tectonic plates.
She is particularly looking forward to stopping on the way down the fissure and reaching out her arms to bridge the gap.
Snorkelers at the famous diving site in southern Iceland
Charlotte, who will be wearing a dry suit, undersuit and thermals to keep her body warm in the water’s 2-4C temperatures, hopes to inspire others to get involved in diving.
She added: "It’s an amazing sport.
"If a 13-year-old girl from England, whose first dry suit dive was in a lake where she could barely see her hand in front of her face, can do it, anyone can."
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