Kids Sea Camp
Destinations:
BAHAMAS
GRAND CAYMAN
BONAIRE
BELIZE
FIJI
GALAPAGOS
COSTA RICA
PALAU
SILVER BANK
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10 years - The Kids Sea Camp Family Dive Adventures Story
It started 10 years ago.
A few conversations,
some notes on a napkin.
I thought it should be a simple concept. If you have a family, love the ocean, diving, beaches, snorkeling, travel, and want to meet the like-minded, then you should have some place to go.
Kids Sea Camp Family Dive Adventures was created. The perfect family vacation!
If I could save time in a bottle, as the old Jim Croce lyrics go, I would like to capture and savor some of the special moments I have spent at Kids Sea Camps over the years.
A moment that would come to my mind at the first Kids Sea Camp was when Melissa just 6 at the time arrived at our first event with her mom Carolyn Pascal. Melissa was just so excited to meet my two children Jennifer 4 and Robbie 6. I knew at that moment this was going to be a journey of friendships and memories to last a lifetime. From then to now, it's been an amazing journey, full of discovery, and adventure:
Most moments that come to mind when thinking of Bahamas, Curacao and Honduras, are a beautiful blur of dolphins and diving. Fiji then takes me back to the most unforgettable visions of family Thanksgiving's in paradise. Its wondrous how the kids have grown and families stay in touch.
Grand Cayman once upon a time my home, where Robbie was born, I now think of Cobalt Coast Resort and Divetech. The moments shared include releasing turtles from the turtle farm and drawing the name from a fish bowl. So many years of dotting fun and parent poetry with Ron Rogest, l love listening to Arie play the harp, Tom singing and the sound of steel drums during the most beautiful sunsets. The joy on the face of parents as they descend down those magnificent walls. Watching the excitement on all the kids faces when they open their very own Sea Life Digital Cameras, wide angle lenses and learned how to shoot. I can smell the s'mores Nancy makes with the kids at the bonfire on the beach.
I've been going to Bonaire at Buddy Dive, since 1997, I still love sitting on the dock watching sail boats and sunsets while enjoying a glass of red wine with my good friend Carolyn Pascal. We sit and proudly watch all the kids jumping off the dock with brave giant strides, geared up and going on their first night dive. She and I laugh so hard watching the kids each year, getting licked by the donkey's while sitting in the back of the trucks as we drive through the park on a donkey safari. I like to photograph the families, sailing around the worlds largest salt track on Blo-Karts, racing each other and laughing as the parents try to catch up with their kids.
With all of that adventure came the request for even more, and our next added destination - Costa Rica did not disappoint. It's amazing what can be created from listening to kids. Memories of the white water rafting through the rain forest, horseback riding in the cloud forest, watching fathers and sons go off surfing, with a day at the spa for mothers and daughters. A memorable moment was covering ourselves with warm volcano mud at the baths. We topped it off with 4 days diving, creating the most brilliant please-all vacation. Costa Rica is truly an action packed eco-adventure that tops the chart.
Our first Liveaboard family trip, was last year to the the Galapagos, which is the most memorable for me! Seeing the families dive and snorkel with young sea lions, and swimming with penguins as well as learning all about Charles Darwin. Scuba Pro sponsored all our 5 and 7 mil wet suits, nothing but the best on that trip! A great memory of Wayne Hasson during a sunset over Darwin's Arch, with Tom and Robbie as he played the guitar and sang for us all one night on the top deck of the Aggressor. Families attained their nitrox and advance certifications. Ron Rogest and I had a paint off with the two Aggressor Boats that traveled with our families side by side through the week. Whale sharks, wild dolphins, beautiful sunsets and the most amazing land tours, a million moments come to mind...
I've never been one for a traditional Thanksgiving, and look forward to telling my own family the turkey is being served in Palau. With a side of ship wrecks and some spa days with Sam's tours and Palau Royal Resorts, my holidays are the cats meow! It's the best sharing this momentous occasion with diver families from all around the world. The year comes to a close for us with turkey being served with a ceremony of dancers and local song.
We have added Belize this year with Turneffe Island Resort, more memorable treasure hunts, Sea Life Cameras, and some PADI specialty programs like National Geographic Diver, Underwater Naturalist and Jr. Adventurer for kids already certified to dive. When the days activities officially end in the afternoon you might imagine that the kids would've had enough, not so, then comes painting, Beach BBQ’s, SeaLife photo clinics, poetry contests, and even a talent contests and another week full of unforgettable memories.
Robbie, now 15, Jen now 13 and Melissa,16 are all still diving and looking forward to each year, meeting new friends and reconnecting with those from years past. Carolyn and I as well as Ron look forward to each year with the excitement and enthusiasm of our first.
We look forward to seeing you this summer.
- Margo Peyton
About Women Divers Hall of Fame Carolyn Pascal:
Pioneer, leader, innovator throughout the international diving community.
Publisher Florida Travel and Life. She was the publisher of Sport Diver magazine, Islands Magazine. She focuses on dive market development and creating multimedia programs that contribute to industry growth. Over her 25-year dive career, Carolyn has traveled extensively working to increase dive tourism. She is an active member of the Caribbean Hotel Association, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, and has led many dive seminars and roundtable discussions. Carolyn has also played an active role in the development of Kids Sea Camp events with her daughter Melissa Pascal-Gaurino, and has been involved in photojournalism both behind and in front of the camera.
Carolyn, also a scuba mom, has been apart of Kids Sea Camp since its birth in 2000, Melissa then 6 years old and a SASY snorkeler, Certified PADI diver in Grand Cayman. She now has advanced diver and many specialties; Melissa is following in her mother’s foot steps, writing for Kids Sea Camp and Sport Diver Magazine. She is also an assistant councilor to many of our Seal team and SASY programs. Carolyn and Melissa attend many of the Kids Sea Camps each year and enjoy meeting new friends and getting reacquainted with many past families with kids that have grown up in Kids Sea Camp over the years. Melissa loves Blow carting in Bonaire, she loves horse back riding and diving in Roatan. She loves painting with Ron Rogest and riding sea scooters in Grand Cayman. But her favorite KSC adventure is Fiji where she enjoys diving with all her friends over Thanksgiving holidays.
About Rogest: Rogest is Rons pirate name
Dive instructor, North American Group representative for Mike Ball Expeditions Australia, Famous Marine Artist, and Huge Asset to Kids Sea Camp since 2003, working with both Kids Sea Camp kids and adults: Painting, Poetry, song and Dance.
Many years ago, Ron changed his career path from a man in a business suit behind a desk to a dive instructor in shorts working on liveaboard dive vessels. Years later he finds himself painting the underwater critters from the thousands of exceptional dives he has experienced world wide but primarily on the Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, Papua New Guinea, Caribbean, Tahiti, Mexico and the colder waters of the west coast of Canada.
"For most of my life I have felt a creative yearning inside of me, however it has only been in the last few years that I discovered an avenue to express it. This discovery came about on a trip to South America where a chance meeting with a deeply spiritual and talented artist encouraged me. The timing was right and I knew it was time to put paint to canvas.
The brilliant colours and bio-diversity of this underwater environment has undoubtedly influenced my paintings. The vivid underwater images I have experienced have burned a vibrant seascape into my imagination. This is the source of my inspiration.
To me art is a way of conveying to our children, future generations and us the importance of looking after our lands, our oceans. I plan to do my next series on this topic. www.rogest.com
At Kids Sea Camp, kids learn to swim, snorkel and scuba. They learn all about fish identification and reef identification and ways to save our oceans and our reefs. In a friendly, safe atmosphere, they lose their fears, develop confidence and fall in love with the ocean. Mom and Dad have the opportunity to enjoy their love for the underwater world with guilt-free diving. Together, at the end of each day, the family shares in all they have experienced and learned.
Meeting all the educational standards, Kids Sea Camp has been hand picked by PADI Diving Society, and PADI as a sponsored program. Kids Sea Camp is hosted at PADI 5 star facilities and exceeds all PADI standards for safety and instruction, presenting each family with opportunities for PADI seal Team, Jr. Open Water Certification and SASY, as well as Adult certification and Specialty and Advanced Open Water courses. Kids Sea Camp is now the worlds largest Dive Event, and one of the fastest growing certification programs for kids. Margo believes the future of our underwater world is in our children’s hands and being an ambassador for them is one of the most rewarding experiences of her life and a position she is very proud to have the opportunity to hold.
Greatest thanks to the many that makes up our team and whom we would not be as successful with out:
Tammy & Tabitha & Carly - Reservations & sales
Joanie Battaglia - Photographer and assistant to Margo
George - Scuba Dad and KSC helper
Sport Diver Magazine for so so much support not only as a scuba dad with 3 beautiful teen divers, but for photography, writing and all the great swag! www.sportdiver.com
Alan – Scuba Dad and KSC Santa Clause- For all the love he brings to KSC staff and operators, for his Macdonald runs at the airport and for helping the children of Fiji.
Scuba Pro & Sea Life - for supporting KSC with donations and support from its inception. www.scubapro.com www.sealife.com
PADI - For being the foundation of training, professionalism and support for KSC. www.padi.com
Thank you PADI 5- Star-Dive Centers who make it all happen, for believing in our future, the children and for believing in Kids Sea Camp.
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