Kids Sea Camp Confessional: James Devinney

Kids Sea Camp has been the greatest family adventure vacation I have ever been a part of. KSC puts together awesome scuba diving trips for families that love the ocean and love to travel.

It’s like nothing else I have ever experienced. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing young kids learn to dive with their parents and siblings. These trips have enriched and changed my life greatly, because I have become a more confident diver and have grown so much closer to my own family.

One way KSC has enriched my life is through improving my diving skills with each trip. My first family event was Grand Cayman, where I learned proper buoyancy techniques and how important it is to be a role model for marine conservation. I signed up for a Digital Photography course — which focused on improving buoyancy skills — as well as the PADI Rescue Diver course to improve my first aid skills and be a better dive buddy. In 2016, I became a PADI PRO divemaster during the Buddy Dive Bonaire event with Woody Tinsley.

I learned the science behind diving, how to guide underwater, how to assist divers in distress and, finally, how to teach it all.

The second reason KSC has enriched my life is through the friendships I have made around the world with the staff instructors, guest speakers, educators and, of course, traveling families. I am 18 years old and there have always been other divers my age to dive and hang out with, and I really enjoy scuba diving with my own family. The memories that have left lasting impressions in my mind are countless. In Fiji, Tom Peyton and I had the best time after shark diving. We would entertain families in the afternoons with volleyball, and in the evenings I played the guitar and Tom sang, which got everyone else singing and dancing too.

My absolute favorite KSC instructor is Woody Tinsley. He is hilarious and makes learning fun. Woody invented the Zombie Apocalypse course and was my PADI Divemaster instructor. I learned how to teach dive skills and give dive briefings perfectly. Woody is the kind of instructor I hope to be like one day. He is just one part of a great team of fun and friendly professionals from which I can learn. I can honestly say some of the greatest people I have ever met are at Kids Sea Camp.

I have grown closer to my own family through these diving and traveling experiences. On our first trip, my sister had never dived and were afraid. She did not want to learn how to dive. I was able to help her to overcome her fears. Now, she is a certified diver and our whole family looks forward to diving together and planning our next KSC trip.

The best way these experiences have enriched my life is by giving me the special opportunity dive with my little brother Jason. He has a passion for the sport, just like the rest of our family, and there is no better company in the world to teach someone his age to dive. Jason is currently 8 and a PADI Seal. As a result of Margo Peyton’s safety record at KSC, the Seal Team has special waivers to dive in the ocean.

READ MORE: Best Dive Destinations for Kids and Teens

We would normally have to split up our family and not be able to include Jason. At Kids Sea Camp, we dive as a family. So you see, not only has diving enriched my life, but also the lives of everyone in my family. Any family can clearly see dive travel is like a attending a living classroom. I think KSC is the greatest family vacation in the world! Family members unplug from electronics and reconnect to each other through adventure, diving and fun. I am grateful for my family and the choice of memories my parents create with us. I wish there were more people like Tom and Margo — the owners of Kids Sea Camp — because they make the world a better place for families.

Margo has a passion for teaching kids and parents how to dive together safely. She shares her love for the ocean with everyone she meets. I will continue to dive and travel with my family and hopefully become a PADI Dive Instructor, so I can enrich and change other’s lives too.

Kids Sea Camp Upcoming Schedule

SPRING BREAK:

• March 18-25th: Roatan, Mayan Princess

• April 8th- 15th & April 15th- 22nd: Dominica, Buddy Dive & Fort Young

• June 16th-June 23th & June 23rd-June 30th & June 23rd-July 3rd: Wakatobi & Bali, Indonesia

• July 2-9th: Citizen Science week, Sea of Cortez, Mexico

• July 8th-15th: St. Lucia, Anse Chastanet

• July 8th-22nd: Palau, Sam’s Tours

• July 22nd – July 29th: Philippines, Dauin, Dumaguette: Pura Vida Dive Resort, Sea Explorers

• July 29nd – Aug 5th: Philippines, Cabilao, Bohol, Sea explorers

• Aug 5th – Aug 8th: Philippines, Amun ini Beach Resort & Spa

• Aug 8th – Aug 12th: Philippines, Malapascua, Ocean Vida Beach Resort & Spa, Sea Explorers

• July 22nd- July 29th & July 29nd- Aug 5th: Roatan, Mayan Princess

• Aug 5th-12th & Aug 12th- 19th: Bonaire Buddy Dive: Kids Sea Camp and PADI IDC.(Instructor course)

THANKSGIVING 2017:

• November 18th-25th: Anse Chastanet Resort/Jade Mountain

New Year Trip 2018-19:

• New Year’s liveaboard, Dec 27 to Jan 4th: Socorro Islands on the Rocio Del Mar