I
n an age when most
people spend much
of their leisure time
in virtual reality,
Margo Peyton has
created a way to bring families together for real-time
underwater adventures. She began with a simple
concept: Families who want to dive together should
have a safe yet fun place to experience the marine
world. Since 2001 her Kids Sea Camp has awarded
more than 5,000 dive certifications, but perhaps
Peyton’s own measures of her success are even more
revealing: More than three-fourths of all Kids Sea
Campers are return participants, and the program has a
perfect safety record.
AD: You started Kids Sea Camp because you had
a hunch that other people would feel like you did:
You didn’t want to travel without your children, and
you wanted them to learn to dive in a kid-centered
environment.
Peyton:
I wouldn’t say it was a hunch; it was more
like a dilemma. I was a single mom working in the
dive-travel business. I constantly flew to the Caribbean
and other dive destinations and had to leave my kids
behind, which I didn’t want to do. My dad was a
fisherman; when I was very little he would put me in
tide pools and watch me play. I wanted to watch my
own kids learn about the
ocean; I wanted to bring
them to the Caribbean and
teach them to dive in safe,
kid-friendly surroundings.
AD: At some point you realized you weren’t the only
person who wished there was a place for families and
kids to dive together.
Peyton:
Carolyn Pascal, who has a long history in dive
travel and publishing, has been a part of Kids Sea Camp
from the beginning. We grew the idea together after
we took our kids to Curacao’s aquarium, where they
experienced the reef from indoor tanks. We wanted
them to have a real-life experience. The first Kids Sea
Camp was held in Curacao in 2001, and the timing
hugely influenced our development.
AD: In what way?
Peyton:
After 9/11 families grew closer, and safety
became a major issue. People saw that we were moms
and that we brought our own kids to places where we
felt safe. They realized that Kids Sea Camp programs
were safe because we employed kid-friendly operators
and instructors. Not many operators can justify the
additional liability of teaching kids to dive. We find
the ones who are capable and willing to take the extra
steps necessary to provide a comfortable learning
environment for families. For example, we
promote the “DAN Is My Buddy” program,
and most of the operators we work with enroll
the kids in that program.
AD: Are there programs at Kids Sea Camp
for families with different experience levels?
Peyton:
Definitely. I think one of the
reasons we’ve been so successful is that we
offer a range of activities and educational
presentations, including underwater naturalist,
photography and video courses as well as
wreck diving. Families seem to love learning
and improving their diving skills together.
We just certified one of our first Supplied Air
Snorkeling for Youth (SASY — a program for
ages 5-7 from the Professional Association
of Diving Instructors, or PADI) students as
M E MB E R P R O F I L E
DIVE SLATE
//
MARGO
PEYTON
HOMETOWN:
Provincetown, Mass.
YEARS DIVING:
About 25 — I have logged more than 5,000 dives!
FAVORITE DIVING DESTINATION:
Anywhere I can teach kids to dive safely
WHY I’M A DAN MEMBER:
I respect DAN because of the organization’s
commitment to education, safe diving and safe dive travel, which also
reflects our company’s core values.
24
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FALL 2014
PHOTOS COURTESY KIDS SEA CAMP
