From SASY to Divemaster with Kids Sea Camp
For as long as I can remember I have spent every summer traveling with Kids Sea Camp. I lived in Grand Cayman with my family for the first 10 years of my life and that was when I first started discovering the underwater world. My dad enrolled me at age 6 into the Kids Sea am[ SASY program. (surface-supplied air system). I remember running around on the beach collecting giant hermit crabs for the crab races and spending the afternoons learning about marine life and the local Cayman blue iguanas through dot painting classes with Margo Peyton and Ron Rogest. They would have us all saying “One dip per dot and no double dipping!”.
As I got older and became more involved and interested in diving with Kids Sea Camp, I just fell more in love with exploring the underwater world through photography. Margo Peyton owner of Kids Sea Camp and my dad introduced me to diving and encouraged me to share my story. I loved taking photos and videos of so many incredible adventures over the years with my Sealife cameras. I became a PADI Jr. Open Water diver at the age of 10 on a Yap and Palau trip with My dad, Tom and Margo Peyton. I don’t think I was as big as the tank I was using back then. My open water dive with Margo was with Manta, sharks, and giant Napoleon Wrasse. Tom and Margo often had to hold both my hands in the big currents because I was so tiny. I thought that was so much fun then. I grew up diving in currents so as a teenager, I had so much fun body surfing and playing in those very same currents as I continued diving and traveling around the world with Tom and Margo and my family.
My mom, dad, and I have toured most of the KSC World, including the Galapagos, where I lost all fear of sharks and had so much fun playing with sealions and where I saw my first whale shark. My dad and I dove into the Cathedral under Darwin’s Arch and watched Bullsharks and hundreds of Hammerheads go by. In Fiji I dove with my very first Tiger sharks and more bull sharks and lemon sharks. My mom was not with us on that trip, but when she saw the photos I was posting on my fb, She was suddenly realizing those were my photos, not Dad’s and that he had me in the water with big sharks.
Experiencing all that Kids Sea Camp had to offer from such a young age inhibited my love for the ocean and diving and made me want to be more involved in this organization and the diving world. Not only has Kids Sea Camp given me the opportunity to travel to wonderful dive sites and experience such incredible things, but it has also given me the chance to meet some amazing people.
I remember my first Kids Sea Camp, walking onto the pool in Grand Cayman and meeting another girl named Holly. We became best friends instantly and were inseparable throughout the whole two weeks. I longed for my Kid’s Sea Camp summers and meeting up with Holly, we always wanted to make sure we were on all KSC trips together, and as we advanced more and more in the diving world our love for the ocean and our friendship grew. Holly became my dive buddy for nearly every dive I did over the years and thanks to Margo and Tom Peyton, taking us on trips. We together with many other kids did multiple internships with Kids Sea Camp and
as I became more involved with Kids Sea Camp I was learning a lot from Margo and my dad with SeaLife cameras. I hosted a few demonstrations and Margo worked with me and directed me to become a better underwater photographer. I always wanted to be a part of the KSC dive team and help further her mission of teaching so many young people about the thrilling sport that is scuba diving.
Margo and Tom offered me a chance to become a PADI DM Pro in 2022 at Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire. They fully sponsored my program and it was the best place for me to do my divemaster course. The Buddy Dive team was great as they cheered on my attempt at lugging tanks up the dock, and the coral restoration projects there made my dives that much more interesting. What greatly added to my experience on every trip was as always my Kids Sea Camp instructors. Being able to learn from them, and treated like family. They forever changed my scuba diving experiences by creating moments that I will cherish forever. Being able to not only grow my love of the underwater world and scuba diving but also build such strong bonds through it has been an amazing experience. Without Kids Sea Camp I would have never met and made all the incredible friends I still have today. Kids Sea Camp also made me want to keep expanding my knowledge in diving and helped me gain so much confidence underwater. I hope to continue in my adventure with Kids Sea Camp and become a Kids Sea Camp instructor someday. Scuba diving has made me adventurous, courageous and given me a global view of the world. I look forward to sharing with the next generation all that was shared with me.
Sophie Purdon.