Kids Sea Camp is a healing family experience
“Diving healed my family and it happened at Kids Sea Camp,” Lilly Blakey
Lilly Blakey was only 8 when she attended her first Kids Sea Camp in Roatan in 2006. Her parents, Rob and Susan Blakey, loved diving and wanted to share that joy and love of the ocean with their three kids. Since Lilly, age 8, and her younger brother Stuart, age 5, were too young to become certified divers, their mom found the perfect family scuba vacation for them. She read about Kids Sea Camp in a dive magazine and learned that kids aged 5 to 7 could enroll in the PADI SASY program, while kids aged 8 and 9 could participate in the PADI Seal Team program. Meanwhile, their older brother Trey was able to get certified in the Jr. Open Water program for kids aged 10-14, so there was something for every member of the family while their mom and dad enjoyed diving.
As a PADI Seal, Lilly remembers putting on her scuba gear for the first time with her Seal buddy. She recalls having so much fun performing buddy checks and experiencing the excitement of diving. She couldn’t wait to return to Kids Sea Camp to become a certified diver once she turned 10. Two years later, her family returned for another family dive trip with Kids Sea Camp, and Lilly became a PADI Jr. Open Water diver. They also promised Stuart the same opportunity when he turned 10. Lilly recalls, “It was so cool to swim with fish and experience zero gravity for the first time. I love diving and learning about the ocean.”
Lilly has participated in over 20 Kids Sea Camp family dive vacations, making repeat visits to Utila, Roatan, St. Lucia, Bonaire, and the Cayman Islands. After several trips with her family, she attended without them at age 15. (See all the places you can go.)
“My mom had so much respect and trust in Margo Peyton and the program she created that she asked Margo if it would be okay to send me along as part of the Peyton family,” she explains. “Margo’s reassuring presence helps even the timidest diver feel calm and safe underwater.”
There was more to Lilly’s mom’s decision to send her alone than trust in Margo as an instructor. “My dad, Rob Blakey, who was the reason we all attended the first Kids Sea Camp, passed away a week after we returned home. Stuart was just 5, and I was only 10 years old, having just received my Jr. Open Water certification on that trip,” she said. “We didn’t go diving again for the next five years. My mom was devastated, but she eventually found the courage to start healing and reach out to Margo to tell her that she was ready to start diving again and promised to get Stuart certified when he turned 10.” Mrs. Blakey wanted him to have the same incredible experience as his older siblings.
“Margo made sure that my family went on a week that she would personally be there,” Lilly says. “While Trey and I enjoyed diving with the other certified kids, Stuart was working on his PADI Jr. Open Water certification, and Margo was helping my mom get back in the water again. My mom had only ever dove with my dad, so this was a difficult step for her. Margo held my mom’s hand and reassured her every step of the way. The healing had started. She dove with my mom daily until she could join us diving as a family. It meant the world to us to dive together again.” Lilly adds, “Having all of us diving together again, even without my dad, has been healing to our family.”
Lilly earned her PADI Advanced Open Water certification during that trip, and Stuart also got certified. Lilly told her mom she wanted to improve as a diver and keep diving. For the next few years, Lilly’s mom sent her on trips with Margo Peyton, along with Robbie and Jennifer Peyton who would also attend. “I would stay for two or three weeks at a time, sharing a room with Jen,” Lilly shared. “I achieved something I wanted: to become a PADI Open Water Instructor with Jen and Zoe. We took our Instructor Development Course (IDC) at Buddy Dive Kids Sea Camp in 2017 and made it happen.”
Now, at age 27, Lilly has graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in management information systems. She has worked with Kids Sea Camp for many summers, teaching the next generation of divers.
“Margo created a safe haven for kids to learn how to dive while on a family vacation. Her dream and her company have literally changed my life, and I know it’s had the same impact on so many others, including Robbie, Jen, and Zoe.” Lilly said in 2023.
Lilly respects and admires Margo Peyton because she understands how challenging it is to be a single mom and run a woman-owned business. Lilly’s family continues to dive with Kids Sea Camp; her youngest brother, Stuart, also became a PADI instructor a few summers ago in Bonaire.
This year, in 2025, Lilly is getting married and looks forward to starting her own family. She is excited to get her future husband certified to dive and continue the family tradition of bringing her future kids to Kids Sea Camp, where they will enjoy the magical summer vacations she once experienced.
“Kids Sea Camp is not just for kids; it offers so much to every family member, regardless of age.” Lilly Blakely