“Diving into Memories: The Danks Family’s Legacy with KSC”

Margo often says there are only 17 summers. She advises others to spend them wisely. Time, after all, is the only investment we continually make, yet we never know the balance in our account. The Danks family spends it wisely.

August 2021, in St. Lucia, was a bittersweet trip for the Danks family. We had enjoyed – been thrilled – by 14 consecutive summers together at  Kids Sea Camp (KSC) somewhere around the world, interrupted only by COVID the preceding summer. It was to be the last for the whole family. Three granddaughters had graduated and taken on new interests outside of scuba diving.  At ages 19, 19, and 21, getting everyone to make time for summer vacations had become more challenging. But let us start at the beginning.

In 2007, when we learned about and booked our first  KSC through a friend of Margo’s, Heather Crowder, who owned Annapolis Scuba, our KSC adventures began in Curacao. Joe and I(Grandma and Grandpa) had just started scuba diving a few years before, and our two sons enthusiastically had also picked up diving.

The whole family loved Kids Sea Camp Curacao – granddaughters, then 4, 4, and 6, were enrolled into the Kids Sea Camp custom-designed SASY program for 4-7-year-olds. SASY included fun activities like swimming with dolphins, painting, snorkeling, and learning about the ocean through games and presentations. Our sons David & Mark were established divers, David’s wife Mara preferred snorkeling, and Sharon also enjoyed diving. We loved having the whole family together, and our precious time choice was a scuba diving family vacation. 

The following year, Margo suggested  Roatan, and the pattern was solidified. The girls enjoyed mastering their swimming skills, learning to snorkel, and making new friends.  Swimming with the dolphin and horseback riding were the girl’s favorite activities. We enjoyed our time together as a family and had plenty of time apart with our adult kids diving and exploring Roatan. On the very first day, after the KSC treasure hunt, Ayden had the chutzpah to ask me, “Where are we going the next year?” Her mother was appalled at the question, but Joe and I knew the family was hooked on Kids Sea Camps from that point forward.  

Each year, Kids Sea Camp sends out goodie boxes filled with T-shirts, SCUBAPRO fins, mask & snorkel sets, tote bags, and other gifts for the kids, which creates so much excitement about their upcoming trip.  We continued to Bonaire at Buddy Dive, where the girls were introduced to the PADI Seal Team and were able to adorn scuba gear made for youngsters. They loved the Donkey Sanctuary, turtle hatches, treasure hunts, and pizza movie night and continued to make new friends. Joe and I enjoyed the relaxed pace of Bonaire, its ease of diving, and the perfect areas to experience with our grandkids in the ocean just off the dock.  

In 2011, the Danks decided on Grand Cayman as Maia, the oldest, turned ten and became a PADI Jr. Open Water Diver that summer. Grand Cayman did not disappoint; pirates, tug-o-war, bonfires, a treasure hunt, and baby turtles were released. Maia was certified with her open-water dive on the Kitti Wake wreck. Ayden and Kiera were enrolled in the PADI Seal Team and enjoyed dives at Sting-Ray City that week, while Maia got to experience the world’s best 12 ft dive with her mom and dad.  

The quality of service and level of safety that Tom and Margo provide on their trips convinced us to head across the Pacific in 2012 to Palau for our next KSC adventure. We spent two memorable weeks there, and the family was amazed at the diversity of sealife and the cultural interactions along the beautiful beaches and boat rides. One memorable dive was at the Blue Corner. While the adults were hooked in at about 60 feet, Maia and the other certified kids were at 40 feet, and Ayden and Kiera were doing a Bubble Maker Dive at 6 feet with their instructors. The whole family was watching the shark show at the same time.

In the summer of 2013, Kiera and Ayden earned their long-awaited Junior Open Water certifications. It was an incredible memory and time to celebrate that all the kids were certified to dive.  We were so excited about diving together as a family, and each summer, we planned another awesome adventure. We bounced back and forth between Caribbean sites, returning to Bonaire Buddy Dive Resort, St. Lucia Anse Chastanet,  and The Cayman Islands. We took bigger 10-14-day trips to the Pacific, including Yap at Manta Ray Bay, Palau again, Wakatobi (Indonesia), and Fiji.  All those incredible family adventures eventually led up to that final trip as one big family in 2021, St. Lucia as our 14^{th year} of KSC. 

However,  as luck would have it, That would not be the end of traveling with Tom, Margo Peyton, and the Kids Sea Camp crew. It was just a change in how many of us traveled together. 2021 was a big summer for us; our granddaughter Kiera completed her DM in  Roatan under PADI Instructor Robbie Peyton and then went directly to the KSC IDC in Bonaire. She was joined by friends Kendal, Sydney, Melea, and Mara, who had been through the Kids Sea Camp journey as youngsters. Margo allowed Kiera to intern and teach in St. Lucia in 2021 and again in Belize in 2022. So many friendships,  stories, and fond memories were created during that 15-year time.

To date, the Danks have made 18 total trips, and the positives among them are the careful, loving, educational way Margo, Tom, and the staff guide and inspire others to learn about the ocean. They provide a wonderful mentorship for the sport of scuba diving.   Having spent such valuable and quality time with our kids and grandkids over the years, meeting like-minded families, and making lifelong memories, KSC became one of the best choices we made each year for the Danks family.

Tom and Margo have provided amazing, professional, caring leadership for this organization and have been responsible for providing priceless opportunities for young divers. While our family has grown up, the Empty Nester trips with Margo and Tom have allowed us to continue traveling with them.

Congratulations, Peyton family, on your 25th anniversary of Kids Sea Camp. (See our new 2025 Catalog) Thank you for the cherished memories with our adult children and grandchildren. 

By Carol Danks