I didn't have to choose between being a parent and going diving

By Holly Corbett Like many divers, my dive adventures took a pause once I had kids. It wasn’t until I learned about Kids Sea Camp that I discovered I didn’t have to choose between being a parent and going diving. The whole trip itinerary was crafted around experiences centered on fun and learning for the children, while the parents were out exploring the ocean. When I learned my 10-year-old daughter could also get Junior Open Water certified and become my dive buddy, it was like a dream come true. As luck would have it, Kids Sea Camp was celebrating its 25th anniversary at Buddy Dive Camp (the resort itself was also celebrating its 45th anniversary) in Bonaire this August 2025, so my daughter and I embarked on the ultimate mother-daughter adventure. ATHENA DIVES IN When we landed on the Caribbean island located about 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela, Athena and I were excited to explore the gemstone-blue ocean. I knew this time together, just the two of us, was a tremendous gift. What we didn’t yet know was that Kids Sea Camp wasn’t just a dive vacation; it was a supportive community. The whole itinerary was intentionally crafted for connection. It was apparent from the opening dinner at Blennie’s restaurant, where we were introduced to the hilarious M.C. Woody (a police officer from Connecticut who was also a dive instructor, and, we later learned at karaoke night, a talented opera singer). As we settled into our chairs, unsure of what to expect, Woody passed around a mic to have all the families share “two truths and a lie” about themselves, and the rest of us had to guess the lie. It was an entertaining way to get to know our fellow travelers from the moment we arrived. The mic was passed to us and I recognized Athena’s nervousness mixed with excitement as she stood up in front of the crowd to share. She sat back down, smiling proudly as the guests clapped encouragingly. It was the first of many moments at Kids Sea Camp where we stretched ourselves, and the act of getting out of our comfort zones helped us feel more connected to ourselves and each other. MORE THAN DIVING There was the sunset sail, where a brave act for me was hopping on a swing without a belt and pushing off over the open water, and where Athena joined the rest of the kids at the end to jump off and swim back to shore (it’s a KSC tradition). There was learning to ride a blow kart (like a go kart but with sails added so it is purely wind-powered). There was a poetry contest where Athena wrote and then performed her poem. There was karaoke, which I didn’t think was my thing, but I did it anyway when my new friend Jessica asked me to join her to sing “I Will Survive” because I couldn’t leave her hanging. I’ll admit, it was kind of fun despite my being terrible, and Tom came up to me afterward with a big grin and said, “See, it’s not just about diving.” He was right. One of the best parts of Kids Sea Camp is the friendships made. Margo and Tom set the tone by building the company around relationships. For example, they’ve been coming to Buddy Dive Camp for 20 years because of their longstanding friendship with the Dutch owners, Paul and Michelle, who have young children of their own who also now dive. The KSC staff are largely friends and family, like Woody, the dive instructor, and Bigs, one of our photographers in Bonaire, who also hosts KSC at her own dive resort in the Philippines. Athena made fast friends with another 10-year-old girl in her Junior Open Water course named Hadley, who was on her second KSC. Apart from being dive buddies, they made plans to meet at dinner, at the pool after the PADI instruction was over, and before the trip ended we even made plans with Hadley’s parents Jessica and Bryan to meet at another Kids Sea Camp in 2026. THE KSC BUBBLE  Our cell phones and iPads languished because we were so immersed in the world that Kids Sea Camp created, a world of exploring nature, stretching ourselves, playing, learning, and making real connections. Honestly, it felt like a bubble from the outside world, where living a life online, cruelty, and polarization seemed to be normalized. It was a glimpse into what is possible, the kind of world we might create if only we put more intention into connecting, more focus on being curious about the world and each other, and make it a point to give back where we can (KSC gives dive scholarships and grants through Ocean Wishes, which Margo co-founded). We made it to the end of the week, and I got to join Athena on her first open water dive after she had completed days of instruction leading up to that moment. She squeezed my hand underwater and then swam over to give her dive buddy, Hadley, the “OK” sign to let her know she was there. BECOMING A DIVE BUDDY My chest tightened with pride and joy that she was in the ocean with me, experiencing the underwater world and looking out for her buddy. I realized my little girl wasn’t so little anymore. I thought about mothering, and how it’s a balance of being hands on and giving another room to grow, of stretching one’s limits without going too far in order to gain confidence and discover their potential. And it struck me that there was so much mothering energy baked into Kids Sea Camp. I saw it in so many ways. MARGO CARES Take how Margo, a Woman Diver Hall of Famer who received the PADI lifetime achievement award for dive education for kids, seemed to have energy for everyone, especially if they are in the water. Her vigilant watch over the guests (kids and adults alike), checking gauges or gesturing for us to see an underwater creature she discovered, was unwavering. Or when my dive buddy C.P., a trailblazer who became the first woman publisher of a dive magazine in the 80s, shared her best dive tips with me and brought me her extra dive skins because she knew I got cold the day before. I saw it in big ways, like when Tom and Margo shared their partnership with the Reef Restoration Program to help restore the coral. Kids Sea Camp is all about care. That’s precisely the kind of energy the world needs right now. Lost in my thoughts, I felt a hand on my arm. It was Athena, giving me the “OK” signal to see how I was doing. I flashed her a smile, signaled “OK,” and gestured towards the surface.  It was time for us to go back up.