More than 49 Kids Sea Camps and counting
Woody Tinsley rests after a long day of training at a Kids Sea Camp
TEACHING KIDS DIVING SINCE 2007 WITH KIDS SEA CAMP
A Kids Sea Camp Story by Woody Tinsley One of the most common questions asked of me by families is: How did I connect with Kids Sea Camp (KSC)? It’s a fascinating story that encompasses a series of fortuitous events. I started diving in 1998 and still considered myself a rookie diver in 2004 when I first bumped into KSC. I was on my first dive vacation in Curacao, as I tried to book some diving at Ocean Encounters, I was told that there was a big family dive event and they were fully booked for the next four weeks. I liked kids but KSC had completely taken over the resort, restaurants, and the dive shop! I dove with another operator but watched from a distance, thinking how much fun KSC divers were having and how cool it would be to bring my future kids on a Kids Sea Camp adventure. Fast forward two years and I spent much time fossil shark tooth diving. I wrote two articles for Shark Diver Magazine and became a PADI Scuba Instructor. After
writing my articles, I was invited to give a presentation at the annual Boston Sea Rovers Clinic (years later, I would be accepted into their ranks, which was the proudest personal accomplishment of my life.) I threw together a Power Point presentation about ethical souvenir buying; you know, no dead seahorses, sharks in jars, etc. and I created it to read like a nursery rhyme. Cristina Zenato attended, a famous “shark whisperer”. She was The Shark Lady and instructor at UNEXSO in the Bahamas. Cristina loved my presentation and invited me to be a staff member at UNEXSO’s first Kids Sea Camp event. I couldn’t believe it! My future kids had also been born but were not yet old enough to participate. MY FIRST KIDS SEA CAMP I departed the U.S. for my first KSC adventure in 2007. Cristina put me in charge of the PADI Seal Team. I was on an island paradise and teaching Aqua Missions to kids in a pool. If you know me, I’m not a “pool” guy, honestly though, it was the most rewarding and fun week of my life (until
later when I brought my kids). On that trip, I certified five little Seals, including Natasha and Nay Nay, two 9-year-old local girls who won the Kids Sea Camp scholarship that summer. At the end of the week, before the KSC poetry and Junkanoo celebration, I won my first Sealife camera in the talent show, pulling off an incredibly fantastic lip sync rendition of the Thriller dance. My first KSC week was terrific, but it took Margo until Thursday to ask me to come to work for Kids Sea Camp! I’VE ATTENDED 49+ KIDS’ SEA CAMP EVENTS OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS. My favorite KSC adventures are the ones I’ve shared with my two kids, Rowen and Bryson Belle, and one of the most memorable ever was at Buddy Dive in Bonaire in July 2019. Owners Paul & Michelle Coolen with Margo & Tom Peyton helped me put together a special Woody family moment in the middle of KSC. I brought my mom, Barbara, (at the time) girlfriend Sally, and her two kids, Olivia and Mason. I planned
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