Grand Cayman

    July 9-16, 2011 & 16-23, 2011
Art & Photo Weeks!

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I truly love Grand Cayman. My son was born there in ‘94 and I had the complete joy of living on the island for 5 years. I love the people and the ease of getting around. It’s truly at the top of my list for beaches; Seven Mile Beach is a big, billowy, white sand beach that just beckons me to come for a daily walk.

The SASY kids are my favorite. I call them the “turtles”. We accept kids into the program at age 4 and really it needs to be age 4 and no younger because you want them to be able to swim somewhat and be able to listen well and participate with other kids in their group. My daughter Jen was 4 when I started kids Sea Camp and I still feel it’s the perfect age. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are a few 3 year olds out there that are amazing swimmers, great listeners, etc. and on very rare occasions I have made an exception. At age 4, they have fun doing all the activities, but when it comes time to use the SASY units, which consist of a small tank and BC with air gauge and regulator, PADI mandates they have to be age 5 before the week starts. SASY is Scuba Assisted Snorkeling at the Surface for Youths. They don’t go under the surface with their gear. Our day starts after breakfast. Moms and Dads kiss their kids goodbye and head off for a good day of diving, while the SASY kids head down to the beach for games and some fun in the sun! Kids have a blast each day participating in fun, education, kid-friendly activities that are planned by their instructors. There is 1 instructor for every 4 kids. They just love to make sand art, discover fishes and squid under the dock, and scream with delight when I throw them up in the air to land in a salty wave on the back of a massive green blow up alligator at Seven Mile Beach.

The Seal Team kids do all the same things, but they also get to really dive at Stingray City, learn to use a SeaLife digital underwater camera that they get to keep and use for photo missions (the cameras are also a ton of fun for mom and dad!) To see these little ones riding around on the Sea Scooters is incredible. It’s an amazing thing to watch an 8 or 9 year old operate with perfection a dive propulsion vehicle like it’s no harder than a tricycle. Kids setting turtles free, learning to play steel drums, tug-o-war on the beach, bonfires and beach BBQ with night snorkels and sparklers. How much fun can a kid have on a summer vacation to the Cayman Islands? I never had such opportunities. I just sat and dreamed about all the adventures I would love to take part in some day and guess what? Seal Team pretty much covers it.

I personally like to rent a big bus each year when I arrive, because it’s fun for me to be able to take the SASY and Seal Kids and the non-diving parents during the week to the new Caymana Bay to see the big five-story mosaic wall. It depicts an underwater ocean scene with rays, turtles, grouper, schools of fish and even a diver with a camera , and it’s all created with tiny colorful glass tiles- over three million of them! Before we go, I like to have the kids look at the photograph of the wall and pick out things that stand out in their minds. Then they put those things on paper, creating beautiful art pieces that mom and dad are so proud of. And then when we see the wall in person and they pick out the things they drew it’s just very exciting for them. There is a big fountain display on the waterfront that shoots up dancing water streams that the kids just love to run through and then we have our snack time that day at a Starbucks-like café. The kids have chocolate muffins and vanilla frappuccinos.

During the week, the SASY and Seals like to paint with dots, and of course they can’t wait for the Sport Diver sponsored treasure hunt where real coins are found in the sand (which they get to keep) and prizes of all kinds are given away. Kids tell their parents about their adventures of the day and show them all the new loot they received, which may consist of a camera, T-shirts, hats, back packs, snorkel gear, and even a rash guard and toys.

The group I’m most proud of is the PADI Jr. Open Water Divers. These kids are our future; they will be the saving grace, the founders, pioneers and leaders of our underwater world of tomorrow. I feel as though with each passing year we are passing on our love for the sea, like the Olympic torch that is carried from city to city; only it’s carried by children from ocean to ocean all around the world. They are carrying the wisdom and hope of tomorrow that we train them for today. Their week is tough, studying physics, safety, and protection and then exploring the vast underwater world- exactly what they’ve been waiting for. New life to learn about, new visions to see, creatures and gardens of underwater life waiting to be experienced by them.

Just a few PADI Standards for your information: At age 10-14 kids if they are taking this course, or already certified, they are Jr. Open Water Divers. Once they turn 15 they are PADI Open Water Diver (not Jr. status), It’s the same course, just different age appropriate depths. This is the toughest for parents to get so I’ll explain: At age 10 and 11 your kids are certified to a maximum of 40 ft. If they are 12 but younger than 15 they are certified to 60 ft. with their PADI Jr. Open water certification. If they take their Jr. Advanced Open Water course when they turn 12 and are under the age of 15, then they can go to a depth of 70 ft. This Jr. Advanced program is great, because it allows parents and kids to dive together on a standard dive boat with most operators around the world.

When kids are 15 and older and take Advanced Open Water they are then certified to 100 ft. With the additional deep diver certification, their maximum recreational depth is 130 ft. This is for both adults and kids. To do anything deeper than that you have to get into mixing gasses and tech diving, etc. All of which can be done with Divetech in Grand Cayman during any other time of year.

Okay, that leads me to the hundreds of Kids Sea Camp young adults who are already certified divers. We have lots to offer these kids, too. So much so, that our parents wish they could come as kids. There is the Adventure Diver certification for kids ages 10 and 11. With this course, they get to sample lots of cool dives at the 40 ft. depth. The Advanced Open Water (or Jr. Advanced) certifications courses are for kids ages 12-17. These kids get to do a night dive, deep dive, photo dive, sea scooter dive and plus few other awesome dives. Then there is our favorite, offered for young adults age 12 and up- the Photo and Scooter Certification course. This teen program includes a $1000 digital Sea Life Underwater camera to keep. This course is a blast and parents are very jealous. If you have a young adult age 15 and up who does not wish to take a course but wants to dive, they can enjoy diving with other adults and young adults on the dive boats each day.

For adults, there is just so much to do during our Cayman Family Dive Adventure week. Fraser, our SeaLife Representative is there every day, setting up their newest “top of the line” cameras for the adults to use for free all week. These cameras are fun and addictive; you can look at all my photos in the photo gallery from Cayman this summer. I love the ease just pushing a button and taking a perfect picture. There is one dive site with a bicycle underwater that all the divers get on and ride. It is totally fun to have your picture taken riding a bike underwater. I watched a few dads even pop some wheelies. Fraser gives photo clinics and slide shows of your work daily. Plus, he gives each family a 2 GB USB with all their pictures at the end of the week along with an amazing DVD that Jay Easterbrook creates from all the images both above and below. There is evening painting with the adults and kids all week, music and pirates to dance and hang with. Adults can go to a spa at the Ritz for the day if they don’t dive or join the kids at Seven Mile Beach and go walking. Nancy and the Divetech staff are highly trained Tech divers and most are freedivers. She has a freediving clinic on one afternoon for teens. This is incredible to watch, with an underwater obstacle course that Simon creates for them in the pool. The whole family ends the week at Stingray City. Friday evening has hugs and kisses goodbye with a grand finale of poems from the week, graduation for the kids and a presentation of the weeks’ painted creations. Adults share their images of the week’s wrecks and reefs, walls and sea critters.

I don’t think I have left out too much, but then again I’m not trying to write a book. In a nutshell, each year is better than the year before and things do change a bit. Tom and Simon and Lee sang at the bar this year- that was just so wonderful for all. Robbie, my son, plays the electric and acoustic guitar, and although he is very good, he is a bit shy. But this year he got up anyway and played Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” for all. I’ll encourage him each year, but no guarantees. If you’ve got a talent bring it with you it’s really the perfect place to share. All in all our Family Dive Adventure weeks end up like a big family reunion, only everyone gets along real well and can’t wait to see each other again.
I hope this helps you make your decision on which destination to come to next year. I’ll always be in Grand Cayman, as it is a place I call home. Arie, Dora, Nancy and Jay are like family to us and they, with their staff, do an amazing job each and every year. They will have to kick me out because I’ll just keep coming back forever! I’m very proud of the job they do and I also arrange family travel there year round. The diving is always great and Divetech offers a variety of courses throughout the year. Of course, that’s only if you can’t make it during our Kids Sea Camp Event because that is the cat’s meow!

Best Fishes! We hope to see you soon!

Margo Peyton

   

2010 Poetry Contest Winners

Week 1- July 10-17, 2010
To the tune of “Rock around the clock”

1, 2, 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock dive
5, 6, 7 o’clock, 8 o’clock dive
9, 10, 11 o’clock, 12 o’clock dive
Gonna dive our way around the world tonight

6 o’clock and we’re up and around
Wetsuit, mask, fins & snorkel to find
Lotion to smear & shades to put on
It’s off to the dock with a spring & a song
Only then we find out we should have been on the bus!

It’s a giant stride entry into the blue
There’s puffer fish, sting rays & turtles too
There’s twenty other divers all fighting for the sport
But that’s OK with us ‘cuz we love them all a lot
Kids Sea Camp is the only way to dive!

Cobalt Coast is the place to be
Divetech can dive you to eternity
The food tastes awesome & the staff are fab
And best of all its Kids Sea Camp’s tab

Kid’s Sea Camp, you’re our rock around the dock!!!

By: The Wakely Family

Week 2- July 17-24, 2010

REMINDER: ALL US PASSPORTS MUST BE VALID FOR UP 6 SIX MONTHS PRIOR TO EXPIRATION DATE TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY. AIRLINES ARE ENFORCING THIS

All schedules, itineraries and package inclusions are subject to change.