This is a letter of referral regarding the professionalism of Rapture Marine Expeditions. I am a high school science teacher and have been associated with this organization for the past nine years. During this time I have annually taken my marine biology classes on expeditions to Catalina Island and have experienced nothing but the best in safety, excellence and professionalism.

In regards to safety, Rapture's track record speaks for itself. They have placed high standards on boat and water safety that makes me feel comfortable taking students I am responsible for out in the open ocean. I am impressed that they regularly perform drills while we are on board--so not only are they perfecting their skills, but they are educating passengers.

I am also a PADI dive insstructor and I have taken SCUBA divers out with the Rapture for the past five years. Rapture places high demands on adherence to depth and time limits and on ascent rates. My divers are not only well taken care of and highly supervised, but they are better and safer divers when their trip is completed.

As an educator, I am honored to have a partnership with Rapture Marine Expeditions. They strive for educational excellence by continually updating their curriculum and by utilizing the latest technology. Rapture makes an effort to work and communicate with me to make sure that my educational expectations are met. My students leave with a greater understanding of marine biology, oceanography and conservation.

Rapture Marine Expeditions operates its organization with the highest of reliability. Captains Scott McClung and Noah Bailey are men of integrity, excellence and professionalism and demand the same of the people working under them. It is a privilege to partner with Rapture and I intend to continue that association for years to come.

Sincerely,

Meg Chandler
Science Teacher/Chair
Desert Christian Schools
Tucson, AZ

The fact that you took the initiative to purchase and install a recompression chamber and provided trained professionals to operate it, was a great comfort to all of the divers when conducting diving operations so far from the security of a routine evacuation scenario. Likewise, conducting routine shipboard safety drills, emergency diving drills and recompression exercises, instilled a confidence in the participants that could not otherwise have been achieved. I have heard many "safety lectures" before, but to see safety applied as a fore-thought to everyday operations was impressive indeed.

While serving in my role as Diving Supervisor aboard Rapture during the Northwestern Hawai'ian Island cruise, I was ever-mindful of the types of situations that could occur with thirty-six divers, five inflatable boats and so many miles of ocean between us all. The fact that we logged 1,306 incident-free dives in twenty-six days is due, in no small part, to the safe manner in which the highly-trained and well-motivated crew members under your command conducted themselves. It is my sincere desire that you pass along to the crew a hearty "well-done" for making this cruise not only possible, but for making it a resoundingly successful mission to which successive endeavors should hope to aspire.

Sincerely,

Greg McFall
Research Coordinator
Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary
United States Department of Commerce - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrati

Your crew is amazing. There is no question that safety is first. Your crew was extremely impressive in how they did not wait for something to happen. The were always right there with the students in case something did happen. I cannot compliment your safety any better other than to say that I would, at anytime, let any of my 4 children (ages 8 to 15) take a trip alone on the Rapture and not give it a second thought. You and your crew are to be commended for that.

A close second to safety is education on Rapture. That is also very apparent. The students I talked to were absolutely excited about the material covered, how they covered it, and the instructors you had teaching it. I was very impressed by your teaching staff. You have something to be proud of there as well.

In fact all of the crew, Chris, John, Oliver, Aristotle, Jason, Andrew, Phil, Mario, Dave, Kelly, Brenda and Abi made the trip even more amazing than I could have imagined. You should be proud of all of them. They represented Rapture in a highly dignified and respectful manner.

The way that your crew interacted with the students on board was also note worthy. They were able to not only maintain a high level of respect from the students and the chaperones but they connected with them to the point that it actually enhanced the experience that the students had on board. The students and chaperones had nothing but wonderful things to say about the entire trip.

If there are times that you need an educator on board to fill a spot of someone that is missing please let me know. I truly loved my time out on the ocean and everything I did on board Rapture. Also let me know what assistance I can be as you write grant proposals as I am behind what you are doing and would love to be a part of it.

Thank you again for the access on board Rapture. I will stay in contact with you and will make sure that more people know about the Rapture and what it has to offer.

Sincerely,

Roderick B. Soper
Assistant Professor of Biology
Concordia University
Irvine, CA