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Aboard and beyond

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June Casagrande

One of the biggest boats in this year’s Christmas Boat Parade will

be one with a big mission.

Rapture, a 150-foot custom educational vessel, will deck its decks

with holiday cheer for the second year to take part in the holiday

boat parade.

Most of the year, the boat is all business. Its job is to take

student groups on marine-education expeditions to Catalina, Hawaii

and elsewhere.

“It has been a vision of mine since I was in seventh grade to

provide a ship-based operation for students to go out and do field

studies and be able to immerse themselves in the marine environment

that I was fortunate enough to be immersed in, “ said Scott McClung,

founder of the not-for-profit Rapture Marine Expeditions.

A native of Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, McClung founded the

organization 13 years ago and has been providing educational

opportunities for young people ever since.

About 50,000 students from schools throughout California and

Hawaii take to the seas aboard Rapture to learn about everything from

invertebrate biology to marine safety.

“We have marine mammal explorations; we have little Zodiac

inflatables on board that allow us to get out on the ocean look for

dolphins, sea lions. It is fun,” said Robert Montez, a spokesman for

Rapture.

Rapture Marine Expeditions is based in Newport Beach, but the boat

is too big to be berthed here. Home for the Rapture is Long Beach,

next to the aquarium.

The boat is staffed with three marine biologists, an experienced

crew and even healthcare professionals to assure the safest-possible

learning experience. An on-board tank lets students get up close and

personal with some ocean species. Audio and video equipment lets

students on the ship communicate directly with the ship’s divers.

The education benefits of this experience extend even beyond the

sea, Montez said.

“It’s very encouraging that we’ve seen that, after the

expeditions, the kids’ academic scores go up,” Montez said. “When

kids see classroom learning applied to real life, it definitely helps

their academics.”

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