page_title: RV Vantuna
section_title: Conversion to a research vessel
hierarchical_section_title: RV Vantuna / Conversion to a research vessel
caption_attribution_description: English: Preparing to retrieve a trawl with benthic fish and invertebrates to be measured, sexed, and counted.
context_page_description: The Vantuna was a marine research vessel that operated in the Southern California Bight, from 1969 until 2007. It served as a tool for coastal research and was a unique platform for Occidental College students to gain first-hand experience conducting marine research operations. Scores of students who have worked on the Vantuna have gone on to have careers in marine science.
context_section_description: Occidental College converted the Vantuna from a fishing boat to a marine research vessel with the help of a National Science Foundation grant. The conversion included the addition of a large A-frame on the stern, hydrographic and large main winches, and the associated hydraulic system.
  Professor John S. Stephens, Jr., was the director of the Vantuna and the Vantuna Research Group at Occidental College. He created a program where the vessel became a unique platform for research and learning, allowing undergraduate students the opportunity for "hands-on" study of marine biology. These students were in charge of the daily scientific operations conducted on the vessel.
  In no small part, the success of the Vantuna program was due to the efforts of Sara Warschaw, Dr. Stephens' administrative assistant. The instructional program used on the vessel was helped with the efforts of Ruth Lebow, of Pierce College, who wrote the study and laboratory guide for the Vantuna, "Investigations into the Marine Environment, A Guide to the Deep Sea Cruise Aboard the R/V Vantuna".
caption: Retrieving a trawl
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