Research * Exploration * Outreach
Tim Taylor - President RV Tiburon, Inc
RB Havens - Technical Operations and Logistics
CPT Richard Von Trapp RET - Mission Coordinator
Tim Taylor is an accomplished ocean explorer, adventurer and naturalist. He has been diving throughout the world for over 25 years. He is President of RV Tiburon Inc., an ocean research, exploration and expedition corporation based in Key West, Florida. Tim lectures on marine issues and is the founder of Ocean Outreach, a nonprofit with a strong focus on educational awareness programs for children, our next generation of explorers. Tim works with innovative diving technology and operations, specializing in exploring new locations and sharing them with the scientific community and the general public. He has discovered and explored numerous reefs, including Sherwood Forest Reef, considered the centerpiece of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve, Pulley Ridge, the deepest hermatipic coral reef in the world and black forest reef, the largest black coral tract in the United States. In 2008 he was awarded the clubs prestigious Citation of Merit in recognition of his explorations.
RB Havens has 25 years of engineering experience in marine and industrial environments ranging from manufacturing machinery and control systems to state of the art marine robotics.
With a resume that includes Maintenance/Physical Plant Manager of a waste to energy power plant, RB has a diverse background that has allowed him to become proficient in multiple engineering disciplines including steam generated power systems, hydraulic controls, marine and industrial electrical power generation and distribution systems, ship propulsion systems, ship navigation systems, ship satellite systems and fully integrated computer control systems.
Over the last three years RB has logged thousands of hours as the Lead Operator/Maintenance Technician for a benthic mapping project utilizing a Bluefin 12D AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). The 1,500m rated INS (Inertial Navigation System) equipped 12D carried duel frequency side scan sonar and photo mapping payloads operating at an average depth of 1,200m.
An active diver with over 15 years experience, RB holds several advanced technical certifications including, Closed Circuit Rebreather, Full Cave Diver, Advanced Gas Blender and Dive Master.
Richard served in the US Army for over 30 years, holding positions as an Infantry Paratrooper and Pathfinder in the 82nd Airborne Division. He earned his Green Beret, became a Special Forces Light Weapons Leader, SF Medic, Combat Diver and Dive Medical Technician, attaining the rank of Master Sergeant. Richard has conducted operations in nine countries, including reconnaissance in Iraq, and delivered instruction in advanced combat trauma, and field surgical skills to members form ten European and Mid-Eastern countries. He was also selected to be the principal creator and Senior Instructor of the NATO International Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol Medic Course, in Weingarten, Federal Republic of Germany.
During the eleven years Richard served in Special Forces, he was assigned to the Institute for Military Assistance (SERE Committee) where he played a significant part in creating the Armys Survival Evasion Resistance Escape Course. Next assignment was the 5th Special Forces Group at Ft Bragg as a member of a SCUBA SFODA (A Team) which was a SADM (Special Atomic Demolitions Munitions) nuclear delivery team, and finally to the 10th Special Forces Group, Bad Toelz, Germany. MSG von Trapp was selected to attend the Physician Assistant Course. He graduated from this course to become an Army Medical Officer with a commission to 2nd Lieutenant after 20 years in service in 1994. He went on to serve as Staff PA in a Forward Support Battalion, and as Battalion Surgeon in Combat Engineer and Multiple Launch Rocket Artillery Battalions. Selected for the rank of Major, and recommended for the Legion of Merit, Richard retired from the Army as a Captain while heading a training team and teaching at the Combat Medic School in Texas. Among his numerous decorations, he has been awarded five Meritorious Service and six Army Commendation medals.
Staff
Pat Ayers - Administration and Research
Pats 34 years experience providing research services exclusively to the United States Congress as a member of Congressional Research Service (CRS) are now applied to the RV Tiburon's mission to explore the oceans. Since the early 1990s, she has worked as a Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) volunteer. As a member of their Advanced Assessment Team (AAT), she has participated in REEF fish species/abundancies surveys for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the Dry Tortugas Ecological Reserve, Biscayne National Park, NOAA projects, and various Caribbean governmental agencies. It was during this work that she first sailed with Captain Taylor on the Tiburon in 1994. She has recently undertaken training qualifying her as a coral RECON trainer, which enables her to introduce and teach volunteer citizen scientists how to assess the health of a reef by surveying its coral components. RECON is the Ocean Conservancys Reef Condition Monitoring Program for the Western Atlantic and Caribbean regions.
Pat serves as Director for Ocean Outreach, a nonprofit aligned with RV Tiburon, Inc., which promotes educational outreach and involvement of individuals as stewards of our oceans. Pat holds several advanced diving certifications, including nitrox and TDI SCR diver.
RV Tiburon has a staff of close to twenty personel fully trained in a wide range of equipment and procedures. Our team spend hundreds of hour training and working together, from vessel and equipment operation and overhaul to deep mixed gas rebreather diving and underwater film expertise. These skills prove invaluable on the high seas.
