Here is the latest in for the races.
R/Jay
Respectfully,
Jay
K. Jeffries
Andros
Is., Bahamas
A
skimmer afloat is but a submarine, so poorly built it will not plunge.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpfausub0630nbjun30,0,3562249.story?coll=sfla-news-palm
FAU team falls short
in International Submarine meet
Members
finish second at races in Maryland
By Scott Travis
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 30, 2007
With the
odds stacked against them, members of Florida Atlantic University's submarine
team remained hopeful that their vessel could recapture its distinction as
fastest in the world.
But the human-powered submarine team fell short of its goal this week at the
ninth International Submarine Races in Bethesda, Md.
A well-financed Canadian submarine, OMER
5, set a new speed record
of 7.9 knots, roughly 9 mph. FAU's sub placed second in the two-person,
propeller-driven sub category, with a speed of 4.795 knots, or just more than 5
mph.
The race course is a 100-meter, 22-foot-deep, 50-foot-wide concrete trough
owned by the U.S. Navy at the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Submarines run, one
at a time, 20 or more times throughout the week.
There was a time when Florida Atlantic was the team to beat. The FA U-boat held a spot in the 1996 Guinness Book of Records for fastest human-powered
submarine, with a time of about 6 knots, or 7 mph.
But with an aging 17-year-old vessel, team members say frequent mechanical
problems slowed them.
"I think everyone here is a little disappointed," said team captain
Joe Birch, 22, of Boca Raton. "We were unable to get the sub to actually
function correctly for one full time. Something seemed to go wrong every time
we went down."
Team members, students in FAU's Department of Ocean Engineering, spent $300 to
buy a new spare air regulator, following a malfunction. Two hatches on the sub
also failed to work, requiring crew members to replace the fiberglass and
repaint the craft.
They're also competing against a well-financed team from the University of
Quebec's École de Technologie Supérieure. The sub is complete with electronic
underwater navigation systems and other computer mechanisms.
"We have seen an explosion of remarkably innovative new designs this year
compared to past races," head judge Claude Brancart said.
Not so for FAU.
"Everything for us is completely manual," Birch said.
But FAU team members say their competitors better watch out in 2009, the next
time the competition is held. They hope to retire their sub, among the oldest
of the 23 in the completion, and replace it with more efficient model. They're
looking for donations to build the sub, which they estimate could cost $25,000
to $30,000.
"If we have money and people willing to put in the time to design this, we
could quite possibly set another world record," Birch said.
The FA U-Boat is a snug, 12-foot-long, 2-foot-wide
submarine. A metal bar divides the space between the pilot on the bottom and
the stroker, who pedals, on top. The crew members use SCUBA gear to breathe
underwater.FAU officials and sub team members say the FA U-Boat was a flawless performer in its
early years. "But it's like an old car," Birch said. "The more
you drive it, the more stuff you're going to have to fix on it."
Scott Travis can be reached at stravis@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6637.