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.
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.