Newsletter | March 1999

The 1999 ISR

We regret to announce that the International Submarine Races will not be held in 1999. We understand fully that this is a great disappointment to many of you who have been working so hard to ready your boats and we share your disappointment as well.

The decision to postpone the subraces is based on a few key factors. First, we were unable to secure a commitment from a race venue. Second, we are confronted by the fact that a number of key individuals who were vital to the success of previous races would not be available in 1999 to manage pre-race activities. Despite these circumstances, we remain ever grateful to our corporate sponsors, who continue to stand ready to support future ISRs.

It is the ISR organization’s plan, that as we increase our resources in the future, including volunteers, sponsor funding and staff to handle pre-race activities, we will announce the next race, which we hope will be in the year 2000. Please watch our web site for future details.

WHAT IS THE ISR????

Here is a little background on the ISR for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the races. The International Submarine Race’s specific goals are

 

To inspire students of the various engineering disciplines to delve into broad areas of underwater technology advancement and to provide them an educational experience that applies their theoretical knowledge.
To increase public awareness of the challenge people face in working in and exploring the ocean depths.
To foster advances in subsea vehicle hydrodynamic, propulsion and control systems.

 

The first human-powered International Submarine Race (ISR) was held in 1989 off West Palm Beach, Florida and drew 17 boats. The race grew to 35 boats in 1991 and 44 contestants for the 1993 race off Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The 1995 and 1997 events at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (David Taylor Model Basin) drew 11 and 16 entrants respectively.

 

The Award Winning Omer 3 from the 1997 Fifth ISR

 

Each team must develop a one or two-person “Wet” submarine. Two-person subs must have one person providing the propulsion and the other navigating and steering. Both crew members breathe on SCUBA from the air supply carried aboard. Each sub is unique, designed from “scratch,” and relies upon the team’s novel techniques for propulsion and guidance.

 

Tennessee Tech’s Torpedo 3 and 4 from the 1997 Fifth ISR

 

Participants include but are not limited to universities, corporations, government agencies, individuals and research labs. Various awards and prizes are awarded at each ISR, including ones for best overall performance, innovation, speed, best use of composite materials and the team with the best spirit of the race.
Each race sees faster and faster times by the teams. The fastest times from the last race were as follows:
Teams Completing the Course and their Fastest Speeds in Knots:

 

Submarine Name Crew Size 10m Speed Knots 100m Speed Knots
Omer 3

1

6.977

6.261
Omer 2

2

6.367

5.960
Torpedo IV

1

5.885

5.751
Cape Fear

2

5.133

5.068
Magnum Pi

2

3.158

0.000
Tamu

2

3.149

0.000
SSH-32

2

2.972

2.018
Sub-Lime II

2

2.942

2.743
The Bulldog

2

2.928

2.586
Sea Wolv

2

2.146

1.893
Sub-Variable

2

1.718

0.000
Arcangello

2

1.703

1.586
Silver Bucket

1

0.569

0.000

Our long term goal is to alternate the indoor event with an open water event in the following year.
More Sponsors Needed

We want to thank all of our sponsors of the Fifth ISR – we could not have done it without your support and we hope for your continued sponsorship of the Sixth ISR.

 

As we are a non-profit and all volunteer organization, we are always looking for additional sponsors for funding, in-kind goods and services and prize donations. (Our needs for in-kind goods and services will be posted on our web site.) Please contact Mr. Dave McGee from the list of ISR contacts on the last page if you are interested in being a sponsor.

 

Funding Provided by:

In-Kind Sponsors:
Lockheed-Martin Corporation Benthos, Inc.
Electric Boat Corporation – A General Dynamics Company CompAir Mako
Newport News Shipbuilding Crilley’s Catering
T.A.H. Industries Divecomm, Inc.
Tyco Submarine Systems Ltd. Divers Alert Network (DAN)
The Boeing Company Diversified Diving Services, Inc.
Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. Inflatable Xperts
Vector, A Business Unit of A&T Engineering Technologies MAR-VEL Underwater Equipment, Inc.
The Naval Submarine League Mustang Survival, Inc.
Arion Systems, Inc. Pelican Products, Inc.
Compass Publications, Inc. Process Efficiency Products Inc.
Plastiflex Company, Inc.
Princeton Television TV30
The Rochester Corporation – A Tyco Industries Company
Sarnoff Corporation
SMX Corporation
Tektite
Washington Marina

Maurice Coutts

November of 1997 had a sad note for the ISR. Our dedicated volunteer Maurice Coutts passed away while diving his favorite shipwreck – the Scottish Windjammer of Bonaire. Maurice was our chief technical expert when it came to the underwater lighting and setup of the race course. His Scottish brogue and lively spirit will be sorely missed at the future ISRs.

 

Trade Shows and Presentations

The volunteers of the ISR have been making a splash at various trade shows. Dave McGee and Steve Bland presented for the second year in a row at The Boston Sea Rovers dive show in March of 1998 (in Boston) and Dave presented at the Beneath The Sea dive show in New Jersey that same month. The ISR had a very popular booth at Beneath The Sea, with pictures of past races along with the Benthos submarine on display. Many children enjoyed getting in the sub and pedaling away! Dave also manned the booth at the Naval Submarine League’s Washington, D.C. show in June.
Volunteers (L. to R.) Dave McGee, Jon Douglas and Steve Bland at the Beneath the Sea