7th ISR Race Summary
The OMER 5 team from the Ecole de Technologie Superieure, Montreal, Canada won the Absolute Speed Award with a sprint of 6.814 knots, and theBest Use of Composites Award for their unique use of sandwich-hull construction, comprised of carbon fiber, kevlar and closed cell nautical foam. The foam is sandwiched between four layers of kevlar and two layers of carbon fiber, to provide to provide strength and buoyancy.
Judges awarded the Best Design Outline and Report Award to Sussex County Technical School of Sparta, N.J., whose first-time entry, Umptysquatch-1, was completely designed, built and operated by high school students.
The Spirit of the Races Award went to the team from Florida Institute of Technology, whose submarine, Miss FIT, was a bright red 16-foot-long six-sided torpedo.
This award recognizes overall spirit, gusto, fortitude and support of other teams, and is given to honor the late ISR high school contestant, Steve Barton of Florida.
Other speed awards:
One-person, propeller, academic category:
First place – RSR Fournier, University of Maryland, 4.916 knots
Second place – Hullabaloo, Texas A&M, 4.835 knots
Third place – Phantom 4, Virginia Tech, 4.516 knots
One-person, propeller, independent category:
First place – Scuba Doo, Wheaton Submarine Works, Wheaton, MD, 4.875 knots
One-person, non-propeller, academic category:
First place – Specter 1, Virginia Tech, 3.520 knots
Two-person, propeller, academic category:
First place – Omer 5, Ecole de Technologie Superieure, 6.814 knots
Second place – Terpedo, University of Maryland, 3.249 knots
Third place – Umptysquatch-1, Sussex County Technical School, 2.517 knots
Two-person, non-propeller, academic category:
First place – Miss FIT, Florida Institute of Technology, 3.417 knots
A new award, the Smooth Operator Award, went to Sirius, from the University of Washington. This award recognizes team efficiency.
All teams made formal presentations to the judging panel on all aspects of the design and preparation of their human-powered submarines.
The design competition drew 19 teams from throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, including two high school teams. More than 150 volunteers provided the resources required to conduct the races, including U.S. Navy safety divers and experts from the NSWC Carderock Division staff.