UVic students race submarine in international competition
UVic students race submarine in international competition
Students at the University of Victoria are exploring and testing the perfect shape to break their next record in a unique sport.
Their team consists of more than two dozen active members who design, build and race human-powered submarines.
"My short and sweet [description] is, it’s a flooded coffin with a bike inside," said UVic Submarine Racing Club chief engineer, Josh Fernandez.
The submarine capsule has a propeller on the back with a single pilot inside.
The person has to be a certified scuba diver to compete. They wear an air tank and their submarine gets flooded in a pool of water.
They lay down on their stomach with their face staring out a window on the front, their hands on a yoke for steering, and their legs behind on two pedals that propel them forward.
"You can’t talk under water," said dive captain, Kenna Quirk. "So we have to go over hand signals like 'lift the submarine up. Start the propeller.'"
The submarine then traverses a football-length pool in a competition to see how fast the pilot and the design can go.
The UVic submarine is shown. (Submitted)
"We basically reached a top speed of about seven kilometres per hour," said the club’s president, Graydon Rourke.
It happened at the team’s last competition in the U.K. over the summer – where the members placed fourth overall.
"Our submarine starts on one side [of the pool]. They shoot down the pool, do a U-turn, and then salmon back – and it’s based off of time and agility," said Fernandez.
The trio of engineering students smile talking about the reactions they tend to get trying to explain their hobby to others.
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The UVic submarine is shown. (Submitted)
