If you are of an adventurous disposition then you will probably be interested to learn about Ted Ciamillo’s quest to build a human-powered submarine and use it to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Ciamillo is an American inventor who has previously worked on an underwater propulsion vehicle called the Hydrospeeder (like an underwater motobike). Recently, he has been developing a human-powered submarine that uses a propulsion system based on a dolphin’s tail. Apparently this system is much more efficient than a traditional rigid propellor. So, Ciamillo is building small submarine that is driven by such a tail and powered by pushing leg and arm levers back and forth. He intends to sit in this submarine, clothed in a wetsuit and breathing using some kind of scuba or snorkel system. He will pedal a couple of metres below the surface, coming up at night to sleep in a tent rigged up on the top of the submarine. The plan is to complete the route, from Cape Verde off the west coast of Africa to Barbados in the Caribbean, in 50 days – that’s 3700 kilometres, so his average speed would be around about 75 kilometres per day. Apart from the technological and endurance challenges involved, the idea is that he will be able to make unique measurements of marine life from what will be a very quiet and highly manouvreable craft, so , for example, he may be able to make valuable observations of bioluminescent organisms. A New Scientist article about Ciamillo’s submarine and his planned voyage appeared in Issue 2693 (31 January 2009).
Tim O'Hare 