UK to host Euro submarine races

Building and racing human-powered submarines may not be an Olympic sport, but the inaugural European International Submarine Races (eISR), being held at Gosport, Hampshire, UK during the week of 25 June 2012 is set to capture the imagination - and test the engineering expertise and stamina of enterprising university students from three continents.

The eISR will take place in QinetiQ’s Ocean Basin, the largest freshwater tank in Europe, which at 122m x 61m and 5.5m deep has the capacity of 16 Olympic swimming pools, and is normally used to assess the manoeuvrability of scale ship and submarine models in different sea conditions. From 25-28 June it will be the setting for teams from Canada, France, Oman, UK, and USA. They will all have designed and built their own submarines and will then race them flooded, piloted and pedalled by a scuba diver, with the teams constantly modifying their craft during the week to perfect their performance. Typically the submarines range in length from 3m to 4m and travel at up to 7kts.

“This is the first time these races have been held outside the USA and already teams have registered from École Polytechnique de Montréal; École de Technologie Supérieure, Quebec; Sultan Qaboos University, Oman; University of Bath, UK; University of Michigan, and Texas A&M University – both from the USA,” explains Race Director, Dr William Megill, FIMarEST, Director of the Ocean Technologies Lab in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Bath, who has taken teams to the US races on three occasions . “We are hoping there may be several more entries from either side of the Atlantic.

“The Races combine an engineering design challenge with the technical skill development, and sets them in a unique and exciting sporting competition. There are very real applications for the science and technology employed in these craft as we seek to find ever more effective ways of exploring the waters of the world using autonomous underwater vehicles.”

The eISR is sponsored by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), the Society for Underwater Technology, and QinetiQ. The judging panel will be chaired by Vice Admiral Sir Robert Hill, KBE, FIMarEST, and consists of experienced submarine engineers.

For more information visit www.subrace.eu.

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