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Submarine tourism

lpetrich

lpetrich

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There is an interesting way to see the oceans that has emerged: submarine tourism.

I don't mean visiting old submarines. I have visited two US WWII ones, one in Philadelphia and one in San Francisco. They were cramped, and they remind me of the joke that to a sardine, a submarine is a can of people.

I mean submarines for tourist expeditions. They seem like a good way of seeing what's in the oceans, since one can't see much from the surface. Dolphins and whales are a sight to see from the surface, because they have to come up to the surface to breathe. But one can't see coral reefs from the surface, except if they extend dangerously close to the surface.

Note on terminology: a submersible is a small submarine, especially one that is supported by another vessel instead of being autonomous.

Tourist submarines typically have big portholes, so their passengers can have a good view. Landforms, sea life, shipwrecks, ...

I've found tourist-submarine operations in several places: Catalina Island (CA,US), Hawaii, the Caribbean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands, the Red Sea, Mauritius, Maldives, Bali, Australia, Guam, ...

I found that some of these tours' "submarines" are semi-submarines, meaning that they only partially submerge.
 
Most submarine tourism stays well within the photic or euphotic zone, the well-illuminated part of the ocean, above 200 meters depth. Below that is the dysphotic or twilight zone, which gets some sunlight, but much, and below 1000 meters depth is the aphotic or midnight zone.

Some submarine tourism goes far down into the dysphotic zone, but some tour operators are planning to get tourist subs that can go all the way down to the ocean floor, with an average depth of 3,700 meters. They can then offer tours of certain famous shipwrecks and also of hydrothermal vents.

If one wants bragging rights from dive depth, one can turn to oceanic trenches, and the champion of these is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, at 11,000 meters.


That offers a challenge: to climb to the top of Mt. Everest and to visit the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
 
I've been on the one at Catalina Island. It is more accurately called a 'glass bottom boat' ride. It (and most commercial tourist rides) are not submersible at all, but custom built boats with a deep hull that has a lot of portals for viewing underwater.

I prefer to SCUBA. :D
 
 
Some more semisubs:
The Reef Dancer - Maui Semi Submarine Reef Tours | Lahaina, Maui - "Maui Glass Bottom Boat"
SUBSEE EXPLORER - at Cancun, Mexico

Cabo Submarine - Cabo expeditions
Cabo San Lucas is on the S end of Baja California.

Semi Submarine Excursion - Sharm El Sheikh
Sharm el Sheikh is on the S end of the Sinai Peninsula, where the Gulf of Aqaba meets the Red Sea.

MARSA ALAM SEMI SUBMARINE EXCURSION - MarsaAlam.com
Marsa Alam is on the W coast of the Red Sea, some 175 mi / 280 km S of Hurghada.


Some more full subs:
Maui Activities & Tours for Kids & Family | Atlantis Submarines | Atlantis Submarine Adventures Hawaii | Majestic by Atlantis Cruises
Book Waikiki Family Activities | Atlantis Submarines | Atlantis Submarine Adventures Hawaii | Majestic by Atlantis Cruises
Big Island Kona Activities for Kids & Family | Atlantis Submarines | Atlantis Submarine Adventures Hawaii | Majestic by Atlantis Cruises
Cozumel Submarine Expedition | Atlantis Submarines Cozumel Mexico
Exciting Underwater Submarine Tours - Atlantis Submarines Barbados
Atlantis Submarines - Guam
These submarines go 100 ft / 30 m down. This is well within the illuminated part of the ocean, though everything looks blue.

Waikiki is south of Honolulu on Oahu, and Kona is on the west shore of the Big Island, as it's called locally. Cozumel is on a small island a little off of NE Yucatan Peninsula a little SE of Cancun. Guam is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Barbados is one of the small islands in the eastern Caribbean.

Sindbad Submarine trip in Hurghada | Hurghada Day Tours
Depth: 72 ft / 22 m
Hurghada is a little south of the Gulf of Suez on the NW end of the Red Sea.

Also this oddity:
Breathing Observation Bubble in Cancun - My Experience Tours A sort of underwater scooter with a spacesuit-like helmet.
 
Semi-Submarine Seychelles | Mahe Island Excursions | SemiSub Seychelles

The Seychelles are some small islands about 750 mi / 1200 km from East Africa and Madagascar.

More full submarines:
Submarine Underwater Trip - Mauritius Attractions
Depth: 115 ft / 35 m
Whale Submarine - at the Maldives
Depth: 150 ft / 45 m
Great Barrier Reef Mini-Submarine - from Cairns, QLD in NE Australia
Max Depth: 150 ft / 45 m
Odyssey Submarine Bali At Amuk Bay - Underwater Sightseeing Tours
Depth: 115 ft / 35 m
Boracay underwater submarine tours. - in the Philippines. Not sure if it is still in operation.
Seogwipo Submarine and Dive 45 Meters Under the Sea with Jeju Seogwipo Submarine - at Jeju Island
Depth: 150 ft / 45 m

Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean some 600 mi / 1000 km east of Madagascar, off of SE Africa. The Maldives are some small islands some 500 mi / 800 km SW of S India and Sri Lanka. Bali is in Indonesia. Jeju Island is 100 mi / 160 km S of South Korea


A bubble-helmet scooter like the one in Cancun:
Experience the Great Barrier Reef Under Water on Scubadoo! - Great Adventures Cruises | Great Adventures
 
Another full sub:
Submarine excursions in Lanzarote & Tenerife - in the Canary Islands
Max depth: 200 ft / 60 m

The Canary Islands are a few hundred mi/km off of NW Africa.

Triton launches spectacular 24-seat DeepView tourist submarine - with big curved full-length windows. I'm concerned about the safety of those windows.

These 6 Deep-Sea Sub Tours Offer Unique Views of the Underwater World | HuffPost Life
mentions
Home - Blue Safari - Dive activities, subscooter... - in Mauritius. Can't tell whether it is the same sub or a different one that I'd mentioned earlier. Also offers subscooters.


These tours can go down too deep for sunlight, where the ocean is perpetually dark.

Roatan Institute of Deepsea Exploration | R.I.D.E: The public's portal to the deep sea since 1998
Operates from Half Moon Bay, Roatan, Honduras, on an island in the Caribbean Sea about 40 mi / 65 km N of the mainland.
Can go down as far as 2000 ft / 600 m

How To Visit the Deep Sea - Scientific American Blog Network
mentions
The Ultimate Submarine Diving Experience | Substation Curaçao - in the Caribbean, some 50 mi / 80 km north of Venezuela
Can go down as far as 1000 ft / 300 m


There are also some tours where one can charter a submarine.
Like
Submarine Experiences | Discover the deep sea with a submarine
and
Submarine Expeditions: Explore the Mysteries of the Deep in a Personal Submarine
and
The Mile Low Club: Oliver's Travels Announces Its Most Exclusive Property Yet! - "Lovers Deep", a luxury submarine that one can charter.
 
Tourists Will Soon Be Able to Visit the Titanic Wreck for $125,000
noted by
OceanGate Expedition Will Inspect Deteriorating Wreck of the Titanic

The company: OceanGate Submarine Expeditions & Adventures

Its submarines:
The Cyclops Submarine | OceanGate Submarine Expeditions - 500 m / 1,650 ft
The Titan Submarine | OceanGate Submarine Expeditions - 4,000 m / 13,200 ft

Titanic Deep Sea Diving Expedition | OceanGate Submarine Expeditions
 Wreck of the Titanic - 3,800 m / 12,500 ft / 2.37 mi - close to the limit of Titan, the submarine now being sent to explore that wreck.


With planned expeditions to Croatia and the Coral Sea, both places with lots of shipwrecks.
 
lpetrich said:
There is an interesting way to see the oceans that has emerged: submarine tourism.

I don't mean visiting old submarines.
Click to expand...
Good lord, no. If we ever saw the ocean anywhere but topside, it was called "a casualty."
I have visited two US WWII ones, one in Philadelphia and one in San Francisco. They were cramped, and they remind me of the joke that to a sardine, a submarine is a can of people.
Click to expand...
Well, i served on an Ohio class, the Taj Mahal of submarines. They're comfortable once you're used to them.
Well, comfortable may be a little strong... Tolerable.

But it's great fun coming back to a Trident after touring something like the Nautilus in Groton. The first nuclear powered sub. The movies never quite get just how cramped those spaces really were, though Das Boot does come close.
Stephen Fry filmed his '50 States' tour of the US, including a tour of a modern attack sub in Groton.

Note on terminology: a submersible is a small submarine, especially one that is supported by another vessel instead of being autonomous.
Click to expand...
Interestingly, the first Fleet submarines were classified that way, requiring direct support of a surface vessel for operations.
This is the distinction between the classification of 'ship' and 'boat.' Ships are capable of independent operations, boats are not.
To this day, submarines, which can make their own water, air, power, proudly bear the classification of 'boat' though they meet every requirement for a 'ship.'

But that's the military. Commercially, i suspect that 'submarine' is more like 'low-fat' or 'lite.' Something you can apply any damned way you want and no one can legally take issue, even if it's a theme-park ride that's more of a roller coaster that doesn't submerge, but does stick all its windows under the water for that apparent 'diving' effect.

For any commercial 'sub' i don't really care if it goes all the way under the water or not. I would want to know what steps will be taken if water comes into the people tank.
 
Keith&Co. said:
Good lord, no. If we ever saw the ocean anywhere but topside, it was called "a casualty." Well, i served on an Ohio class, the Taj Mahal of submarines. They're comfortable once you're used to them.
Well, comfortable may be a little strong... Tolerable.

But it's great fun coming back to a Trident after touring something like the Nautilus in Groton. The first nuclear powered sub. The movies never quite get just how cramped those spaces really were, though Das Boot does come close.
Stephen Fry filmed his '50 States' tour of the US, including a tour of a modern attack sub in Groton.

Note on terminology: a submersible is a small submarine, especially one that is supported by another vessel instead of being autonomous.
Click to expand...
Interestingly, the first Fleet submarines were classified that way, requiring direct support of a surface vessel for operations.
This is the distinction between the classification of 'ship' and 'boat.' Ships are capable of independent operations, boats are not.
To this day, submarines, which can make their own water, air, power, proudly bear the classification of 'boat' though they meet every requirement for a 'ship.'

But that's the military. Commercially, i suspect that 'submarine' is more like 'low-fat' or 'lite.' Something you can apply any damned way you want and no one can legally take issue, even if it's a theme-park ride that's more of a roller coaster that doesn't submerge, but does stick all its windows under the water for that apparent 'diving' effect.

For any commercial 'sub' i don't really care if it goes all the way under the water or not. I would want to know what steps will be taken if water comes into the people tank.
Click to expand...

Do you mean you got into a boat designed to sink?

Eldarion Lathria
 
Keith&Co. said:
Eldarion Lathria said:
Do you mean you got into a boat designed to sink?

Eldarion Lathria
Click to expand...
I served on five ships.

ALL SHIPS are designed to sink.

Four of mine were designed to come back up again.
Click to expand...

All ships?

There are ships built of materials light enough that they won't sink even if completely flooded. Unfortunately, such craft are fairly small due to the lack of strength of such materials.

Someday with space manufacturing we will have large ships that can't sink. Metal foam is pound for pound considerably stronger than the same metal in solid form and it can be lighter than water. However, practical manufacturing requires a microgravity environment.
 
The late Paul Allen had his own sub built here in the area, about 12 people. Then he had a yacht built to carry it. A company I worked at made the video and audio systems for the sub. The word I got was that private subs were notoriously under regulated.

ALVIN which is a small titanium sphere can drop weights and dethatch from the support structure and float to the surface.

For a small sub why not have chemicals that can create a gas and balloons on top to inflate?
I'd think it would be more interesting and adventurous to just go snorkeling around coral reefs.

I believe you can make subs to have positive buoyancy so that they need power to stay down.
 
steve_bank said:
I believe you can make subs to have positive buoyancy so that they need power to stay down.
Click to expand...
Boats dive by moving their center of buoyancy beneath the center of mass. The power requirements to brute force a positively buoyant ship beneath the water would make it 50% battery that would last almost all the way out of the harbor.
 
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