The Omer 9 team with their submarine on dry land
The week-long European International Submarine Races organised by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST) and hosted by QinetiQ in its Ocean Basin at Haslar , UK – Europe’s biggest covered water freshwater space – resulted in Omer 9 from École de Technologies Supérieure Montreal in Canada winning this event for the second time. Ten teams from universities on three continents took part in the biennial races.
Archimède from École Polytechnique de Montreal, also from Canada, was the runner up. Both teams received trophies of glass engraved by former Flag Officer Submarines Admiral Frank Grenier. Omer 9 also won the Agility/Endurance award for completing two laps of the course with the fastest time and no faults, and the greatest speed between timed gates reaching 7.1 knots.
The human-powered races, held 7-11 July, saw the pilot (or pilots in the case of Omer’s two-man boat) as the sole source of propulsion driving the submarines by pedalling fast and furiously whilst wearing SCUBA gear in the fully submerged craft that they have designed and built (and continued to improve in their tank-side pits).
They came from École Polytechnique de Montréal (with Archimède), and École de Technologie Supérieure (with Omer 9) from Canada; Rhine Waal University of Applied Sciences (with Inia) from Germany; University of Delft (with WASUB 4) from the Netherlands; University of Auckland (with Taniwha) from New Zealand; University of Michigan (with Odyssey) and University of Washington (with Laurie Belle) from the USA; and three teams from the UK with University of Bath (with Menrva), University of Plymouth (with Mayflower), and University of Warwick (with HPS Shakespeare).
“Several boats entered the race for the first time this year, most noticeable was Mayflower from the University of Plymouth in the UK who won the most Reliable Boat Award and finished third overall, ” explains Race Director, Professor William Megill FIMarEST.” Nearly a hundred students from the ten universities gathered at Haslar for what was a marvellous ten days together. They arrived the week before so their boats could be fully dry and wet tested so that racing could start in earnest on Tuesday. We saw inspirational engineering from the fantastic teams. They really captured the spirit of the race and helped each other out. It was a truly marvellous week.”
The sleek Omer 9 team on the course
“We were delighted to organise this event for the second time, ” says David Loosley, Chief Executive of IMarEST. “The level of engineering, determination and ability of the teams is truly inspiring. I know they will have gone away having networked with each other and the representatives of our sponsoring organisations and the superb team at QinetiQ, making contacts that will serve them well for the future. I congratulate them all on their achievements and wish them well for the future.
“I would like to thank QinetiQ for hosting the event again, their superb team who ensure the event runs smoothly and safely and for the support of the MOD DE&S team, allowing access to the facility supported by them via the Maritime Strategic Capabilities Agreement (MSCA); our sponsors who provided speakers for our Master Classes and Graduate Fair; HMS Sultan for hosting the final dinner; the team of Army divers who provided safely support, led by Lt Mike Williams; our judges led by Vice Admiral Sir Robert Hill; William Megill and Frank Mungo who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the event was an overwhelming success; and all the teams for joining us and overwhelming us with their professionalism and enthusiasm. ”
Long list of prizes
The eISR ended with a dinner at HMS Sultan, which saw the teams change from their underwater gear to dinner jackets and long dresses for the presentation ceremony. Apart from the overall winner awards other prizes presented to the teams by Sir John Parker, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering were:
Day-by-day race winners
- Day 1 – Omer 9
- Day 2 – Archimède
- Day 3 – HPS Shakespeare
Two teams tied for best design reports
- Omer 9
- WASUB 4
Best repair of the week
- WASUB 4
Best astern manoeuvre
- Laurie Belle
Best exploration of the Ocean Basin
- Odyssey
Consolation Award – first boat into the water for the competition; and first boat on final morning
- Menrva
Best non-propeller performance
- Taniwha
For innovation
- Inia
QinetiQ prize – Oscar for the most dramatic performance
- Shakespeare
Sarah Kenny, Managing Director of QinetiQ Maritime and Sir John Parker both spoke at the celebratory dinner, praising the teams for their achievements.
“Sarah Kenny talked of their spectacular teamwork, their engineering ability, their vigour, resilience, collaboration, teamwork, and overall engineering successes, ” explains William Megill. “And in congratulating all the winners Sir John expressed delight at the fact that there were so many female engineers in the teams, and undoubtedly found their work inspirational. We had two submarines on display at HMS Sultan – Archimède and Shakespeare – and he thoroughly enjoyed looking closely at the engineering that had gone into their creation and talking to team members. ‘Engineering needs to be at the heart of our society’ he said in his after dinner speech’. Our young engineers most certainly proved the worth of their courses in three continents.
“Photographs and video taken at the eISR are being displayed on the races’ website at www.subrace.eu to inspire other universities to enter future races, and a younger generation to see the excitement and fun that engineering generates, ” he added. “Indeed we were delighted to welcome some engineers of the future from local schools to the races, and in future years hope to attract many more. Sir John made clear just what a huge skills gap there is in the UK alone, globally we need to enthuse the younger generation to opt for engineering degrees and a challenging and rewarding role as professional engineers!”
The races were sponsored by QinetiQ, MOD DE&S, the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the Babcock Group, BMT Defence Services, James Fisher Defence, and BAE Systems.
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- The eISR ‘Medley’ video is reached via the home page – www.subrace.eu
- Jpgs of all the teams and their submarines are available from judithpatten@jppr.uk.com – just drop an email explaining which team you would like to feature
- The eISR trophy marks sheet is at www.subrace.eu/images/
documents/eISR2014_results- sheet.pdf
About QinetiQ
A FTSE250 company, QinetiQ uses its domain knowledge to provide technical support and know-how to customers in the global aerospace, defence and security markets. QinetiQ’s unique position enables it to be a trusted partner to government organisations, predominantly in the UK and the US, including defence departments, intelligence services and security agencies.
Follow us on twitter @QinetiQ; Visit our blog at www.QinetiQ-blogs.com/QinetiQ
About the IMarEST
The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) is the leading international membership body and learned society for all marine professionals. The IMarEST is the first Institute to bring together marine engineers, scientists and technologists into one international multi-disciplinary professional body. It is the largest marine organisation of its kind with a worldwide membership of 15, 000 based in over 100 countries.
Working with the global marine community, the IMarEST promotes the scientific development of marine engineering, science and technology, providing opportunities for the exchange of ideas and practices and upholding the status, standards and expertise of marine professionals worldwide.
The IMarEST is a respected authority in every maritime country. It is a Non-Governmental Organisation with consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), observer status at the International Oceanographic Commission, and it has special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), which facilitates its access to other international intergovernmental meetings where its specialized marine expertise is of particular use, e.g., the United Nations meetings on Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) and the work of the International Seabed Authority on marine mining. It is a nominated and licensed body of the Engineering Council (UK), a member of the Science Council and has significant links with many other maritime organisations worldwide.
IMarEST also runs a series of industry leading events and conferences as well as publishing internationally recognised titles: Marine Engineers Review (MER); Shipping World and Shipbuilder; Maritime IT and Electronics; Marine Scientist; and Offshore Technology.www.imarest.org
