A Naval Academy team earned top honors at the 11th International Submarine Race, held in late June in Maryland. // James Contreras, U.S. Navy
Naval Academy midshipmen captured top honors at the 11th International Submarine Race, held in late June, with their entry, S.S.H. 11 Mighty Mid.
Mighty Mid, a two-man fiberglass sub built by the academy team, sported waving fins that can be powered by pedaling, which they adapted from use on some kayaks. Mighty Mid hit 6.1 knots underwater on the 100-meter course at the David Taylor Model Basin in West Bethesda, Md., besting a Canadian team who had previously held the title and record for non-propeller subs.
“It felt great, just to represent the Navy,” Midshipman 2nd Class Cheng Han Tay, a member of Team Mighty Mid, told the official blog DoD Live. “And also we took the record back from the Canadian team, we took it back for the U.S. Naval Academy and for the U.S. So everyone’s happy about that.”
Some of the propeller-driven subs were faster, but not my much. The fastest, built by Florida Atlantic University, clocked in at 6.814 knots.
“It’s a non-propeller sub that’s competing with propeller-driven submarines, which is just unheard of for this competition,” Midshipman 2nd Class Mike Pollard told Dod Live. “There’s not been a single non-propeller submarine that’s come this close.”
Twenty-nine teams competed at the sub race, coming from places as far as France and Oman. Mighty Mid won the Spirit of the Race award and top honors for overall performance, bringing home a trophy and $1,000.
You can check out the 5-minute DoD Live video – complete with Jacques Cousteau-esque underwater shots – here.
