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Depths of dedication

A submarine built at Springstead High is readied for racing again next year. Its competition? Colleges, here and abroad.

By MATHEW WASSERMAN
Published March 23, 2006

Like a bicycle inside a bullet, Springstead High School's human-powered submarine shot through the water at Weeki Wachee Springs during a trial run two Saturdays ago.

The school is preparing for the 2007 International Submarine Races in Bethesda, Md., where one- and two-person teams from high schools and universities participate in the underwater competition.

"Our top speed so far is 4.89 knots, which is almost 5 mph,'' said Steve Barton, a former construction technology teacher who now volunteers two hours a day at the class and is in charge of the submarine program. "That's an improvement over the years.''

Springstead's construction technology class first entered the contest in 2003. Since then, it has been redesigning the submarine for the East Coast race, held every two years.

Last year, Springstead was one of only two high schools competing against 13 universities. Still, it placed third fastest and third overall, and set the world record, 4.828 knots, for the fastest female-piloted human-powered submarine.

"When you're going against colleges, it can get aggressive, but they accept us,'' Barton said. "We do so well because we have the opportunity to get so much practice. Weeki Wachee helps us out each year, and we have the Gulf of Mexico right next to us. By the time our kids get there, they have had much more time in the water.''

Stephen Barton, Steve's son, created the basic design for the sub in 1989 for his high school science fair project. He entered it in the contest in 1991 and 1993, winning several awards and being the first high school student to compete.

When Stephen died in a small-plane crash at the age of 20, the sub, which he nicknamed SubLime, was also laid to rest. It was reborn in 2002, when the construction technology students whom Stephen's father taught redesigned it and picked up where he left off.

To propel the one-man submarine at depths of up to 25 feet, students lie face down and use pedals made of bicycle parts. They steer with two joysticks, navigating along light lines in the water that they can see out of a clear square beneath their faces. They breathe from a scuba tank.

"It's kind of cramped in there,'' 14-year-old freshman John Anderson said. "It's also pretty hard to steer, but I'm getting better. If I can get good enough, I'll enter the races next year.''

The races are held at the David Taylor Model Basin, the Naval Surface Warfare Center's test facility for marine technology, a.k.a. Carderock. The indoor tank is 3,200 feet long and 22 feet deep. Steve's wife, Patricia, who helps the team, described the race environment as a very dark, very cold, long, giant swimming pool.

"It's amazing to see the kids' reaction once they see the place,'' she said. "We describe it to them and show them pictures before they go, but it's another thing to actually be in it.''

Chris Denny, a 17-year-old junior who raced last year, said the building and the atmosphere are incredible.

"It's a great place for this type of race,'' he said. "Everybody there is so excited to be there. There's always something going on.''

The entry fee for the five-day race is $1,000 per submarine. Last year, team members spent all their money on the entry fee, so they had to travel cheaply.

"We all just drove up there in two trucks,'' Patricia Barton said. "Then we stayed at a friend's house for the week of the race. It was actually a good experience that brought the team closer together. ... At the end of each day the adults were dead on their feet, but the team was hanging out together sightseeing and having fun.''

Steve Barton said the competition is a great experience for the students, but the real value in the submarine project is that it gets students interested in building.

"It's a great boost for kids that are more vocationally interested than academically interested,'' he said. "It almost doesn't matter what they build as long as they come out with a product. One year we built a portable. Earlier this year we made a four-wheel off-road vehicle. These kids need to build actual things, to see real engineering, not theory.''

To give the students a little more engineering insight, Barton invited the submarine team from Virginia Tech to set up shop at his house two weeks ago so the Springstead team could see a more high-tech creation in the making.

"We're using our spring break to work on our sub and get some practice in the water,'' said Bill Schneck, a 20-year-old mechanical engineering student at Virginia Tech. "We wake up, work on the sub, take a break, then work on the sub again, late into the night.''

Barton said the students from both schools learn from one another. "It's great to have this type of interface because everybody can share ideas.''

The next big race is in June. As it gets closer, the team will practice more and more, building endurance and working out structural bugs. Next year, members expect to be more prepared than ever.

"We keep doing better each year,'' said Chris Denny, the junior who raced last year. "The fact that our high school is doing better than many colleges feels good. Next year we'll do even better.''

Mathew Wasserman can be reached at Mat65432@aol.com.

[Last modified March 23, 2006, 08:30:04]