Submarine Experiences for EVERYONE, Are We There Yet?
According to a study by National Geographic, more than 80% of the ocean has never been mapped, explored, or even seen by humans! Compare this with how in fact we’ve explored a greater percentage of the moon! Many people are now seeing the light, or perhaps more accurately, going away from the light and underwater, within an increased interest in ocean exploration and protection. How can we best explore our oceans, and what technological advancements are available to satisfy our interest given the misconception about how terrifying the ocean is, which is rapidly being disproved? And ocean exploration, is this really something that is now available to everyone?
Are We There Yet? Host Grant Harrell, together with Patrick Lahey, the CEO and Co-Founder of Triton Submarines, discuss ocean exploration and protection, and how people can now experience, through Triton Submarines, the beauty that lies within our reach, that for too long has been inaccessible and overlooked. “It took a long time to educate people that subs are extraordinary, simple, fun, and safe, and allow for us to see a part of the world you wouldn’t see any other way. We now have traction from being a fringe product people were afraid of, to a product that people uniformly recognize has the capacity to transform the ownership experience of a yacht,” said Lahey. And in fact, thanks to Triton Submarines’ recent work, submarine experiences are no longer limited to just yacht owners or military personnel!
“…We’ve developed a commercial range of products that are designed to carry a larger number of people, within the vision of providing submarine experiences to the greater population,” Lahey said. “The mission of the company is to provide this experience to everyday people!”
Harrell and Lahey discussed other interesting topics within this exciting video podcast episode including:
- What is driving the increased interest in ocean exploration
- Memorable experiences about exploring the deepest places in our oceans
- How truly undiscovered the ocean really is
Patrick Lahey is the Co-founder and President of Triton Submarines based in Sebastian, Florida. In 2019, Patrick became the second Canadian to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench and the first person to dive the Challenger Deep twice while accompanied by another explorer. Patrick also successfully completed the world’s deepest ever salvage operation at 10,927 meters during one of his historic dives in the Mariana Trench.
Born in Ottawa Canada, Patrick began diving in 1975 and started working as a professional diver in 1982. He has nearly 40 years of commercial underwater experience earned from his involvement in a diverse range of projects around the world. During his career, Patrick has participated in the design, engineering, manufacture and testing of numerous underwater vehicles and diving systems including over 60 manned submersibles. He is a fully qualified air, mixed-gas and bell-saturation diver with a background in electronics and instrumentation.
In his role at Triton Submarines, Patrick has overseen the development of the company’s entire range of submersibles, including the Triton 36000/2 or Limiting Factor, which was used during the groundbreaking Five Deeps Expedition. The Triton 36,000/2 is the first and only full ocean depth capable manned submersible to be fully accredited by an internationally recognized third party classification society (DNV-GL) with an ‘unlimited diving depth’ noted on the certificate.
Triton Submarines is the leader in the submersible industry, enabling the safe and reliable exploration of our oceans since 2007. The primary goal of the company is the democratization of innovative oceans tech, not subs for the super-rich. Outside of personal submersibles that are generally built for superyachts, there has been growing interest from the cruise and resort worlds post-pandemic about offering new experiences to entice guests. A sub is an alluring investment and pays for itself in a short period of time. Triton has had some incredible milestones. They’ve developed industry-first technology and visited places never seen before by the human eye. Notable accomplishments include: (1) first accredited full ocean depth sub for repeated use at any depth, (2) deepest diving acrylic sub, three people to 7500 feet, (3) 1st contemporary tourist sub, and (4) freeform acrylic, representative of materials technology.
Bridgewater Associates Founder Ray Dalio and noted explorer and Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron have joined the company as equity partners to help supercharge the next generation of ocean exploration technology. Interest in our oceans has never been greater, and that’s thanks to the media and scientific efforts of organizations like Ray Dalio’s OceanX, and the storytelling James Cameron is providing through his movies and documentaries. Other Triton Submarines achievements include:
- Deepest Dive In History –10,928 Meters. April 28, 2019
- Most Dives To Full Ocean Depth – 20+ Dives To Date
- First Unlimited Depth Certified Submersible –Triton 36000/2, 2019
- Deepest Dive In Southern Ocean – 7,192 Meters. April 5, 2019
- Deepest Dive In Atlantic Ocean – 8,376 Meters. December 21, 2018
- Deepest Dive In Indian Ocean – 7,192 Meters. April 5, 2019
- Deepest Dive In Arctic Ocean – 5,550m, 24th August 2019
- 1st Manned Dive Of RMS Titanic In 15-Years (5 Dives Aug 2019)
- First Live Broadcast From Depth On International TV Network–Sky News, June 2019 (3-days live broadcasting)
- Deepest Diving 6-Person Acrylic Hull Sub – Triton 3300/6, Aug 2020
