VICTOR VESCOVO
I n A pr i l , a s p a r t of t he F i v e D e ep s
Expedition to reach the deepest
points in each of the five oceans,
Victor Vescovo (above) became
the person who has dived the
deepest in human history. He
was aboard a Triton submarine
specially built for the cause,
one that—unlike some previous
specialty subs—could be used
like the space shuttle, going
down and up and back down
again to explore. “It opens up a
whole other level,” says Craig
Barnett, sales-and-marketing
manager for Triton. “That sub
could dive every day for as long as
we had supplies, provisions and
a weather window.” And with the
Five Deeps Expedition sched-
uled to conclude this year, the
sub is already on the brokerage
market, ready for a new owner
t o t a k e p o s s e s s ion a s e a rl y a s
September. The asking price,
Barnett says, is $48.9 million,
which includes the 223-foot
research vessel the sub loads
onto for transport. Meanwhile,
Triton is using its R&D knowl-
edge from the project to inform
new models. “We made some
major breakthroughs,” Barnett
says, “and that will affect
everything we do in the future.”Don Walsh (center) reached the bottom of the Marianas Trench in 1960. Here, he watches a monitor of Vescovo’s dive.
instrumentation. We have one owner
who uses it for archaeology and salvage.
They’ve been practical and useful. Now,
in the past 18 months, we did the concept
and engineering with Aston Martin to
take the sub into the serious luxury realm.
It’s not just a fanciful idea. We intend to
build them. That will happen.Ӧ The rise
in popularity of submarines is coincid-
ing with increased interest in expedition
and support yachts, which clients and
yacht builders have been embracing for
a number of years now. The current gen-
eration of yachtsmen is looking beyond
ports such as St. Barth’s and Monaco; they
want the ability to cruise far, far beyond the
traditional itineraries that their parents
enjoyed in the Caribbean and Mediterra-
nean. About 100 explorer yachts of at least
80 feet length overall are in build today,
Barnett says, and in May, the Monaco Yacht
Club hosted the first conference focused on
expedition-style yachting. Charter clients
also are looking for go-farther opportu-
nities, such as spending a week aboard
the 254-foot expedition yacht Legend in
Antarctica, where charters come with a
submarine. ¶ “It’s such a big and growing
sector,” Barnett says. Today’s yachtsmen
“want to do the Northwest Passage, go to
remote areas in the ice, have exploration
and adventure, and with that desire for
unique experiences comes the submers-
ibles.Ӧ As consumer demand for private
subs has grown, so has the variety of subs
available and the options for designing
and outfitting them. U-Boat Worx offers
20 models within five series, while Triton
offers nearly a dozen models within three
series. Both companies have lighter-weight
models designed specifically for crane
loading on and off superyachts or sup-
port vessels. ¶ And while yacht owners aADVENTURE>PERSONAL SUBMARINES