Yachting USA – August 2019

BEING THE

FIRST PERSON

TO SEE

SOMETHING

is an experience that can surpass all others,

create exhilaration that borders on eupho-

ria and, maybe most important, win every

dinner-party conversation for a decade.

Craig Barnett, the sales-and-marketing

manager for Triton, says the desire to have

that kind of experience is a key reason

why so many yacht owners want personal

submarines. ¶ “Once you have your Ferrari

and your yacht and your private jet, and

you’ve traveled the world, it’s all about

augmenting your reality,” he says. “How

can you enhance your experience? With

a yacht, you’re scratching the surface of

the sea. With a sub, you’re discovering a

whole new level.” ¶ In fact, according to

insiders at Triton as well as U-Boat Worx,

yachtsmen are embracing more than just

the spirit of adventure. They’re ordering

semicustom and custom submarines the

same way they look beyond production

yachts to custom builds, wanting to have

a half-dozen or more friends and family

members underwater with them, as well as

fi neries that range from leather interiors

and Bluetooth sound systems to Cham-

pagne chillers and more. ¶ U-Boat Worx

alone is now off ering 100 options on its

various sub models, and Triton is seeing

yacht owners outfi t subs in increasingly

interesting ways. Hulls No. 9 and 10 are

now in build of the Triton 3300/3, which

is the company’s most popular model, able

to dive with three people (including the

pilot) to 3,300 feet. “You can fi t them

out with extra cameras and all that stuff

for documentary fi lmmaking,” Barnett

says. “You can load them up with scientifi c

ADVENTURE> PERSONAL SUBMARINES

2008

J.D. Ducanes, captain of

the 164-foot Trinity Mine

Games, trains on a Triton

1000/2 (carrying two

p e ople t o 1 , 0 0 0 f e e t). It b e -

comes the fi rst private sub-

marine available to guests

aboard a charter yacht.

2019

With explorer yachts

surging in popularity,

Dutch yacht builder

Oceanco unveils a 345-foot

concept design with room

for not one, but two subma-

rines, along with a heli-

copter and a land vehicle.

2012

Triton receives an order

to build its third 3300/3

(carrying three people

to 3,300 feet) for use on a

superyacht, within a few

months of the fi rst 3300/3

doing its maiden dive off

Grand Bahama.

THE RISE OF SUBMARINES ABOARD YACHTS

50 YACHTINGAUGUST2 0 1 9