Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras:
Karl Stanley has a hobby. He likes to build stuff in his shed. Being a dab hand with a welding torch and knowing a way around a motor helps him in creating rather unique machines. Unlike most tinkerers who play with old Ford cortinas or motorbikes, Karl builds submarines. Then takes people like me down to the bottom of the carribean sea in them.
His latest creation is 'Idabel'. It cost 250,000 dollars to make, by bashing bits of metal together, and I am her 420th dive. And guess what? The guy has painted the damn thing yellow. Why the hell am I going 1000ft into the ocean in what is basically a water version of a kit car based on a cheesy Beatles Song?? I think the heat is getting to me.
Myself and Dragoman's SpannerMonkey Aussie Mike, bravely squeeze into the viewing chamber at the front of the sub. It's 'comfortable' enough for two but can sit three if you're small enough and don't go over the weight restrictions. Worringly there doesn't seem that many dials or switches. There's a guage to tell you how deep you are and a themometer. Karl stands up in a seperate area at the back and drives the thing. Probably using string. Weight distribution is done by sandbags thrown on the floor. Hmm..
On the way out to the Caymen Shelf, a vast ridge stretching down 25,000 feet, we pass Karl's first creation built when he was a teenager. It has now been layed to rest and is a playground for parrot fish and is starting to grow coral. I hope that isn't a bad sign.
Once we start to dive, things get interesting. We plummet down to 1000ft, in about 15 minutes. It gets dark. The rock starts to turn black. You can go down into the abyss and play with weird monsters at 2000ft ( for a lot more dollars) but I think this is enough. Scenes from 'Das Boot' flash before my eyes. Aussie Mike starts to get motion sickness. Our tiny fan isn't keeping us very cool. We start to sweat. Alot.
After the submarine levels out, we start to relax and enjoy ourselves. Karl turns on the head lights (they look suspicuosly like ones from an old mini) and gets out a lazer pointer and points out different types of coral, fish and weird urchins. We see tiny lobsters, butterfly fish in resplendent purple, blue blackjacks, delicate starfish crabs and dancing orange roughy's.
The sub manouvers on a sixpence and we spin in and out of the shelf wall. We pass the spot where a man who's girlfriend had split up with him took one final deep dive into the sea. He kept going until he passed out. We see the remains of his scuba gear next to some black coral.
Near to the end of our 90 minute trip we reach a whole bank of coral teaming with life. shoals of fish dance around the limestone rocks, and every colour imaginable comes into view. All worries of disaster have now left our minds and we concentrate on the amazing display. This is such a rich habitat for marine life, I'm priveledged to see it before the joys of global warming heat the water to an extent that the coral will start to die. It is an animal after all.
When we get back to base. we grin from ear to ear and the absurdity of it all. The machine worked, we saw a whole different world and most importantly we came back alive. I am now a submariner folks. All together now...Dive! Dive! Dive!
His latest creation is 'Idabel'. It cost 250,000 dollars to make, by bashing bits of metal together, and I am her 420th dive. And guess what? The guy has painted the damn thing yellow. Why the hell am I going 1000ft into the ocean in what is basically a water version of a kit car based on a cheesy Beatles Song?? I think the heat is getting to me.
Myself and Dragoman's SpannerMonkey Aussie Mike, bravely squeeze into the viewing chamber at the front of the sub. It's 'comfortable' enough for two but can sit three if you're small enough and don't go over the weight restrictions. Worringly there doesn't seem that many dials or switches. There's a guage to tell you how deep you are and a themometer. Karl stands up in a seperate area at the back and drives the thing. Probably using string. Weight distribution is done by sandbags thrown on the floor. Hmm..On the way out to the Caymen Shelf, a vast ridge stretching down 25,000 feet, we pass Karl's first creation built when he was a teenager. It has now been layed to rest and is a playground for parrot fish and is starting to grow coral. I hope that isn't a bad sign.
Once we start to dive, things get interesting. We plummet down to 1000ft, in about 15 minutes. It gets dark. The rock starts to turn black. You can go down into the abyss and play with weird monsters at 2000ft ( for a lot more dollars) but I think this is enough. Scenes from 'Das Boot' flash before my eyes. Aussie Mike starts to get motion sickness. Our tiny fan isn't keeping us very cool. We start to sweat. Alot.After the submarine levels out, we start to relax and enjoy ourselves. Karl turns on the head lights (they look suspicuosly like ones from an old mini) and gets out a lazer pointer and points out different types of coral, fish and weird urchins. We see tiny lobsters, butterfly fish in resplendent purple, blue blackjacks, delicate starfish crabs and dancing orange roughy's.
The sub manouvers on a sixpence and we spin in and out of the shelf wall. We pass the spot where a man who's girlfriend had split up with him took one final deep dive into the sea. He kept going until he passed out. We see the remains of his scuba gear next to some black coral.
Near to the end of our 90 minute trip we reach a whole bank of coral teaming with life. shoals of fish dance around the limestone rocks, and every colour imaginable comes into view. All worries of disaster have now left our minds and we concentrate on the amazing display. This is such a rich habitat for marine life, I'm priveledged to see it before the joys of global warming heat the water to an extent that the coral will start to die. It is an animal after all.
When we get back to base. we grin from ear to ear and the absurdity of it all. The machine worked, we saw a whole different world and most importantly we came back alive. I am now a submariner folks. All together now...Dive! Dive! Dive!
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