“Life Amphibious”: An underwater odyssey through the ... · Kaki Thalassa, Keratea 19001 ... The initial goal was to pedal 100 nautical miles from Corfu to ... Lloyd breathed

“Life Amphibious” Final Report: John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation

“Life Amphibious”: An underwater odyssey through the Ionian Sea in Omer

6 - a one-seater, non-propeller, human-powered submarine designed and built at the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), Canada.

Submission of Final Report to the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation Projects 2009

Group Coordinator: Mr. Lloyd Matthew Godson

Group Members: Mrs. Carolina Sarasiti

Mr. Simon Joncas


Lloyd Godson and Carolina Sarasiti PO Box 2135

Kaki Thalassa, Keratea 19001

Greece

Tel: 6982811915 and 6944320203

Fax: 22990 43013

Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Web: www.lifeamphibious.com

Simon Joncas Professeur adjoint / Assistant Professor

Département de génie de la production automatisée

École de technologie supérieure

1100 Notre-Dame, O.

Montréal, Québec, H3C 1K3

Canada

Tel: (514) 396 8993

Fax: (514) 396 8595

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.etsmtl.ca


Abstract: The “Life Amphibious” project was an underwater expedition led by Australian

marine scientist and adventurer Lloyd Godson and Greek Marketing

Communications / PR Specialist Carolina Sarasiti. The goal was to pedal 15

nautical miles from Kefalonia to Ithaca in a human-powered submarine. The aim

of the “Life Amphibious” project was threefold: to get young people excited about

science and engineering; to inspire environmental awareness; to provide

university students with an educational experience that translated their

theoretical knowledge into reality.

Omer 6 was the chosen subsea vehicle as it featured a biologically inspired

propulsion system design which mimics the efficient swimming style of penguins.

It was designed and built by university students at the École de technologie

supérieure (ÉTS) in Montreal, Canada and holds the world speed record of 4.916

knots in the one-seater / non-propeller category of human-powered submarine.

Although poor weather conditions limited the underwater expedition to

approximately five nautical miles, the “Life Amphibious” team solved all of their

challenges related to working in and exploring the ocean depths. They delivered

daily presentations to schools, social groups and individuals along the Ionian

Islands’ coastline throughout the expedition and organised an educational

exhibition at the Goulandris Natural History Museum on the projects conclusion.

Based on these positive outcomes and lessons learned, the team plans to repeat

the project on a larger scale in the summer of 2010.


Project Goals: “Life Amphibious” was the remarkable attempt of Lloyd Godson, a visionary

young Australian adventurer and marine scientist, to pedal through the Ionian

Sea off Greece in a human-powered submarine. It was an adventurous

expedition that combined Greek mythology and seafaring adventure with the

risks and thrills of high-tech invention.

The motivation behind the project was to get young people excited about science

and engineering by using technological innovation in a stimulating and

adventurous way, echoing the mythical journeys of Homer's Odysseus and Jules

Verne's Captain Nemo. The objective was to inspire public environmental

awareness in a fun, provocative and scientific manner and to provide university

students with an educational experience that translated their theoretical

knowledge into reality.

The initial goal was to pedal 100 nautical miles from Corfu to Ithaca in a one-

seater, non-propeller human-powered submarine designed and built by BURST

(Bath University Racing Submarine Team) students at the Ocean Technologies

Laboratory and supervised by Dr. William Megill. The “Life Amphibious” team

was later joined by Assistant Professor Simon Joncas along with three dedicated

past and present student members of the Omer submarine team at the École de

technologie supérieure (ÉTS) in Montreal, Canada.

After several reconnaissance missions to the Ionian Islands, the “Life

Amphibious” team decided to split the expedition into two phases. The first would

be a 15 nautical mile test or feasibility phase from Kefalonia to Ithaca starting

from Fiskardo on the 28th September and finishing in Vathy on the 3rd October

2009. The “test” phase would provide the team with an opportunity to encounter


and solve any problems before attempting the second phase of 100 nautical

miles from Corfu to Ithaca in 2010.

Both the BURST and Omer submarine teams planned to compete in the 10th

International Submarine Race TM (ISR) held in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, in June

2009 in preparation for the expedition. The ISR would allow the student teams to

asses their progress and make any necessary modifications to their human-

powered submarines before transporting them to Greece. Although both teams

managed to compete in the 10th ISR, the BURST team failed to meet the post-

competition deadlines and were forced to exit from the “Life Amphibious”

expedition one month prior to the scheduled start date.

Outcomes: Omer 6 was the chosen subsea vehicle as it features a unique biologically

inspired propulsion system design (biomimetics). It consists of two large wings

that follow an oscillatory movement that mimics the efficient swimming style of

penguins. It was designed and built by university students at the École de

technologie supérieure (ÉTS) in Montreal, Canada. The ÉTS Omer submarine

team set a new world speed record (4.916 knots) with Omer 6 in the one-seater /

non-propeller category at the 10th ISR (Figure 1). They also claimed the ‘Smooth

Operator Award’ at the same competition, which is a prize that recognizes team

efficiency (refer to the attached ‘Omer 6 Competition Report’ and ‘Omer 6

Technical Presentation’ documents).


Figure 1: The Omer submarine team at the 10th International Submarine Race TM (ISR) held in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, in June 2009.

The ÉTS student club agreed to contribute up to CDN$5,000 to the “Life

Amphibious” project by sending a four person team to Greece. The team

consisted of Assistant Professor Simon Joncas (former ÉTS student, 1994-1997

Omer submarine team leader and faculty advisor of the Omer submarine team),

Tommy Gagnon (ÉTS post-graduate student and former Omer submarine team

member), Terry Savard (former ÉTS student and Omer submarine team

member) and Jack Boivin (current ÉTS undergraduate student and 2010 Omer

submarine team leader).


Figure 2: Terry Savard and Tommy Gagnon preparing Omer 6 for the “Life Amphibious” expedition.

Terry Savard and Tommy Gagnon (Figure 2) prepared Omer 6 for the “Life

Amphibious” expedition during their summer vacations. After the necessary

technical modifications and safety additions were made (refer to the attached

‘Omer 6 Safety’ document), Omer 6 was tested in a swimming pool in Montreal

(Figure 3) and shipped to Greece via air freight in mid September.

Figure3: The Omer submarine team conducting tests in a freshwater swimming pool in Montreal, Canada prior to shipping Omer 6 to Greece.


The “Life Amphibious” team members, accompanied by Adrianos Georgantas of

Athens based production company AGFilms, met for the first time on Saturday

26th September 2009 at Fiskardo’s Nautical and Environmental Club (FNEC) on

Kefalonia. On Sunday September 27th 2009, Omer 6 was assembled at FNEC’s

environmental museum (Figure 4) which served as the team’s expedition base.

Since the Ministry of Commercial Shipping’s Port Police Management

unexpectedly rejected the teams request for permission to place Omer 6 in the

sea, they were forced to conduct their in-water tests in a nearby freshwater

swimming pool (Figure 5).

Figure 4: Omer 6 was assembled at the environmental museum; part of Fiskardo’s Nautical and Environmental Club (FNEC), while Adrianos Georgantas of Athens based production company AGFilms captures the “Life Amphibious” project on film.


Figure 5: Lloyd Godson pilots Omer 6 for the first time, under the direction of Assistant Professor Simon Joncas (background) and Terry Savard (left).

The team used this time to practice safety procedures and to trim the buoyancy

of Omer 6 with led weights as Lloyd piloted the submarine from one side of the

pool to the other. Based on Lloyd’s gas consumption the team calculated that he

would have approximately 1.25 hours of normal breathing air (21% oxygen) at an

average depth of five meters before needing to surface and refill the two scuba

cylinders. This was calculated in the following way:

Lloyd breathed 40 litres per minute (LPM) at 0 meters of sea water (msw). At 5

msw or 1.5 atmospheres absolute (ata), this equates to 40 x 1.5 = 60 LPM. The

two scuba cylinders had a combined volume of 19 litres (L) and were filled at a

pressure of 232 bar (refer to the attached ‘Tanks Configuration’ document). Lloyd


therefore had 19 x 232 = 4408 L of breathing air, allowing him to stay submerged

for 4408 / 60 = ~75 minutes or 1.25 hours.

On Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th September 2009, the “Life Amphibious” team

prepared their support vessel Neptune 3, FNEC’s research diving boat, for the

launching and retrieving of Omer 6 according to its overall dimensions (refer to

the attached ‘Omer 6 Overall Dimensions’ document). A steel and wooden beam

with a sliding chain pulley block was used to move the 150 kilogram fully laden

submarine, with the wings removed, in and out of Neptune 3 (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Omer 6 being lowered into the sea along a steel and wooden beam equipped with a sliding chain pulley block.

Late on Tuesday afternoon, the Ministry of Commercial Shipping’s Port Police

Management reversed their decision and the team was free to commence the

expedition. However, due to lost time, the deep channel crossing between Ithaca

and Kefalonia was bypassed and the team headed directly to Frikes in the north

east of Ithaca.

On the morning of Wednesday 30th September, the “Life Amphibious” team

delivered their first school presentation. Greek Marketing Communications / PR

Specialist Carolina Sarasiti explained to 13 primary schoolchildren and two

teachers from Stavros, Ithaca, the devastating effects that "Small Garbage" have


on the marine environment (Figure 7). Entanglement and ingestion of the small

pieces of personal waste, casually discarded on beaches or directly into the sea,

accounts for the deaths of over 100,000 sea mammals and sea turtles in the

world each year. The students were given ‘Small Garbage Leaflets’ (attached)

produced by MEDASSET (the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea

Turtles).

Figure 7: Carolina Sarasiti and Lloyd Godson deliver their first school presentation to 13 primary schoolchildren from Stavros, Ithaca. Their presentation aimed to get young people excited about science and engineering by using technological innovation in a stimulating and adventurous way and to inspire environmental awareness in a fun, provocative and scientific manner.

Lloyd explained that Omer 6 is what’s known as a “wet” submarine, meaning it’s

completely filled with water, making it like an underwater bike. He demonstrated

that instead of using a propeller, Omer 6 has two large wings that move up and

down like a penguin. The schoolchildren learnt that Omer 6 is constructed from

lightweight materials such as carbon fiber and aluminium and has a shark-like

hydrodynamic shape for reaching greater speeds through the water. They also

learnt that breathing air is delivered to the pilot via a SCUBA regulator and two air

tanks installed inside the submarine. The children took turns moving the

mechanical levers that control the steering and the door release mechanism.

Lastly, Lloyd explained that the dive computer mounted on the clear

polycarbonate window monitors the pilot’s air supply, gas consumption and depth

and has a 3D digital compass to assist in underwater navigation (Figure 8).


Figure 8: Lloyd Godson explains the function of the dive computer mounted on the clear polycarbonate window of Omer 6.

On the afternoon of Wednesday 30th September, Omer 6 was tested in a

protected cove to the south of Frikes. It was the first time that Omer 6 had been

tested in the sea, and provided the team with a good opportunity to identify any

problems before venturing into deep blue water. A 40 meter long rope was

placed on the seafloor at a depth of about 6 meters, parallel to a small beach.

Lloyd’s task was to pilot Omer 6 in a straight line above the rope from one end to

the other. Safety divers at either end of the rope were there to catch Omer 6, spin

it around 180 degrees and give Lloyd the signal to pedal again. This was

repeated several times until Lloyd was able to perform the task without fault.


The team’s next challenge was for Lloyd to navigate Omer 6 in deep blue water

where there was no visible contact with the seafloor (Figure 9). Lloyd set a

bearing, perpendicular to the beach, on his 3D digital compass and attempted to

follow it. The safety divers followed his surface maker buoy, which indicated his

position underwater and limited his depth to seven meters via a retractable cord,

in a small inflatable dinghy. Theoretically, the buoyancy of this buoy was large

enough to prevent the submarine plunging deeper than seven meters even with

full thrust applied towards the bottom. After several failed attempts to navigate

Omer 6 in a straight line, the team continued to Kioni to work on a more efficient

system of navigating underwater.

Figure 9: Following a bearing on his 3D digital compass, Lloyd Godson attempts to pilot Omer 6 in a straight line, perpendicular to the beach, while the rest of the “Life Amphibious” team trails his surface marker buoy in a small inflatable boat. His target is Neptune 3, visible in the background. However, he instead ended up zigzagging his way towards the rocky coastline off to the right hand side.


On the team’s arrival in Kioni, they were greeted by children and adults wanting

to learn more about the submarine and the “Life Amphibious” expedition in

general. They had read about the project on promotional posters (refer to the

attached ‘Life Amphibious Poster’) which gave a brief project description and the

expected arrival dates into the ports the team intended to visit on the way to their

final destination of Vathy.

On the morning of Thursday 1st October, the “Life Amphibious” team set about

finding a solution to Lloyd’s underwater navigation problem. They devised a

system using a 40 meter long rope with white flags tied at 1 meter intervals and

an orange marker at the midway point. The plan was to tow the rope at a depth of

approximately 8 meters behind Neptune 3 using 10 – 20 kilogram lead weights

tied at either end to keep it horizontal in the water column. In this way, Lloyd

would be able to pilot Omer 6 above the rope, following the flags as a guide. The

orange marker would indicate his position along the rope.

The system was tested in a deep water bay close to the port of Kioni. A buoy with

a ‘diver below’ flag was connected to the rear end of the rope thereby marking its

position on the surface and allowing the safety divers to follow Lloyd from a safe

distance in a small inflatable dinghy. After several successful attempts, the team

decided it was safe and feasible for Lloyd to attempt the remaining distance from

Kioni to Vathy in Omer 6.

On the afternoon of Thursday 1st October, Lloyd pedaled Omer 6 south towards

Vathy, the capital and main harbor of Ithaca. A GPS (Global Positioning System)

measured his speed at 3.5 to 4.5 knots (6.5 to 8.5 km/hr). On one occasion, the

surface marker buoy disappeared from the surface indicating that the buoyancy

of this buoy was in fact insufficient to prevent the submarine plunging deeper


than seven meters. The surface maker buoy quickly returned to the surface,

suggesting that Lloyd had realized the problem and ascended to a safe depth.

Due to the water clarity, it was easy for the safety divers to maintain visual

contact with Omer 6 at all times.

Lloyd managed to pedal Omer 6 underwater for approximately 5.5 nautical miles

(ten kilometers) in total. During this time, Lloyd’s dive computer constantly

monitored his gas consumption and frequently alerted him of an ‘Increased

Workload’. During a typical dive in Omer 6 (Figure 10), his average gas

consumption (39.6 LPM) and maximum momentary gas consumption (65.7 LPM)

was approximately 2.5 times higher than his baseline data (Figure 11) collected

from a relaxed and unstressed SCUBA dive conducted under similar conditions

(weather, air temperature, water temperate, visibility, average depth, maximum

depth, time of day and dive time). This indicates the exceptional fitness required

in order to pilot Omer 6, with its unorthodox propulsion system, for an extended

period of time.

Figure 10 illustrates graphically that Lloyd also struggled to maintain a constant

depth while piloting Omer 6. However, this only became noticeable to the safety

divers at the 28 minute point of this particular dive when Lloyd plunged below the

seven meter limit of the surface marker buoy’s retractable cord. The amount of

Styrofoam used therefore needs to be calculated more carefully for the second

phase of the project to ensure that the surface marker buoy is in fact buoyant

enough to prevent this from happening. An electronic direction system with an

auto-pilot using image recognition and depth as an input will also be examined as

a possibility to resolve the problem of maintaining a constant depth (refer to the

attached ‘Debrief’ document).


Figure 10: A typical dive profile in Omer 6 for Lloyd Godson. The red line indicates periods of ‘Increased Workload’. Note the erratic changes in depth (m). At the 28 minute point, Lloyd plunged below seven meters, dragging the surface marker buoy beneath the surface.

Figure 11: A typical relaxed and unstressed SCUBA dive profile for Lloyd Godson, showing average gas consumption (16.8 l/min), maximum momentary gas consumption (23.9 l/min), dive time (39 minutes), maximum depth (9.0 m) and average depth (5.1 m). His average heart rate was 90 beats per minute, which will be used as his base heart rate in the second phase.


Poor weather on Friday 2nd October prevented any further travel in Omer 6 along

the Ithacan coastline. The team decided to head directly for Vathy to do some

underwater filming (Figure 12) in a protected bay close to the main port. The

footage was used to produce a “Life Amphibious” promotional DVD (attached) in

order to attract additional sponsors and interest from networks to produce a TV

documentary of the second phase from Corfu to Ithaca in 2010.

Figure 12: Alexander Sarasitis of Trygons Designs films Lloyd Godson piloting Omer 6 off the Ithacan coastline.

The weather continued to deteriorate on the final day of the expedition. However,

the “Life Amphibious” team had solved all of their challenges related to working in

and exploring the ocean depths. The team exhibited the submarine and were

present to answer questions from schoolchildren and individuals in Vathy (Figure


13). As the project was a registered activity of the global Clean Up the World

campaign, it aimed to inspire communities to clean up, fix up and conserve the

environment (http://activities.cleanuptheworld.org/?3472/365/en). Held in

partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, it mobilises an

estimated 35 million people across 120 countries.

On their return to Athens, the “Life Amphibious” team organised an educational

exhibition at the Goulandris Natural History Museum. Together with the President

of the Goulandris Natural History Museum Mrs. Niki Goulandris and the

Australian Ambassador HE Mr. Jeremy Newman, Lloyd Godson and Carolina

Sarasiti will present the exhibition “Water Marks” Australian Underwater

Adventures from 17 December 2009 till 6 January 2010 at the GAIA Center (refer

to the attached ‘Water Marks’ document). At the opening event, Lloyd Godson

and Carolina Sarasiti will deliver a speech on their innovative projects and a ten-

minute video (attached) about their underwater Ionian expedition in a human-

powered submarine will be screened. The pioneering submarine forms part of the

exhibition along with photographs from the “Life Amphibious” project.

Figure 13: Carolina Sarasiti talks with schoolchildren from Vathy, Ithaca on the projects conclusion.


The “Life Amphibious” team have also been approached by Mr. Spyros Mercouris

who is organising an exhibition with the preliminary title of "Man and Nature is

One". The exhibition is a Greek and Chinese collaboration about traditional

medicine, health and the environment and will take place in 2011 at the UN

building in New York City. Mr. Mercouris would like to include the “Life

Amphibious” project in the exhibition.

The test phase of the “Life Amphibious” project also appeared in international

media, including: ‘Skai TV Eco News’, ‘Real News’ (‘Real Planet’ attached),

‘Eleftherotypia’ (attached), ‘Australian Geographic’, ‘Border Mail’ (attached),

‘Athens News’ and ‘X-Life’ (‘X-Life Front Cover’ and ‘X-Life Cover Story’

attached). In addition, Lloyd Godson and Carolina Sarasiti introduced the project

at the Ecolife conference in Athens with NGO project partner MEDASSET (refer

to the attached ‘Ecolife Press Release’ document).

Conclusion: The “Life Amphibious” project was the first saltwater test of technology that has

previously been limited to 100 meter sprints in a freshwater basin. Based on the

positive outcomes and lessons learned, the team plans to repeat the project on a

larger scale in the summer of 2010 by attempting the second phase of 100

nautical miles from Corfu to Ithaca. They plan to use “Omer 7”, the latest

generation of submarine designed and built by the Omer submarine team at the

ÉTS. “Omer 7” is a two-seater non-propeller submarine which also uses its lateral

wings' movement to gain speed. During the 10th ISR “Omer 7” recorded a

maximum speed of 5.1333 knots (refer to the attached ‘Omer 7 Competition

Report’ document). Work has commenced on preparing “Omer 7” for the second

phase of the project and the team is actively fundraising and looking for project

partners.


Acknowledgements: The “Life Amphibious” team would like to thank the John S. Latsis Public Benefit

Foundation, Australian Geographic Society, Université du Québec École de

technologie supérieure (ÉTS), Australian Embassy in Athens (refer to the

attached ‘Ambassador Letter’ document), Goulandris Natural History Museum,

Fiskardo's Nautical and Environmental Club (FNEC), Yannick Jago, Evangelos

Sarasitis, SCUBAPRO / UWATEC, Victoria S.A., Bauer Kompressoren, Iliadis

Bros Co., Submersible Systems, Inc., MEDASSET (Mediterranean Association to

Save the Sea Turtles), Samies Girl, polka dot design, Timmissartok Foundation,

Trygons Designs, Olympus Europa, Municipality of Ithaca and the Kefalonia and

Ithaca Prefecture.

“Life Amphibious”: An underwater odyssey through the ... · Kaki Thalassa, Keratea 19001 ... The initial goal was to pedal 100 nautical miles from Corfu to ... Lloyd breathed

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