Hold your breath no longer, Sunshine Coast. Australia’s first hybrid tourist submarine is only weeks away from taking locals and visitors on a unique and breathtaking underwater adventure.
Affectionately known as the “Yellow Submarine”, the vessel has sailed through its trials and testing and will next month bring passengers closer than ever before to the wonders of Mudjimba (Old Woman) Island.
Down Under Submarines founder and owner Andrey Alexeenko has confirmed that the multimillion-dollar SUBCAT-30 – based at the De Brett Seafood wharf on Mooloolaba Spit – will be ready to take its first public passengers in October. Ten have already signed on for the first mission.
The Mudjimba Island Dive tours between Mooloolaba and Mudjimba, circumnavigating the island aboard the sub, will last an hour and 40 minutes and include a 30 to 35-minute dive time.
The dive will take place at the southwest wind-protected side of the island, to a depth of 15m.
At that point, visibility is expected to be between 10 and 20m, allowing guests to enjoy unparalleled views of the coral garden, abundant marine life and create memories to last a lifetime.
“It is satisfying to see the submarine back underwater after four years since the last dive in Vanuatu,” Mr Alexeenko said.
The unique $3 million vessel, which underwent a $2 million refit after arriving in Brisbane from former operations in Vanuatu, is an eye-catching attraction in itself.
The SUBCAT lays claim to being the only passenger vessel in the world that is a hybrid submersible: travelling on the surface of the water like a normal sea vessel but also able to dive like a submarine when it arrives in the diving area.
The 65-tonne SUBCAT, which is 19.5m long and 6m wide, travels at a leisurely pace – an average 8 nautical miles an hour.
The yellow submarine can carry up to 27 passengers, two highly-trained tourist submarine pilots and a customer service host on each dive tour.
Guests will take in the sights as they leave the Mooloolah River and Mooloolaba Spit behind, pass by the Point Cartwright lighthouse and water tower and look back on Mooloolaba Beach before an exhilarating cruise on the waters of the Coral Sea, with views of the coastline, before heading closer to the whale-shaped island.
But heading “down under” is what the tourist submarine is all about and Mr Alexeenko has previously extolled the virtues of its special features.
SUBCAT-30’s cabin (pressure hull) is above the water and 14 viewports – each with a video monitor providing a real-time view from four cameras installed on the exterior of the vessel – will offer unobstructed views of the colourful underwater world.
“They (passengers) are on top of the water. Numerous viewports provide a view of what is happening on the surface before and during a dive,” Mr Alexeenko said.
“At the dive site, they actually see the breaking water on the dive and re-floating.
“No other submarines in the world can do that because they have the passenger cabin submerged at all times.
“So those passengers have to negotiate a vertical ladder which takes them below water level and a submersible begins its decent.
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“They can’t see how the air escapes from the ballast tanks, making water to boil while viewports are disappearing below the surface. Most people are excited just to see that, no matter what’s underwater.”
Another bonus is SUBCAT’s accessibility.
“The main difference from other passenger subs is the horizontal entrance,” Mr Alexeenko said.
“It’s not a door, it’s a hatch: 1m in diameter. It opens sideways – a round hatch, but it is horizontal not vertical.
“You don’t go down (into the hatch), you just step in.
“It allows easy access.
“Even people with disabilities who can make, say, 15 steps with support from the boarding ramp to the hatch, they can attend the dives.”
Two seating areas are available – at the aft, accessed by flat deck spaces on the sides, and inside a pressure hull the size of a small aircraft cabin – and once the vessel has arrived at the dive site, passengers will be able to stand up and walk around.
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For the comfort of passengers, the sub will only operate in conditions up to a 1.5m swell while in transfer, and 1.25m swell at the dive site.
A support vessel will operate alongside the tourist submarine for communication above water, to give resurfacing permission and to monitor changing weather conditions for the sub.
The idea to start submarine tours began with a conversation Mr Alexeenko had with his wife while driving in a car in mid-2016.
The former Russian athlete, coach, teacher and Gold Coast whale-watching operator did his research before solid planning was put in motion from October 2018.
Trials were held in the Brisbane River to test that all systems were working together, which was particularly important after a long period of inactivity in Vanuatu.
Hull cleaning and inspection, as well as charging of the ballast air, were undertaken in the lead-up to the first dive trials in Australian waters.
After arriving with little fanfare from Brisbane after a slow but steady 12-hour trip by sea to its new home in Mooloolaba on August 15, the SUBCAT-30 has been taken through its paces by highly trained crew members to meet all federal Australian Maritime Safety Authority and State Government requirements.
The first local submersion tests of the submarine followed soon after, while still at berth in the Mooloolah River, before others were completed offshore at the dive site.
A Spanish skipper and engineer have been helping two Australian crew with theoretical and practical submersible training since arriving in Mooloolaba.
Mr Alexeenko has said that the Australian skippers-in-training hold a Master Unlimited Australian qualification – a requirement for the foreign-flagged ships (the SUBCAT will operate under a Spanish flag).
But they have been relearning and adjusting to the smaller vessel under the tutelage of the Spanish pilot.
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Mr Alexeenko is excited to be able to cast off on this new tourism adventure for the Sunshine Coast.
“We will do a (practice operational) dive on the weekend and one more next week with our surveyor at the maximum depth of 30m,” Mr Alexeenko said.
“As we go along with the dives, we are also refining our procedures and schedule.
“We have had consistent interest from the public but we will start with one dive on Tuesdays/Thursdays and two dives on Saturdays/Sundays until we see true figures, as we must reach a minimum capacity of 15 passengers on each dive.”
Book the dive tours through the Down Under Submarines website.
WHY MUDJIMBA (OLD WOMAN ISLAND) IS SO SPECIAL
Mudjimba Island, known locally as “Old Woman Island”, lies about 1km off the mainland at Mudjimba Beach but is visible from many areas of the coastline and high spots such as Mt Coolum.
The 2ha island features prominently in two Indigenous Dreamtime stories.
The first story pertains to the name “Mudjimba” and refers to an Aboriginal legend about a woman who became stranded on the island, where she lived into old age.
The second story tells of the creation of Mudjimba Island, in which two men – Coolum and Ninderry – fought over a woman called Maroochy. Ninderry is said to have knocked Coolum’s head off in the fight and it landed in the sea to become Mudjimba Island.
Surfers, sailors, divers, paddlers and fishermen have long enjoyed the sight of the island’s visible layers of soft, light-coloured sandstone that date back to the Jurassic Age (190 million years ago).
The island also has its a spectacular underwater cliff on the western side.
The island has an exposed reef and point break with consistent surf that isn’t affected by the tide. The ideal swell direction is from the east.
