Exciting update folks,
The ambition of our crew never ceases to amaze, once again.
After many long hours yesterday in the shop, the submarine was working better than ever. So, with the ballast tanks fixed, the seats fastened, and the electric motor upgraded, Brian and I decided to GO FOR IT and take the submarine into the deep blue sea. It just seemed like the logical step to take after the successful pool dive on Sunday, so we just went for it.
So we took the sub to La Jolla Shores, a spot where Brian and I have dived many times before, and therefore would be most comfortable testing out the submarine in open water. So we loaded it into the back of Robert's pickup truck and drove on down with no troubles at all. That was until we tried to get it in the water. At the same time, a United States Coast Guard vessel was heading down the coastline and spotted us carrying the big, bright, yellow submarine towards the shore. All of the sudden, the boat diverted its course and headed full speed in our direction. Brian, Robert and I were busted...for what exactly, we did not know.
As it turns out, the submarine's Washington registration was not valid in the Great State of California, as the Coast Guard official told us, and we would not be able to put the submarine in the water without a new license - something that would take us 6-8 weeks to acquire. Determined not to be stopped in our pursuit to take the submarine into the bosom of the Pacific, we thought long and hard between ourselves what we could do.
The answer struck all three of us at once: Mexico. Freedom. We may not have the credentials to put this sub in U.S. waters, but if we went south of the border, those laws couldn't follow us. So we set our Garmin GPS for Ensenada, Mexico (where I had been once and had a pretty good time).
Everything after that went smooth as butter: we got the submarine there, paid a local fisherman to take us a half mile out, and placed her in the water. We forgot to bring our cameras amidst all the excitement, however one of the fisherman that came out with us managed a few snapshots with his suprisingly amazing camera:
Brian in the sub, with the Ensenada harbor in the background.
Peter, Brian, and Robert in the beautiful Mexican waters
Brian and Peter in the sub, later on when clouds rolled in
Happy April Fool's Day everyone. We'll keep you up to date as to when the next ocean dive will go down.
ahahahahaha AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!
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