Five prototypes from Germany, Canada, the United States and the Netherlands will participate in the event, promoted by the Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences in collaboration with the Agüimes City Council.
Arinaga Bay will host the first edition of the Gran Canaria Invitational this week , a unique and unusual competition for single-person, mechanically propelled submarines. The event is organized by the Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences in Cleves (Düsseldorf region, Germany) in collaboration with the Agüimes City Council. Five international teams, composed of university students of engineering and sports, will design, build, and crew their own submarines.
In addition to representatives of the host university, the teams will be from the École de Technologie Supérieure de Québec (Montreal, Canada), Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, United States), the University of Victoria (Canada) and the joint team from the Technical University of Delft and the Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands). Before setting out for the first time, the teams and crews were welcomed on Tuesday by the mayor of Agüimes, Óscar Hernández.
The races will be held from Monday to Friday, both in the morning and in the afternoon, with the Arinaga dock as the base of operations. The grand final will take place on Saturday morning. The distance to be covered, at a depth of about five metres, will range from the 100 linear metres of the first races to the 400 metres of the U-shaped circuit planned for the last race.
The submarines are only between 2,9 and 4,2 metres long and have a maximum diameter of 90 centimetres, just enough for one person to occupy them. The pilot enters through an upper hatch, lies face down and from his position controls navigation, always in contact with the outside world both by direct vision and by means of telecommunications equipment.
Propulsion is achieved by standard propellers located at the stern, powered by pedals, in combination with biomimetic blades mounted on the top and bottom of the hull, imitating the fins of fish. The prototypes can reach a top speed of up to 7 knots, approximately 14 kilometres per hour.
First edition in the open sea
These university competitions, very useful for practical learning based on the development of prototypes, have been taking place for decades in swimming pools around the world, until in 2023 the first navigation test at sea was carried out in Gran Canaria. The promoters of the initiative chose Arinaga attracted by its perfect conditions for diving and, after checking the characteristics of the place, decided to successfully organize this first international competition. Here they have the opportunity to test their prototypes in real circumstances, in a safe and controlled environment, with perfect environmental conditions and on a large underwater platform of enormous natural value.
Respect for the marine environment, as well as its care and conservation, is precisely another of the fundamental principles of this competition, which aspires to grow in future editions under the banner of the Subracing Series . The organizers have already extended an invitation to the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to participate next year. The goal is to create a traveling international circuit, with universities from around the world and at least 10 international venues, among which Gran Canaria already has a head start, thanks to the commitment of the Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences and the Agüimes City Council to the exceptional features of Arinaga Bay.
