Billionaire Richard Branson plots deep-sea adventure with solo submarine
For the first time, Richard Branson is setting his sights low. The billionaire businessman, adventurer and space explorer announced Tuesday his plan to dive solo to some of the Earth's deepest points.
Branson and a fellow adventurer, Orange County businessman Chris Welsh, unveiled their 18-foot deep-sea submarine and its ambitious itinerary at Newport Harbor Yacht Club, where Welsh is a member.
Within the next few months, Welsh plans to pilot the first solo submersible to the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench, 36,200 feet under the sea. After that, either Welsh or Branson will pilot the sub to four trenches in the world's other oceans.
"We'll discover a whole new world," Branson said.
He laid out his multiple motivations for the endeavor: to "educate the world about secrets hidden in its depths," to make scientific discoveries and catalog new species, and to break open the ocean to deep-sea tourism.
"Great businesses can come from great challenges," Branson said. "We believe there are thousands of people who would like to experience oceans, and become aquanauts."
Branson said this venture is like Virgin Galactic, his commercial space travel brand. About 250 of his potential astronaut customers have also said they'd like to explore the oceans, the British tycoon said.
For Virgin Oceanic's maiden voyages, Welsh assembled a team of scientists, engineers and filmmakers.
Katrina Edwards, director of the USC Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations, has been collaborating on the project. Her research focuses on "extreme life" in the seabed beneath these trenches. She wants to find out how far into the Earth's crust microorganisms can live.
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-- Mike Reicher in Newport Beach, Daily Pilot / Times Community News
Photo: Richard Branson, right, and partner Chris Welsh stand atop their submarine at a news conference in Newport Beach where they announced plans to visit the deepest points in the world's five oceans. Credit: Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images
EDITOR'S PICKS:
What if it fails? Won't that pressure crush his little ego?
Posted by: michael smith | April 05, 2011 at 05:06 PM
I do not begrudge Mr. Branson spending his money as he sees fit, on that jaunty but seemingly insubstantial craft.
But returning to the surface from onlt 200' down is doubtful, and at 36,000' depths, the pressure on the hull will be 2,400 times the pressures at sea level.
Most bathyscapes are built with a ridgidity that makes tanks seem flimsy.
Posted by: Sean B | April 05, 2011 at 05:10 PM
Man, I love this guy!! Nothing's off-limits!!! I mean, he's clearly going to die... but he's gonna go out in style!!
Posted by: Mark | April 05, 2011 at 05:17 PM
Only in Newport.
Posted by: Polomoche | April 05, 2011 at 07:25 PM
Please don't say that this will be turned into a tourist attraction. That's a great idea that nobody really needs, Richie Rich.
Posted by: bob-b | April 05, 2011 at 07:59 PM
He reminds me of Mr. Blake from the Adam Sandler movie Mr. Deeds.
Posted by: bobby | April 06, 2011 at 03:46 PM
The sub’s cockpit has a bubble-like dome made of quartz, which can withstand 13 million pounds of pressure across its surface, Virgin says.
Posted by: dave | April 07, 2011 at 01:18 AM
You better talk to graham hawks as he designed and may have built one of these years ago with Deep Ocean Engineering in Alameda,California or it may have been in Richmond on The San Francisco Bay. He and Sylvia E...? I saw the presentation some time back at the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Research Institute's spread in Moss Landing, California
Posted by: melvin paris | April 08, 2011 at 07:06 PM