Hello Everyone! This is where I will be posting daily updates about the Sanborn Submariners! My name is Sarah Bufano. I am an aspiring journalist and a rising Senior at Sanborn Regional High School. I am honored to be chosen as the Sanborn Submarine Team's on-site reporter! Mr. Enright, Mr. Gray, and the Submariners have been working very hard preparing for the race. To learn more about the Submariners and their recent accomplishments, click the links below.
Well Wishes for the Submarine Team
Submariners On UNH's Linkedin Page
June 17, 2023
The Submariners made headlines in the Atlantic Marine Energy Center's Linkedin account! This account is run by advisors at UNH. I was lucky enough to meet one of them during the team's last trip to UNH!
Click the icon below to view the Linkedin post.
June 19, 2023
The Count-Down is ON!
Even though school is out, a few dedicated members went to the shop room to work and finish up a couple of things on the submarine. We made sure that safety was the number one concern when working with metal and other mediums.
We were delighted to work under the expertise of Christopher Zigmont, owner of "The Alternate Route". Chris is a bike specialist. He was working with the submariners in order to fix the gear system on the submarine. To view Chris's website, click HERE. As I quickly realized, the submarine is a complicated, fancy, underwater bicycle.
Above: Chris Working on Submarine
The Journey Begins
Everyone arrived at 7 am on Friday to board the van on our way to Maryland! We got a wonderful goodbye from all of the Sanborn teachers, waving outside of the building.
The students in attendance include: Rex Sullivan, Lila Woekel, Bud Wise, Sarah Bufano, Lokas Youssef, William Flaherty, Kevin Lawit, and Matthew Martin. All students were driven in the school van by Dr. Timothy Young ( Doc), while Mr. James Enright (Jim) drove the utility truck towing the legendary submarine. Kelly Cullivan (chaperone) drove in her car behind the caravan. Two-way radios were used to communicate between vehicles regarding directions and fun historical facts (courtesy of Mr. Enright)!
While crossing the Deleware Bridge, Mr. Enright (with the help of encouraging peers) conquered his long-held fear of bridges over open water (gephyrophobia). We are so proud of him!
Many road games were played. Lokas created a logistics game where everyone needs to guess the pattern rule. Kevin is still very determined to figure out the rule.
Finally, after traveling through 9 states, we arrived at the hotel at 11:30 pm after 15 hours of driving. The traffic set us back a few hours. We all went to bed and will be ready for tomorrow!
Day 1: June 23, 2023
Day 2: June 24, 2023
Lake Pheonix
Day two arrives! With an early morning wake-up, we were on our way to Lake Pheonix. As it is an old quarry filled with water, there are deliberately sunken items for divers to explore. As the team reported, there is a plane, two boats, a helicopter, and a telephone booth. Divers even went inside the plane and helicopter. The drive down to Virginia was 2.5 hours without traffic...and 5 hours with.
Once we drove down the long dirt road leading into the camp, we checked in at the small store.
The lake was beautiful! The divers seemed to really enjoy it. There was an abundance of wildlife, in and out of the water. There were small and large-mouth bass, sunfish, mino, and many more swimming about.
Some wildlife even interacted with the team! I guess they wanted to join our journey! I had a run-in with a butterfly while I was taking their picture. It even flew around me in a circle, almost touched me, and then stopped for an action shot.
Bud Wise didn't have such a positive interaction with a large-mouth bass. He and I were putting our feet in the water while the divers were under. There were many fish swimming around us, but none got too close (still within kicking distance). Then, one large-mouth bass quickly swam toward the others (near us) and kept trying to bite his peers! Bud took his foot out of the water and was wagging it above, enticing the fish to come closer. All of a sudden, the crazy fish jumped out (about
an inch) above the water and bit Bud's right big toe! We both screamed and accidentally caused a scene. I started running away as Bud chased me calling, "It's a fish! It can't chase you!"
After the divers came up, we all had fun swimming in the lake...though some (me) were still wary of the fish.
ISR - Set up
Day 3: June 25, 2023
Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper
First day at the races! Everyone was excited to see the military base. We saw official buildings and military equipment. Reasonably, we are not allowed to take pictures of anything outside of the International Submarine Race (ISR) area. Since we were one of the first teams to arrive on Sunday, we got the first pick of grass space. We set up and got right to work fixing up the submarine. All hands were on deck. We went inside and filled out some paperwork. The divers got signed up for a dive check since they all are newly certified.
Many officials came around to see our submarine and provide suggestions. Ed, who is a judge, gave us tips on how to drive the submarine. For example, he explained to us that the steering underwater is slow; Matt should not overcorrect any turns.
We were able to get a dry check of the submarine on our first day. Around five experts gave our submarine a look over. They were very thorough and asked many questions. Nothing was left unquestioned.
One of the judges was an astronaut! You can learn more information about Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper by clicking on her image.
Day 4: June 26, 2023
ISR - Set Up Pt. 2
On Wednesday, we finished making some adjustments and waited for a wet check. Which never arrived. There was a delay in the scheduled times and when it was almost our turn, we were sent back to the hotel due to the impending thunderstorm. The day wasn't a total bust, we made friends with the team from Florida Atlantic University! They really marketed their school to us by telling us that is affordable with a 75% acceptance rate, as well as an amazing ocean engineering program!
After a long and tiring day at the races, we all went back to the hotel and most went swimming (when weather permitted), rested, or hit the gym. This is when we meet with our principal! She is joining us for a few days during our trip. After that, Ms. Michitson treated us all to a wonderful meal at Olive Garden. We all agreed this was a nice change from fast food.
As I am writing this, I remember that while we were leaving Pheonix Lake a horsefly landed on Rex's arm. He brushed it off quickly and it landed, in a daze, in his shoe. He then made a tight fist and proceeded to PUNCH the horsefly. Problem solved.
Commonly Used Terms:
Completed Run: The submarine travels from the start to the finish line without breaching the surface or hitting the walls, all while the propellor continuously spins.
Queue: The line-up detailing which team is allowed to race their submarine next. Similar to the batting line-up in baseball.
Knot: the measure of one nautical mile per hour used to find the speed of the submarine. Similar to mph...but for measuring distance ontop/in the water.
Nose Cone: Clear cone-shaped item which is placed on the front of the submarine to allow the driver to look out into the test tank
David Taylor Model Basin: Testing tank and building where the test tank is held at the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center.
ISR: International Submarine Races
FURE: Foundation for Underwater Research and Education. This is the non-profit organization that hosts the International Submarine Races.
MASN: Master at Arms Seaman. This is a Naval ranking that states that the title holder is responsible for law enforcement and force protection in the United States Navy.
After the early end of races on Monday, we were first in the queue (line-up) to get our wet-check! We got there bright and early at 7:45 am and immediately started suiting up to go in the water. After the submarine successfully passed its wet check, the Sanborn Submariners were allowed to immediately start a run! Everyone knew that we passed the wet check because Rex went up to the surface and triumphantly yelled! The entire basin errupted in applause. Since not all teams got their wet check done, the queue was empty. No lines, no waiting! Everyone was so excited.
Unfortunately, the run was not completed. It didn't even start. The nose cone fell off while Matt was entering the submarine underwater. They had to get out of the water and fix the nose cone. They were able to try again though! The next two runs proved that the steering was not up to par due to the fact that the submarine crashed into the left wall both times. As they were going to exit the water, an emergency call was released demanding everyone go inside the building to shelter from a thunderstorm. Still, the teams were unable to leave the water because the carts (used to transport the submarine on land), were kept just outside the door. Our team was stuck in the water for about 3 hours (including racing time). As one of our members pointed out, they were cold, tired, thirsty, and needed to use the restroom.
ISR - First Test Run!
Day 5: June 27, 2023
Once they were allowed to exit the water, we discovered that two of our pop-up tents broke and everything was soaked. To make matters worse, we had just ordered pizza before the rain. We all ate soggy pizza for lunch that day.
Day 6: June 28, 2023
ISR - Success!
After a discouraging previous day, today was a success! We completed our first successful run! Divers spent the first half of the day working to fix the steering and had time to complete one run before they went to present a speech to the judges. At this time, the Sanborn Submariners are the 3rd fastest among the 5 teams that completed a run (19 teams in total); and the only high school (out of 4) to complete a run! We traveled at a speed of 1.1 knots. Everyone looked so happy when they were exiting the test tank!
During the time when the divers were working on the submarine, I went around and conducted many interviews. I talked to everyone from the badge printer to the president of the Foundation for Underwater Research and Education (FURE). During my correspondence with the president of FURE, he invited me to attend the VIP Sponsor's Reception tomorrow afternoon! He suggested that this would be a wonderful opportunity to get another perspective on the race.
After eating deli sandwiches for lunch, the team went into the judges room to give their presentation. Everyone agrees that they nailed it! I had already interviewed most of the judges,
so it was nice to see familiar faces in the room.
After giving a killer presentation, we packed up the site to head back to the hotel. This is where the fun began. Almost all members went with Mr. Enright to visit Washington D.C.! On the way, we stopped at a delicious Italian restaurant for dinner and got ice cream at a shop nearby. After about an hour of driving, we arrived in D.C.! We walked to the White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and WWII Memorial. We walked for a total of approx. 4 miles and arrived back at the hotel at around 11:30 pm. Even though we all were exhausted, we agreed that it was a lot of fun and a great experience!
ISR - More Testing
After being out late last night, we woke up as best we could and tried to hit the ground running, as it was the last full day of racing. We were able to make two runs, both of which veered left into the wall. Still, our spirits were not let down! After relaxing for a few minutes, divers made some repairs to the submarine and asked other teams for advice regarding the tendency to lean left. During this time, I attended the VIP Sponsors Reception and conducted many more interviews. I will admit that approaching adults and introducing myself was a little stressful, as I am usually not one to put myself out there like that, and finding the right people to talk to was difficult, but I am glad I did it. The team was so supportive of me and I really appreciate it.
With this newfound confidence, I was able to speak with a news broadcaster from NBC and receive his email address! While I was waiting for a chance to speak with the newscaster, I was standing far back near where the submarines are lowered into the water. This is when one of the gentlemen in the Navy Reserve approached me. At first, I thought that MASN (Master at Arms Seaman) Martinez was going to tell me not to stand where I was, but that is the opposite of what happened. After introducing ourselves, I explained that I was hoping to speak to the NBC reporter. Within minutes, he was walking me up to the reporter and introducing me as comfortably as a long-time friend would. I am ever so grateful for meeting MASN Martinez and learning from his confidence.
Day 7: June 29, 2023
Day 8: June 30, 2023
ISR - Last Day
Racing was only allowed during the first half of today. The second half was for a cook-out (provided) and awards ceremony. This meant that almost every team wanted to attempt a run. Luckily, we were able to attempt one run. Matt Martin gave up his role as the pilot so Rex Sullivan could take a turn pedaling the submarine. Both Rex and Matt did an amazing job and everyone is so proud of both of them! Unfortunately, the last run was left uncompleted, but no one seemed too upset about it because we all had such a fun time. During this run, I was watching the events unfold on the underwater camera when one gentleman behind me started asking technical questions. He seemed disappointed that I couldn't answer his questions, even when I explained that I am the team news reporter. I am glad I stayed to listen to him though, because as he was walking away I heard his wife say to him (and everyone around), "Wasn't this the team you told me was going to do amazing?" This made everything worthwhile. Everyone on the team seemed happy to hear this story.
After getting out of the test tank, we all packed up our belongings and got in line for the cookout. The food was delicious! Everyone, especially the divers, really appreciated the hot meal.
We quickly said goodbye to the basin and drove to the opposite side of Carderock Naval Base where the award ceremony was held. I noticed that I interviewed all but two of the people on stage giving the awards!
The Sanborn Submariners received the second-place award of the four high schools in attendance! The team who got first place in the high school division also won the overall award against all 19 teams. We all cheered so loudly for Umptysquatch (the team who won), as all of the teams had become close friends with each other. After the awards portion of the ceremony, all teams were called on stage to receive their plaque with the team picture on it commemorating our accomplishments.
We all enjoyed a relaxing evening at the hotel by swimming or spending time with each other in the lobby. We said goodbye to the other teams and wished them safe travels home before going to bed for the night. We have a long 15-hour drive back home to prepare for! Everyone seems to be trying to get their last moments of quality time together as a team before we head back to Southern New Hampshire and go our own ways. Most of our members are off to college in the Spring. We will deeply miss them and are glad to have this trip as a way to say our last goodbyes to the seniors. I hope that the Sanborn Submariners remember this trip as a magical nine days... because it truly was.
Interview Series
I had the honor of being able to interview such interesting people from a wide range of professions at the International Submarine Races.
Dr. Jeanette Nicewinter
Dr. Nicewinter serves as the central communications officer during the ISR. She has the unique job of ensuring the teams, Navy divers, and directors are ready before the start of the race. Once everyone has given her the thumbs up, she uses an above and underwater PA system to give directions to the teams. To tell Matt Martin (pilot of the Sanborn Nautilist) to start pedaling she would yell "Sanborn, Sanborn, Sanborn...Go, Go, Go". She then watches the race on an underwater camera from her perch above the water and uses the PA system to narrate events to spectators. She has the critical job of managing the diver recall system. When she presses the button, an alarm is sounded underwater (faintly heard on the surface), telling the pilot to stop pedaling. Once this happens, the Navy divers plunge underwater to assist the driver and ensure the safety of everyone involved. Because of this, she describes herself as part of the dive safety operations team and part of the race operations team. As I have seen, the race would not go on without the expertise of Dr. Jeanette Nicewinter!
Mike Yankaskas:
Mike Yankaskas, husband of Dr. Jeanette Nicewinter, is one of the wet judges at the International Submarine Races. This means that he judges the safety and performance ability of the submarines during in-water safety checks ("wet checks"). All submarines are required to pass their wet check before they are allowed to race. Mike Yankaskas is one of the divers to assess and judge during the wet check. In addition to ensuring the safety of team divers, he helps the race directors with timing and video, as well as following the submarine on the surface during racing in case of emergency stops. Without Mr. Mike Yankaskas, the submarines wouldn't be certified to race!
Outside of the ISR, he certifies much larger submarines that go to much greater depths. This makes him the perfect candidate to assess the proficiency of submarines at the ISR.
Commander Michael Smith:
I had the pleasure of speaking with Commander Michael Smith while he was assisting one team set up their tent in the morning. He serves as the Executive Officer of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carterrock Division. This means that he works with the commanding officer to complete goals. He also works with other employees to ensure that this event is safe, fun, educational, and most of all, centered around STEM. He describes most of his job includes facilitating research and development for the Navy. He sees this event as an excellent opportunity to train the next generation to support the Navy and all STEM-related fields
Jim Corry:
Though Jim Corry has never been a contestant in the races, he has been working at the ISR since 1993. For the first seven races, he was a dive instructor. He was then elected to the board of directors of the Foundation for Underwater Research and Education (FURE). He created the perch that hangs over the edge of the water; from which Dr. Jeanette Nicewinter calls the races. He has served two, three-year terms on the board and currently is in his last year of service. He disclosed to me that he is a retired secret service officer. This made me wonder what got him into diving, as he stated he was a scuba instructor in 1983. He explained that while in the secret service, he worked for a water safety program in Laurel, Maryland. He was trained as a diver instructor at UCLA and worked there for many years before working for the secret service in L.A. Then, he transferred to Maryland where he retired from the water safety program. Now, he helps out with odd jobs during the
ISR. He grew up in Ohio as the son of a Presbyterian minister and reports enjoying his time on the board of FURE. He explains the goal of this event as to provide an engineering event for students and others to put their STEM projects into action. He summed that down to wanting to, "mentor, support, and encourage future engineers".
He recalled that there has been a total of 3,000 contestants throughout the years, and over 1,500 of them have gone into the Navy or other Naval Industry Partner Organizations.
This shows how the goals of this event, as described by Mr. Jim Corry (and Commander Michael Smith in a previous interview), have been successfully reached!
Captin Heidie Stefanyshyn-Piper
In addition to serving as a judge for the International Submarine Race, Captin Heidie Stefanyshyn-Piper is a retired Naval officer and former NASA astronaut. She was the commanding officer of the US Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division during the 2011 and 2013 ISR. In 2015 she retired from the Navy and now is a volunteer judge for the International Submarine Race. She reports striking interest in FURE and ISR by assisting during her time as Commanding Officer. As a judge, she (and her peers) give the submarines their "dry check". Captin Stefanyshyn-Piper thoroughly inspects each submarine to ensure its safety and durability. She reviews the team's design reports and listen's to their presentations. All of this is taken into account when she and other judges make their decisions. As Captin Stefanyshyn-Piper points out, there are a lot of engineering aspects that are taken into account, other than speed. There are, of course, awards given for speed; other awards include, "overall performance", "best design outline", and "best spirit of the races". The last award listed is chosen by each competing team.
Captin Stefanyshyn-Piper grew up in Minnesota, attended MIT, and spent 30 years in the military. She has worked in the Navy as a diver, ship repair technician, and salvage engineer. She explains salvage as recovering ships and their cargo after a casualty by towing, lifting a vessel, or effecting repairs. She says that this didn't happen too often, but that she had a few experiences with this type of incident in practice exercises.
She decided to become an astronaut after she had already obtained a mechanical engineering degree from MIT. On her second try applying to the astronaut program at NASA, she got in! Her title is an astronaut mission specialist. She flew in two missions, the STS-115 Atlantis (2006) and STS-126 Endeavour (2008). She sees the ISR as "a great opportunity to see students getting involved in a hands-on STEM project". Captin Stefanyshyn-Piper believes that the International Submarine Races show why we have engineers.
Daniel Dozier
Mr. Daniel Dozier is the Vice President of the Foundation for Underwater Research and Education, as well as chairman of the board. He started his time with ISR during ISR 2 as a contestant. He was a part of the Carderock Contestant Team. This was a team of engineers who already worked at the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center and struck and joined the race as contestants for fun. In ISR 3, he was a mentor to a high school team from Maryland. By 1997, he became the liaison between Carderock (Naval base that hosts the race) and FURE (non-profit organization that sponsors/facilitates the race). During this time, he was employed by Carderock. He worked with submarines for the U.S. Navy during his professional career. He retired from the Navy eight years ago. This is also when he was asked to be on the board of FURE.
He strongly believes that the experience is the most
important part of attending ISR. He explained that every year he goes around to all of the teams and asks what is the most important part of racing at ISR. Then he asks the same question after the week is over. All of the teams said that having fun and being at ISR is the most important aspect, more important than winning, even if they previously thought that winning was more important. He always asks for the contestant's opinions on the week and takes suggestions very seriously. He says his goal is for everyone to not just have a good week...but to have a fantastic one.
When speaking of Charlotte George, who currently has his old position of Carderock liaison, he states, "She has done a fantastic job where I left off... She embodies what this event is about." Though Dan Dozier speaks more highly of others than he does himself, this event would not have been the same if not for the efforts of Dan Dozier. As I have seen, he is a ray of sunshine at the basin. When receiving a smile and wave from Dan, there is no one who can resist reciprocating the positive feelings. I am sure that he has done more for ISR than he has realized. From explaining the event to spectators and ensuring safety, to encouraging teams and making sure a young reporter feels welcome in a seemingly overwhelming environment. Mr. Daniel Dozier deserves a big thank you!
Charlie Behrle
Mr. Charlie Behrle has been the president of FURE since 2012. He is the former commanding officer of Carterock during the 2005 race. Then in 2012, the president asked if Charlie would take over his position. He was suddenly the president of FURE! He describes the race as "very much a team effort" between the 9 board directors, volunteers, staff, and sponsors. Outside of ISR, Fure sponsors scholarships and is invited to STEM events to give information
on ISR and engineering to others. FURE is very appreciative of the U.S. Navy for allowing the race to utilize the fantastic facility at Carderock, as well as 75 ISR voulenteers. Before ISR was held at Carerock, it was done on the beach (for the first two years).
Charlie believes that the most important part of ISR is to"...broaden the view of success". He highlights how this experience enhances student's problem solving skills, skills which are necessary for all professions. Overall, Charlie Behrle seems thrilled to help administer the 17th International Submarine Race.
July 18, 2023
Sanborn Submariners Make Headlines
Click on the image below to view the Sanborn Submariner's recent article in the Carriage Towne News!!
Gallery:
The Sanborn Submariners won 2nd place in the High School Division!!!