Taiwan’s first human-powered submarine ready for challenging race in UK

台灣首艘人力潛艇準備赴英參賽

NCKU first Asian team to participate in European race, faced with obstacles from water testing


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The team behind Taiwan’s first human-powered submarine is scrambling to make final tweaks for the watercraft to qualify for the European International Submarine Races (EISR) taking place this week in Portsmouth, U.K.

Sat-ba̍k-hî, the submarine named after the iconic milkfish in Tainan, was designed and built by a group of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) students. The university on Tuesday (July 12) shared a photo of the students holding a Taiwan national flag with contestants from other countries during a tour at a cultural institute in the city.

Taiwan is the first non-NATO, non-EU country to take part in the biennial race, which has proven a daunting task. Students have found themselves confronted with one problem after another during the water test, which must be cleared before Sat-ba̍k-hî can move on to complete a series of challenges and advance to the final race on Friday (July 15).

One of the hurdles relates to the water temperature, measuring around 13 degrees Celsius, way colder than that of the practice pool back home, which has a temperature between 19 C and 28 C, said Wang Pi-cheng (王丕丞), leader of the team.

Not only have the members had to overcome jet lag and temperature differences, they also have had to solve technical issues including the smaller-than-required hatch door of the underwater steed, the higher water pressure, and maintaining the balance of the vessel.

If all goes well, Sat-ba̍k-hî will be pitted against teams from the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Canada, and others in an exciting competition that involves completing a course that includes straight-line acceleration, 25-meter-radius turns, and a slalom course. Teams’ performances will be judged by the completion time and the innovativeness of the vessel.