Idabel is a one-of-a-kind deep diving submersible,
named for the town in Oklahoma where she was born. She was
designed and built for her exact location on Roatan, Honduras
by American Karl Stanley, an adventurer and deep sea explorer
who built his first sub at the age of 15.
Idabel is designed to safely transport three people
to a depth of 3000 feet ( 915 meters) below sea level. Her
safety features include twin ballast compartments, twin
high-pressure air systems, a 350 pound droppable lead weight
and fully redundant propulsion systems. She has no rudder,
dive planes or other moving parts to jam and is equipped
to provide three days of emergency life support.
Features include:
- 30-inch diameter viewport for her passengers
- 11 powerful lights, including one positional
- Nine viewports for the pilot so he can see in every
direction
- Comfortable bench seating for extended dives
- Built-in sound system with I-Pod docking
Captain Karl Stanley
American
Karl Stanley has designed and built two different deep submersibles
which he has piloted in three different countries. He's
logged more than 3000 hours of experience piloting a deep
submersible and is a member of the Deep Submersible Pilots
Association.
Karl's dives have ranged in depth from 500 feet to 2660
feet and in duration from a few hours to nearly 17 hours.
Very few others have the kind of experience Karl has. Karl
and his underwater adventures are the subject of a documentary
titled "A
View from Below," produced by Rooftop Pictures (available
for purchase on Amazon.com).
Six Gill Shark Research
Captain
Stanley has teamed up with a local non-profit organization
to help in the tagging of six gill sharks for research purposes.
If you are interested in making a financial contribution
to the study of six gills in Roatan, please let us know
and we'll put you in touch with the right people. A single
satellite tag costs about $3500, so any contribution is
appreciated. |