International Submarine Races

Twenty-one human powered submarines and more than 400 team members gathered on June 23, 2019 for the 15th International Submarine Races (ISR 15). It was the beginning of a great race week at the David Taylor Model Basin at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, in West Bethesda, Maryland. As the teams staked out their operations base for race week at the east end of the basin, you could feel the excitement grow as the participants walked among the boats and silently measured what the competition would bring this year. ISR history reveals that there are three important factors for a successful race experience and, more importantly, a successful life experience at the race. The first factor is the students themselves, who join a team for a variety of reasons but rarely know what they are getting themselves into.