Over the years that I’ve lived on Catalina, I’ve heard a number of tales from local boaters and fishermen of mysterious lights that appear from time to time in the ocean depths.
One well-known local angler once told me of an evening fishing expedition off the East End that resulted in one of these encounters. He and his buddies were sitting in their skiff when they noticed, deep below them, an array of bright lights traversing the gloom.
Over the years that I’ve lived on Catalina, I’ve heard a number of tales from local boaters and fishermen of mysterious lights that appear from time to time in the ocean depths.
One well-known local angler once told me of an evening fishing expedition off the East End that resulted in one of these encounters. He and his buddies were sitting in their skiff when they noticed, deep below them, an array of bright lights traversing the gloom.
To this gentleman, there was little other explanation than that they had witnessed a visitor from an alien world.
Now, far be it for moi to pass up a perfectly good extraterrestrial accounting for these lights.
But never let it be said that I don’t also try to find more down-to-earth explanations for the Island’s myriad of mysteries when able to do so.
In the case of Catalina’s mysterious undersea lights, I can think of at least one distinct possibility. It may not be as cool as undersea UFOs patrolling the waters around Catalina, but it is very cool nonetheless.
Enter the luxury submarine. Few people have heard of them and fewer people have even seen them, let alone hitched a ride on one.
But private submarine ownership among the world’s mega-rich is nevertheless very real and very clandestine.
Large, luxurious surface yachts owned by celebrities are a reasonably common sight in Catalina waters and because of their high profile, there’s not much secrecy involved.
Mega yachts owned by Microsoft’s Paul Allen, Whoopi Goldberg and Wynn Resorts Steve Wynn are occasional visitors to the Island.
But submarines being what they are, the owners of these vessels often choose to keep their existence secret. Word has it, for example, that both James Cameron and Paul Allen are owners of such gems and occasionally bring them to Catalina, thereby perhaps accounting for our “undersea UFOs.”
It is believed that there are only about 100 such luxury submarines in existence.
Believe it or not, there really aren’t a whole lot of restrictions to operating a private sub in the open ocean as opposed to operating a surface vessel (although you are supposed to notify the U.S. Navy of your excursions so they don’t, like, run into you down there with one of their own submarines). So where do you get one of these subs? The 800-pound gorilla in the industry is U.S. Submarines based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
They have a wonderful website (www.ussubmarines.com) that you can visit in between Solitaire games while sitting in your cubicle at work. U.S. Submarines has a variety of models to choose from and will generally build your vessel to order, a process that can take several months or even years.
Crew training and staffing can also be provided.
The company’s website tempts us with such fantasies as settling the sub on the sea floor “and enjoying the view through the panoramic viewports” before “having a luxurious dinner.” They go on: “You can retire to a queen-sized bed with the world’s most exclusive view through a remarkable 5-foot diameter viewport … In the morning, after a hot shower and breakfast, you can surface and start the diesels and continue on to the next destination.”
At the low end of their product line are such vessels as the Discovery 1000 and its larger cousin the Nomad 1000.
The Discovery carries up to six passengers and is designed mainly for day trips, although it can stay submerged for up to 24 hours with life support for four people.
The Nomad is slightly larger and can accommodate up to 36 day-trippers. Prices for these two subs begin at about $2.5 million.
U.S. Submarines’ mid-size vessel is the Seattle 1000, a three-story, 118-foot long affair with five state rooms, an equal number of bathrooms, and not one, but two galleys.
Did I mention the gymnasium and wine cellar? This vessel has a price tag of $25 million, quite a bargain considering that a surface-only yacht the same size can cost multiples of that.
But their premiere luxury submarine is the 65-meter long Phoenix 1000, a vessel that features several cabins (plus crew quarters), a large dining salon, cocktail lounge, diver lockouts and forward observation lounge.
It also comes with its own docking mini-sub.
This massive vessel is four stories tall and can travel on the surface a distance of 3,500 miles at 15 knots without refueling (that’s Catalina to the Galapagos).
It can travel underwater at 5 knots for up to 50 hours without surfacing or can sit idly on the sea floor for a minimum of 20 days or until the champagne runs out.
It’s yours for only $70 million.
Jim Watson is the author of “Mysterious Island: Catalina,” available on Amazon, Kindle and in stores all over Avalon.
