Cute isn't usually a word you'd associate with submarines but the C-Quester 2 and C-Quester 3 submersibles from U-Boat Worx are like the Smart Car of the ocean. Superyacht Times reports that the new designs will be shown during the Monaco Yacht Show 2008. The two-person C-Quester 2 is designed to be a new toy for megayachts, while the three-person C-Quester 3 can be used by seaside hotels and resorts to offer guests a new experience. Each has a releasable safety buoy, air conditioning, underwater communication, altimeter, sonar, and optional video cameras and tracking systems. The electric C-Questers can dive up to a depth of 100 meters and run on a Lithium-Ion battery. The first C-Quester 3 will be launched at the end of this year with additional rollout scheduled for next spring. Drivers have to be trained as a submersible pilot before using.

BYM News passes on this interesting story, the 290-foot yacht Constellation has been detained in Panama after the yacht was involved in some illegal underwater exploration in the Galapagos Islands. A mini-submarine which was impounded and her crew was jailed in the incident.  The group had  also chartered the Panamanian support vessel Cebaco Bay and the mini-submarine from UK based Silvercrest Submarines. The Russians apparently paid $120,000 for a four-hour jaunt around the islands. The use of submarines in the area is forbidden.

Last Friday, the Cebaco Bay was stopped by the Ecuadorian navy off the island San Cristóbal.When the boat was boarded, the crew said that the permissions to dive had been organized by the Constellation.  The group on the Constellation denied this and the yacht left the scene but was later detained as it tried to enter the Panama canal. Meanwhile, the captain of the Cebaco Bay has been sentenced to 90 days in prison in Ecuador and the crew has thirty-day sentences.

The main question is who knew what and when. In the article in the Independent, the wife of the sub owner says that he did not know it was illegal and thought that permissions had been arranged by the Constellation and that his contracted stated that the tour organizers would handle all permits.
 

Is the submarine the new yacht? We've seen a lot of underwater luxury craft lately. The most colorful option maybe the Exomos subs. The Exomos submarines are available in a wide variety of shapes including a double-decker model called the Liftraft which can be used to hold other subs and a single-person model called the Stingray which has a bubble for viewing the undersea world around you. The submarine cabins are pressurized like airport cabins and can dive from 60 to 130 feet. These luxury toys are meant to appeal to the players in Dubai. Exomos provides training for new owners. The Goby, shown here, can accomodate three people and has multiple viewing areas. Of course a submarine will never replace a yacht, there's no place for the bathing beauties to tan.

[via The Cool Hunter and Divester]

Far more exciting,than any luxury submarine, is the Innespace Dolphin. Our friends at Divester brought this personal watercraft to our attention. The Dolphin is a unique aquatic vessel that is shaped like a dolphin. Highly maneuverable and very fast, the company likens it to the underwater version of a jet airplane. Like a real dolphin, it can leap out of the water, do barrel rolls and complete mid-air rolls with inverted landings (see video). The vehicle is lighter than water and uses its forward momentum to "fly" beneath the surface, rather than sinking in the way that traditional watercraft do. Powdered by a 110 horsepower Yamaha Waverunner engine, it can reach speeds of up to 30 mph on the surface and 20 mph when fully submerged. At the moment, dives are limited to a few feet beneath the surface and can be sustained for only a few seconds.

Currently, the Dolphin is only used for demonstration purposes, but will soon be available to lease by production companies. Innespace is working on a two seater version, due for release next year. Once it has been completed, it shouldn't take long for a wait-list for form to buy them.

Surface yachts are passé, or will be as soon as a few celebrities start to show up on board submarines, instead. Not only do they enable their passengers to avoid the paparazzi, they offer the chance to travel in style as never before. Divester uncovered two of the most luxurious submarines in the world, the Seattle 1000 and the Phoenix 1000.

The Seattle is 118 feet of climate-controlled luxury and, for the price of $20 million, the buyer can even select the interior colors and help design the layout of staterooms and dining areas. Apparently, the manufacturer suggests using the sub as an aquatic version of a train, ferrying passengers across the Atlantic - with a nightly price tag of $2,500 per person.

The Phoenix (pictured) has not yet been built, still waiting for someone with $78 million to come along, but it would be the single largest, most luxurious sub ever built upon completion. Designed to be 213 feet long, with over 5,000 square feet of interior space, the space can be used in almost any way. The sub is equipped with a mini sub, for excursions at depth or bringing people to and from the ship.

[Image US Subs]

Calling all James Bond collectors: Heritage Auctions is auctioning off the mini-submarine from "The Spy Who Loved Me."  The movie's producers spotted the submarine and were so enthralled by it that an underwater chase scene was added to feature the 15' submarine in the 1977 movie. From the description on the auction house's web site, it appears the submarine is in working order. It seats two, can go up to depths of 450 feet, and has a 5-6 hour battery life. Sadly, there are no accompanying torpedoes. Online, absentee bidding ends April 13. Starting bid is $13,000.