Any advice on a boat to help with my project!

[JoshingTalk]

Dear members of the YBW Forums,

Excuse me if this is posted in the wrong place. Feel free to move to appropriate topic!

My name is Josh Taylor, I'm 22 years old and I run a website at www.joshingtalk.com

The aim of my projects is to inspire creativity in other young people through doing unique and extreme projects (such as sending a weather balloon to 118,000 feet, getting pictures of the curvature of the Earth).
Instead of using money, I bring businesses and people together to achieve a common goal.

My latest project was given to me by Sir Richard Branson with the challenge to see how far under the Ocean I could explore. I've been working on this since May and have the equipment for the submersible, which is capable of reaching the deepest depths of our Oceans.

I'm now at the stage where I'm looking at transport to an Ocean Trench, most likely Puerto Rico Trench. I figured that maybe any boats that are docked there might be available to use for a day, maybe 2 at the most!
All we need is to be able to drop the submersible into the Ocean and then, hopefully, retrieve it hours later. There will only be 3-4 of us onboard and a WiFi connection would be great (for GPS tracking).

Anyway, sorry for rambling on, what I was wondering was if anyone had any advice on how to approach transport?
Maybe you know someone who could lend a helping hand?
Maybe you have the boat capable of letting us make history with the project?

Any comments are welcome and thanks in advance.
Many thanks,

Josh

 

[lustyd]

Have you considered the Navy? You'd be surprised how helpful they can be when it involves boating with a purpose! They could easily use this as a training exercise.

 

[JoshingTalk]

Thanks lustyd! I will certainly look into it and see what I can find.
Thanks for the comment!

 

[prv]

Surely you'd get a better response from people in or near Puerto Rico, than us in the UK?

Pete

 

[sarabande]

with great respect, and admiration for your chutzpah, but you need a reality check on that submersible project.

You are flying a kite, and do not appear to have considered the massive technological and logistic issues facing such a project. "any boats that are docked there might be available to use for a day, maybe 2 at the most!" Get real ! It's the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

There have been two superdeep manned expeditions to the seabed in the Marianas trench since 1960. Two. And the last one was funded by National Geographic and Rolex.

You are talking of costs running into millions to ensure the highest standards of safety, and to justify the project you must have serious, very serious, scientific objectives, not just some rather vague "inspire creativity in other young people through doing unique and extreme projects". It is simply not enough to label the project with Branson's name, and hope that people are going to support what appears dangerously like some light-hearted ego trip.

What is this "common goal" ? What are the objectives ? What benefits to human kind ? If you don't drill down into the project with a great deal more seriousness and technical rigour, and identify the issues, the risks, and the spin-offs in much more detail, you will achieve the headlines - but for the wrong reasons.

Back to the drawing board.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Dear members of the YBW Forums,

Excuse me if this is posted in the wrong place. Feel free to move to appropriate topic!

My name is Josh Taylor, I'm 22 years old and I run a website at www.joshingtalk.com

The aim of my projects is to inspire creativity in other young people through doing unique and extreme projects (such as sending a weather balloon to 118,000 feet, getting pictures of the curvature of the Earth).
Instead of using money, I bring businesses and people together to achieve a common goal.

My latest project was given to me by Sir Richard Branson with the challenge to see how far under the Ocean I could explore. I've been working on this since May and have the equipment for the submersible, which is capable of reaching the deepest depths of our Oceans.

I'm now at the stage where I'm looking at transport to an Ocean Trench, most likely Puerto Rico Trench. I figured that maybe any boats that are docked there might be available to use for a day, maybe 2 at the most!
All we need is to be able to drop the submersible into the Ocean and then, hopefully, retrieve it hours later. There will only be 3-4 of us onboard and a WiFi connection would be great (for GPS tracking).

Anyway, sorry for rambling on, what I was wondering was if anyone had any advice on how to approach transport?
Maybe you know someone who could lend a helping hand?
Maybe you have the boat capable of letting us make history with the project?

Any comments are welcome and thanks in advance.
Many thanks,

Josh

can't help i'm afraid.... but love the idea, and wish you luck!

 

[LadyInBed]

Deck cargo on a ship passing in that direction and get them to drop it over the side at the appropriate place

 

[JoshingTalk]

with great respect, and admiration for your chutzpah, but you need a reality check on that submersible project.

You are flying a kite, and do not appear to have considered the massive technological and logistic issues facing such a project. "any boats that are docked there might be available to use for a day, maybe 2 at the most!" Get real ! It's the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

There have been two superdeep manned expeditions to the seabed in the Marianas trench since 1960. Two. And the last one was funded by National Geographic and Rolex.

You are talking of costs running into millions to ensure the highest standards of safety, and to justify the project you must have serious, very serious, scientific objectives, not just some rather vague "inspire creativity in other young people through doing unique and extreme projects". It is simply not enough to label the project with Branson's name, and hope that people are going to support what appears dangerously like some light-hearted ego trip.

What is this "common goal" ? What are the objectives ? What benefits to human kind ? If you don't drill down into the project with a great deal more seriousness and technical rigour, and identify the issues, the risks, and the spin-offs in much more detail, you will achieve the headlines - but for the wrong reasons.

Back to the drawing board.

Many thanks for your reply!

I completely understand that this is a mission to be taken seriously....and it is!
Both myself and a business in Ocean Technologies have teamed up to create a submersible capable of reaching great depths without spending millions of money. Yes there is higher risk of ensuring equipment works as it should but that's the reason for testing.
I'd love to go ahead and explain in more detail but where's the surprise in that!?

Anyway I stated in my post that we will most probably be launching the submersible in the Puerto Rican Trench, which is literally no more than 100 miles away from the coast.
A lot easier therefore for transport to make a trip out to.

The common goal is to achieve extreme Ocean depths without spending millions.
In the submersible will be a camera and it will be baited in the hope that species of our rather poorly explored Oceans will be lured in.
A pressure sensor to provide a depth reading.
And if everything works, a new way of exploration for others to mimic.

Of course I completely see why you would be rather pessimistic at some 22 year old kid trying to achieve what seems a ridiculous target but without this I wouldnt have anyone to spur me on!
Not trying to find an answer for everything as you make some valid points but hope this explains a little more clearly my aims.

 

[JoshingTalk]

Surely you'd get a better response from people in or near Puerto Rico, than us in the UK?

Pete

We're all connected somehow and I thought it might be of interest to some members of the forum!
I'm just beginning to research this stage of the project and thought this could be a good place to start.

 

[Three kings]

The aim of my projects is to inspire creativity in other young people through doing unique and extreme projects

Had a look at your website and it's clear that your aim is to make money doing a lot of interesting, fun stuff whilst getting others to pay the bills. There's nothing wrong with that, you should just come out and say it.

 

[Seajet]

Joshing Talk,


I share Sarabandes' concerns, this isn't Thunderbird 4 one can drop in a pod over a likely spot !

For safety and logistical support, surely you will need a decent sized large boat / ship on the surface, with other divers and a barostatic chamber ? - I forget the terminology right now but you get the idea - there are members of this forum who are divers on oil rigs etc, I'm sure they could comment more usefully when they get the chance.

 

[Plevier]

Joshing Talk,


I share Sarabandes' concerns, this isn't Thunderbird 4 one can drop in a pod over a likely spot !

For safety and logistical support, surely you will need a decent sized large boat / ship on the surface, with other divers and a barostatic chamber ? - I forget the terminology right now but you get the idea - there are members of this forum who are divers on oil rigs etc, I'm sure they could comment more usefully when they get the chance.

Surely you and Sarabande have misread the proposal? Josh's submersible is unmanned, same as his balloon. Still quite a challenge to do on a shoestring.

Josh, I can't help, but good luck. I don't think Three kings is being fair on you. At the very least you're full of initiative and go/entrepreneurship ready for when you have to come "down to earth!"

 

[sarabande]

with any scientific project, there has to be a clear sense of pushing forward the boundaries of scientific knowledge. Repeating experiments and re-proving hypotheses does not pay the bills, or get you funding.

So you already have a submersible which can reach extreme depths. What depths ? How is it connected to the mother ship ? Has it been pressure tested to 1000bar (8 tonnes psi) ? Have you got permission for the work from the Micronesia government (the area is a US Marine National Monument) ? What are the transport costs for the team ? How much food will you need ?


"where's the surprise in that!?". There is no surprise, or there shouldn't be any surprise to any supporter. This is a rabbit from a hat show. You have a vapourware project, long on talk and ideals, and short on technical info, and no-one is going to take you seriously until you are ready to come forward with solid details.

I don't know if you have any experience of project management, or any training and experience in bathymetry, submersible design, or logistics, but there is no meat in the sandwich.

You should have a deep look at the Bloodhound project to see how they back up the idea with knowledge, skills, experience, and their management of finance is a model well worth imitating.

Yes, I can see how the ideals of a miniature space balloon or submersible might appeal to RB, but no-one is going to put their hand into their pockets for a bright-eyed 22 year old kid who floats an idea and expects very expensive support just because "we are all connected somehow". There is no merit, nothing intrinsically new, nothing to make people look at the horizons and say "Yes, I'll give you $100,000".

Have you read the email from Crews to his family ? There's a parallel lesson there about earning your way through life, and not slip-streaming on the coat-tails of giants. You need to be able to provide solid ideals, backed by detailed objectives, a reasonable time-line, and a budget. All those are mutable to some degree, but nothing you have said here , or on your website, convinces me that you have the backup to your vision.

You may not have expected a hot response, but if you are worth supporting, the metal of your proposal needs to be forged and tempered in the fires of reality. If you can consolidate the details and more importantly the objectives and benefits to scientific knowledge or human progress (in outline at first if necessary) you will make progress. Get stuck into it.

 

[Seajet]

with any scientific project, there has to be a clear sense of pushing forward the boundaries of scientific knowledge. Repeating experiments and re-proving hypotheses does not pay the bills, or get you funding.

So you already have a submersible which can reach extreme depths. What depths ? How is it connected to the mother ship ? Has it been pressure tested to 1000bar (8 tonnes psi) ? Have you got permission for the work from the Micronesia government (the area is a US Marine National Monument) ? What are the transport costs for the team ? How much food will you need ?


"where's the surprise in that!?". There is no surprise, or there shouldn't be any surprise to any supporter. This is a rabbit from a hat show. You have a vapourware project, long on talk and ideals, and short on technical info, and no-one is going to take you seriously until you are ready to come forward with solid details.

I don't know if you have any experience of project management, or any training and experience in bathymetry, submersible design, or logistics, but there is no meat in the sandwich.

You should have a deep look at the Bloodhound project to see how they back up the idea with knowledge, skills, experience, and their management of finance is a model well worth imitating.

Yes, I can see how the ideals of a miniature space balloon or submersible might appeal to RB, but no-one is going to put their hand into their pockets for a bright-eyed 22 year old kid who floats an idea and expects very expensive support just because "we are all connected somehow". There is no merit, nothing intrinsically new, nothing to make people look at the horizons and say "Yes, I'll give you $100,000".

Have you read the email from Crews to his family ? There's a parallel lesson there about earning your way through life, and not slip-streaming on the coat-tails of giants. You need to be able to provide solid ideals, backed by detailed objectives, a reasonable time-line, and a budget. All those are mutable to some degree, but nothing you have said here , or on your website, convinces me that you have the backup to your vision.

You may not have expected a hot response, but if you are worth supporting, the metal of your proposal needs to be forged and tempered in the fires of reality. If you can consolidate the details and more importantly the objectives and benefits to scientific knowledge or human progress (in outline at first if necessary) you will make progress. Get stuck into it.

I agree 100% with Sarabande, a quite brilliant letter especially the 'forged and tempered' bit !

We all agree with the basic thrust of your purpose, and would help you in any way we can; have a quick pause and reality check then get back.

Andy.

 

[TTwiggy]

I think some people are failing to grasp what he's actually trying to do.

NASA spent billions developing a craft that could go into high earth orbit and return to the ground. They had to spend this money in order to ensure it could safely deliver cargo and crew. A happy 'accident' of this was some lovely pictures of the earth from space.

More recently, people who just want the same sort of pictures have achieved the same quality with weather balloons and a digital camera.

I imagine this is a similar idea, but 'down' rather than 'up'.

 

[Three kings]

Josh, I can't help, but good luck. I don't think Three kings is being fair on you.

I don't think I'm being unduly harsh on the lad. I'll admit he shows initiative, but as others have pointed out there is no 'meat in the sandwich'. A quick glance at his website shows the same lack of detail. However he can be hired as a 'popular' speaker for any public engagement, as a guest post writer for your blog or as a consultant for 'Project Structure and Mentoring'.

This is some achievement at 22, so he has either shoe horned decades of experience into the last 4 years since leaving school or is full of wind and p**s.
If it's the latter and he wants to make a buck whilst dreaming then just come out with it. Rabbiting on about inspiring others is an underhand way of soliciting cash and nobody likes a kiss ass.

 

[V1701]

Have you thought about getting a job Josh?

 

[nathanlee]

Have you thought about getting a job Josh?

I can't believe some of the replies on here. Some attitudes are a shameful portrayal of the very spirit of sailing, adventure, and human progress.

The lad is proposing to send an unmanned budget sub in to a trench. If it fails, it costs a bit of money. What's the big deal? If he succeeds, he could open up the doors to many more amateur, unmanned exploratory projects, and we'd learn more about our oceans.

I don't want to be overly harsh here, but the only word that's really apt for the attitude displayed in the likes of the post I've quoted is... pathetic!

Good luck to you, Josh!

 

[V1701]

I can't believe some of the replies on here. Some attitudes are a shameful portrayal of the very spirit of sailing, adventure, and human progress.

The lad is proposing to send an unmanned budget sub in to a trench. If it fails, it costs a bit of money. What's the big deal? If he succeeds, he could open up the doors to many more amateur, unmanned exploratory projects, and we'd learn more about our oceans.

I don't want to be overly harsh here, but the only word that's really apt for the attitude displayed in the likes of the post I've quoted is... pathetic!

Good luck to you, Josh!

I agree there's nothing at all wrong with dreaming, adventure, etc. but have you read his web site? So he's managed to badger Richard Branson into issuing him with a challenge to do the submersible thing but there's little of real substance there, as others have said. The Hire Me page is the best though - he seems to think that folk will want to pay him £500 to come & speak to them, e.g. So IMO a bit of reality checking needs to be thrown in - which is what I was driving at with my post - not the most subtle way to do it, but all the same...

 

[JoshingTalk]

Guys, firstly thanks for the support and comments.

I completely appreciate that there's 'no meat' in the website for this project.
As a running theme, I rarely divulge in specific details until the run up to launch (this gives me more content and more buzz). As I aim to launch in 2013, I wanted to have sorted all the aspects of the project before making them too public. The last thing I want is to tell everyone that so and so is providing transport and then have them pull out....
Still plenty of time before we really start to fire on all fours!

I understand on the outside, it looks as though nothing has happened. However, if you were to be someone of interest in helping out with the project, I'd happily share with you the proposed plans, the equipment we have, the businesses backing this project and the benefits of the challenge.

I encourage those of you with skeptical view points to sit back and watch the project as it evolves.
Whether it's is a success or failure, I don't intend to prove anyone wrong or intend to make lots of money. I intend to see it through.