Submerged or submarine

We had a non-boaty guest come sailing a while ago. Whilst underway, they were looking at the chart I had in the cockpit at the time and we had the following conversation;

Guest: what are those purple wiggly lines?
Me: Submarine cables
Guest: What are they?
Me: Its how the submarines get their power - they just hook up to one of the cables on the sea bed. They can't run a diesel engine underwater, can they.
Guest: I don't suppose they can. never thought about how they were powered before now...

😃
 
Minerva said:
We had a non-boaty guest come sailing a while ago. Whilst underway, they were looking at the chart I had in the cockpit at the time and we had the following conversation;

Guest: what are those purple wiggly lines?
Me: Submarine cables
Guest: What are they?
Me: Its how the submarines get their power - they just hook up to one of the cables on the sea bed. They can't run a diesel engine underwater, can they.
Guest: I don't suppose they can. never thought about how they were powered before now...

😃
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🤣🤣🤣
 
"Submarine" is an adjective that is commonly used as a noun; the phrase would originally have been "submarine boat", and I note that in naval circles they are referred to as "boats". "Submerged" is a verb that is also used as an adjective. So either is correct when used to refer to a structure that is normally below water. Customary usage would "submarine" for something that by nature or design is underwater; "submerged" would be for something that is normally above water but in this case is below water.
 
Sticky Fingers said:
You’re muddling up the noun (a vessel designed to operate underwater) and the adjective (under water or submerged). No confusion imho. What’s more confusing is that it doesn’t appear at all on some zoom levels of vector charts.
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That is definitely one of the hazards of vector charts. See Volvo Ocean Race/Vestas Wind inquiry for further details!
 
AntarcticPilot said:
"Submarine" is an adjective that is commonly used as a noun; the phrase would originally have been "submarine boat", and I note that in naval circles they are referred to as "boats". "Submerged" is a verb that is also used as an adjective. So either is correct when used to refer to a structure that is normally below water. Customary usage would "submarine" for something that by nature or design is underwater; "submerged" would be for something that is normally above water but in this case is below water.
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Any vessel that is incapable of submerging and subsequently resurfacing using its own power is a 'skimmer'. 🙂
 
MADRIGAL said:
That is definitely one of the hazards of vector charts. See Volvo Ocean Race/Vestas Wind inquiry for further details!
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Many of us have sailed over the blocks without the aid of vector charts!

AIUI, the British Navy had midget submarines which would get between the blocks? Did the Germans have anything similar?
 
MADRIGAL said:
That is definitely one of the hazards of vector charts. See Volvo Ocean Race/Vestas Wind inquiry for further details!
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Funny, it shows on both the 1:45k (GB302045, "Outer Approaches To The Solent") and 1:22k (GB5DEVQG "The Solent - East") vector charts I have for the area. It does disappear from the 1:350k (GB202675 "English Channel") scale chart, but then so do nearly all the other navigational marks. So, in terms of official ENCs it is well-marked.

The underlying issue with Vestas was they were using a mishmash of 3rd party charts, and due to licensing constraints didn't even have comprehensive or consistent chart coverage across their different systems. This set them up for failure when they later missed additional clues/guardrails.
 
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AntarcticPilot said:
"Submarine" is an adjective that is commonly used as a noun; the phrase would originally have been "submarine boat", and I note that in naval circles they are referred to as "boats". "Submerged" is a verb that is also used as an adjective. So either is correct when used to refer to a structure that is normally below water. Customary usage would "submarine" for something that by nature or design is underwater; "submerged" would be for something that is normally above water but in this case is below water.
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Yes, and while "submerged" could apply to being sunk in any fluid "submarine" strictly means under the sea.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
"Submarine" is an adjective that is commonly used as a noun; the phrase would originally have been "submarine boat", and I note that in naval circles they are referred to as "boats". "Submerged" is a verb that is also used as an adjective. So either is correct when used to refer to a structure that is normally below water. Customary usage would "submarine" for something that by nature or design is underwater; "submerged" would be for something that is normally above water but in this case is below water.
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The Royal Navy does refer to submarines as ‘boats’. All other vessels are ‘targets’.
 
They might have fitted between the blocks, but finding their way through would, I think, have been problematic when submerged.

Sticky Fingers, thanks for that photo. I've never seen the barrier submerged, which could have something to do with the fact that it's about half an hour from the boat's home at Hardway, which needs at least an hour of tide for access, I've sailed over it without incident a couple of times, but I never did put my full weight down.
 
Stemar said:
They might have fitted between the blocks, but finding their way through would, I think, have been problematic when submerged.

Sticky Fingers, thanks for that photo. I've never seen the barrier submerged, which could have something to do with the fact that it's about half an hour from the boat's home at Hardway, which needs at least an hour of tide for access, I've sailed over it without incident a couple of times, but I never did put my full weight down.
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Can't claim any credit for the pic, but wanted to post it to show that it really is a nasty hazard. Obviously at high water and knowing your own draft and the height of tide, you could choose to pass over the top, as I have done accidentally once and on purpose several times. Worth spending time to take a look at the marks too.
 
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