The Dive Experience | Triton Submarines

The Triton Experience

Triton have been providing guests with the finest diving experience for over a decade.

Boarding

Like so many memorable journeys, your next great adventure begins the moment you board.

The design of Triton subs is inherently stable. The iconic Triton pontoons ensure that the craft sits flat and level on the surface as you board though the generously-sized upper hatch. In every acrylic-hulled Triton, you’ll step directly into the cabin – no crawl spaces or steel link chambers here – and make yourself comfortable in a luxuriously generous seat. You’ll appreciate the class-leading leg-, head- and elbow-room which results from our passion for ergonomic design.

With guests seated, your pilot – who, in many cases, will have welcomed you into the submersible having embarked first – will close the upper hatch and an instant calm fills the cabin as the sounds of the wind, waves and gulls above are muted.

The surface of the water bisects your view; sub above, sea below. Your pilot confirms that we’re ready to dive.

Here we go.

Demonstrating Triton’s surface stability by standing on pontoons during surface ops

Demonstrating Triton’s surface stability by standing on pontoons during surface ops In Antartica

Demonstrating Triton’s surface stability by standing on pontoons during surface movements in choppy waters

Leaving the Surface

In a transition that never ceases to be enjoyable, the waterline rises gently to the top of the sphere and the submersible silently slips below the waves, bringing with it an immediate sense of peace.

First-time divers tend to first admire the sun as it ripples through the waves in diffuse patterns, the like of which they have never experienced. The hull and propellers of their yacht are often noted next; again, an ever-present side of life that, until now, has not been seen.

Already, just five meters down, their perspective on the world will never be the same.

Guests smiling as they prepare to dive in a Triton sub

Onlookers witness a Triton sub disappear beneath the waves on a sightseeing dive

Passenger takes photos as water surrounds the acrylic sphere of a Triton submersible.

Diving

During the descent is when guests tend to remember that they’re inside a bubble. Triton’s premium acrylic features the same refractive index as water and, accordingly, it has completely disappeared from view. Not only does the ocean appear to be being held at bay by nothing but the force, its distance is virtually imperceptible.

In what is an inevitable and always humorous moment, guests enjoy reaching forward in an attempt to find the interior surface of the acrylic. They never get it right! Words can barely describe how magical the feeling is of at once being so intimately enveloped and connected with the ocean, but with no visible explanation. It is an illusion that can only be performed with the absolutely flawless acrylic exclusive to Triton.

The views of the ocean surrounds the passengers inside, even allowing you to see what is directly above and below you. Peering down, beneath your feet, a wreck starts to appear through the blue.

Enjoying the panoramic view in a Triton sub

Close encounters with the inhabitants of the deep in a Triton sub

Exploring

Let the exploration begin.

As the submersible gets closer to the wreck, passengers move in their seats to get the best view possible. Some bring out their phones to film the myriad of ocean life that have made the wreck their home. Later on, back at the surface, they will be marveling at the clarity of the footage captured from inside the hull.

The pilot, seated at the back, gently and easily maneuvers the submersible close to the wreck. So close, in fact, that it feels like you can reach out and touch it or any of the curious sea creatures that swoop in to investigate this new arrival. The pilot switches on the submersible’s external lights. Suddenly there is an explosion of colour – everywhere the light touches corals and creatures shimmer in vibrant hues.

As the sub smoothly makes its way around wreck, the pilot, who thanks to his position in the sub can see exactly what you see, guides you through what is outside, pointing out different species and providing a little bit of information about each.

You lean back – maybe you even pour yourself a glass of champagne and chose one of your favourite tunes to play over the Bluetooth audio system – as you experience the awe of visiting the only place left on our planet where wildlife doesn’t automatically see you as a threat and flee, but instead come up close to check you (and the submersible) out. The sudden arrival of a shark provides the a rush of excitement inside the sub, not to mention the perfect photo opportunity.

You realise with a jolt just how long you’ve been immersed in this serene world when the pilot announces that it is time to head back up.

Triton sub illuminates and approaches a wreck. Allison Markova

Triton sub approaches an artefact on seabed. Allison Markova

Shark pictured from a Triton Sub. Allison Markova

Ascending

With unforgettable moments duly documented and exploration complete, the pilot announces that it is time to head back to the yacht for lunch. Where has the morning gone?

You’ve been down for two hours, but you’re not feeling tired, achy or thirsty. You’re not sweaty, or dried out, and your ears aren’t ringing from pressure changes the way they do on a plane.

Instead you relax and savour the last views of this otherworldly place as the sub starts heading up towards the sunlight.

Breaching the Surface

Arguably everyone’s favourite part – after sharks!

Gliding upward through cathedral-like shafts of sunlight, an involuntary sigh escapes your body. The surface of the ocean, viewed from below, sports a liquid crystal aesthetic.

The transition from underwater to back in daylight is a truly unique experience. There’s nothing quite like it. The soporific nature of a Triton dive shatters into exited chatter as breaking the surface you blink in the bright sunshine.

You relive moments with those onboard, exhilarated by the emotional connection forged by a unique shared experience.

On land time and space are the most valuable of commodities. In the deep you’ve discovered a new world, where time and space seem boundless.

And with that, your dive is over. You climb out through the hatch, back onto your yacht and regale your passengers with the stories. You show them your photos, perhaps tweet your videos, and then plan where to go tomorrow.