Their areas of study included everything from welding to marine technology. The crew undergoes training during practice sessions, which take place in a small pond that a local industry has allowed them to use, as well as in the ocean. Their first competition took place in Ft. Cape Fear Community College surprised everyone by coming in eighth out of forty-two boats and also winning the Best Built Boat. After the competition, the boat was re-worked and entered in the Bethesda International Submarine Race where they won Overall Performance.
Competition is intense, and school pride is at stake.
We keep improving the efficiency of the boat. We're the small school. The first time we entered a competition, people were skeptical, but we do a lot of hands on stuff that four year colleges can't do. It's given students a great deal of confidence and faith in their own abilities to go up against larger institutions and it's taught the value of teamwork also. Without their efforts, we couldn't have pulled this off.