San Anselmo Couple Conquer Undersea World

The earliest childhood memory of my deep sea diving adventures occurred in the cylindrical, cast-iron diving bell ride at Playland at the Beach in San Francisco. We were packed  like human sardines in this dark blue -- not to mention highly dangerous -- monstrosity and then lowered below to a murky tank, full of plastic fish. Getting back to the "surface" happened through a hydraulic shaft, which returned us quickly, leaks and all, clumsily to the top.

That was pretty much the extent of my exposure to deep sea travel vehicles – until now.

In a busy, dockside workshop, tucked away in a foggy Point Richmond marina, is the home of Hawkes Ocean Technologies. Graham Hawkes, an internationally-known ocean expert and uber-engineer, is occupied by putting away one of the two DeepFlight Super Falcon sleek submersibles. He explains to me why he and his family traveled for four weeks to the Gulf of Aqaba.

“Hawkes Oceans Technologies was there in conjunction with the Royal Films Commission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. During our trip, we took the ultra light-weight submersible out every day for scientific studies along the coastline," he said.

Only two DeepFlight Super Falcon crafts are currently in existence with San Anselmo residents Graham and his wife, Karen, Hawkes keeping one for themselves. Venture capitalist and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Tom Perkins, owns the only other one in existence and is planning a multi-year ocean expedition.

A true forward-thinker, over the past forty years, Graham, an award-winning British engineer, part-dreamer and charming professor, and Karen have worked tirelessly to achieve success in the new frontier of ocean landscapes. The San Anselmo couple are determined to revamp the world of lightweight submersibles to enable safe and fast deep-sea access.

They have been the driving force and creative designers of a variety of over 60 manned vehicles used for oceanic scientific studies and industries, as well as recreationally and commercially in the film business.

In the solo Deep Rover submarine, during a test pilot run, Graham managed to achieve the record for the deepest solo dive of 3,000 feet. This submarine creation has gone on to be used by award-winning filmmaker, James Cameron, in his popular IMAX film, Aliens of the Deep.

Last November, Graham, Karen, electronics engineer, Charles Chiau, and their two children sailed with Perkins on his 289-foot-long legendary Maltese Falcon to the Sea of Cortez to test his sub. Perkins and his crew dove the sub almost every day with a final dive at Roca Partida in the Pacific, seeing up-close an astonishing variety of undersea life.

He promised Karen a life of adventure, and has delivered big time.

Moving to Marin County was a conscious decision by the couple to focus on the investors he needs to move forward -- our state provides many more of these opportunities. Plus, it’s a nice place to live for Graham, Karen and their two children, Oliver, 12, and Madeline, 11.

One clever business relationship was formed with the billionaire adventurer, Sir Richard Branson, who recently purchased the DeepFlight Merlin three-person submersible from Hawkes Technology. Branson renamed it the Necker Nymph and is using it off his fabulous island paradise, Necker Island, allowing his VIP guests to go 100-feet deep in the waters of the Caribbean. The Necker Nymph, unlike the other completely enclosed subs, is designed with an open cockpit, requiring the passengers and pilot to wear masks and breathe through regulators that are hooked up to built-in oxygen tanks.

These subs are super sleek and relatively narrow, but, according to Karen, not claustrophobic at all because of glass cockpits and extensive visibility. And what if the engine dies under water? “They just float silently to the top. They are super safe. We are pure flight. We do not have a get heavy and sink concept, just positive buoyancy," said Graham.

It is no secret why Graham is considered to be in the forefront of facilitating underwater exploration. While designing all the vehicles, he has successfully founded and managed six high-tech companies.

But, he doesn't want to be called an inventor. Graham believes technology doesn't progress on an even plane. His playground is our ocean, which covers two-thirds of the earth -- a much larger playing field than land.

“Earth is a poor name for an ocean planet," he said. “We are an ocean planet. We are mastering moving into the next big thing. We are carving out a future in undersea tourism, which is a mirror image of space tourism, only way more viable and exciting."