The entrepreneur plans to charge guests at his Necker Island resort $26,800 for a two-hour glide through the ocean, 40 metres below the surface, but only after they fork out $98,000 for seven nights aboard the resort’s catamaran, the Necker Belle.

The Necker Nymph seats two guests and a pilot, who operates the luxury sub with a joystick, Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reports.

Billionaire Sir Richard Branson has added an underwater sea plane to his pile of luxury playthings in the latest pitch to lure the super rich to his Caribbean island.

The entrepreneur plans to charge guests at his Necker Island resort $26,800 for a two-hour glide through the ocean, 40 metres below the surface, but only after they fork out $98,000 for seven nights aboard the resort’s catamaran, the Necker Belle.

The Necker Nymph seats two guests and a pilot, who operates the luxury sub with a joystick, Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reports.
The Virgin Necker Nymph … an underwater ‘plane’ that will take tourists to the bottom of the ocean.

The Virgin Necker Nymph … an underwater ‘plane’ that will take tourists to the bottom of the ocean.

Unlike other submarine vessels, which use ballast to propel themselves under water, the Nymph uses downward ‘lift’ on the wings to make its descent.

Passengers will have to take scuba diving training before being able to use the Nymph.

But once properly prepared guests will be able to explore ship wrecks and reefs or follow pods of dolphins, the sub’s designers and builders, Hawkes Ocean Technologies, say.

“The Nymph is an entirely new class of vehicle for us – think of a sleek convertible under water,” Hawkes Ocean Technologies spokeswoman Karen Hawkes told the Daily Mail.

“It is different from our other submersibles because it was specifically designed to dive to scuba depths in tropical waters.”

It joins Branson’s considerable arsenal of an airline, record label, mobile phone company and a string of restaurants.

Although I could keep my cellphone in a water tight plastic bag, together with other important stuffs. However, inside the boat is as far as it could go. I won’t be able to receive calls when in the water. But not with Alpha UWCP, an underwater cellphone from Ocean Reef.

Yes, some people may think it’s a crazy thing to make a phone calls while diving. This latest underwater cellular communication unit incorporates a speaker and microphone which installed on the Neptune Space full face mask.

In case you’re wondering how is it possible to make calls underwater since radio signals have difficulty propagating under water, the unit comes with a 40-meter cable with the other end connected to a quick water resistance bayonet, plugged into an impact and water resistant compact box.

The box is placed in a special custom made buoy with a unique top pocket to provide a firm attachment to the box. The device is further attached to the buoy with the use of custom rubber bands.

The buoy has a water reserve bottom pocket for even more stability while on the surface. The device is also equipped with diver flags (international and commercial). The water resistant surface box contains an electronic interface which can be connected by Bluetooth to a cellular phone. The device works with a 9v alkaline battery.

Any cellular phone with “voice dialing”, Bluetooth capabilities and with dimensions no larger than 60 mm wide, 25 mm thick, 110 mm high, can simply be interfaced with the Alpha UWCP.

It may sounds impossible to recreational divers but this is no joke!, Scuba diving at more than 2000 meters altitude is the latest trend in Vallnord, the well known icey mountain.

There are two options: a “baptism” for beginners and technical diving for qualified divers. Once the dive has finished, the descent continues through the mountains of Arcalis.

The diving baptisms are a 12-metre dive in La Canaleta pool (2060m) which is complete with an artificial dam to produce snow and ice. This dive is aimed at beginners over the age of 14 and lasts for 15 to 20 minutes and costs €75 per person.

This beginners’ dive consists of a descent via a blue slope, wearing the special equipment provided by the organisation, and a submersion under the waters with the supervision of an instructor. The baptism can be done from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes materials and insurance.

The second option is aimed at qualified divers or people who have done a previous dive. This dive, which offers the chance to dive to 23 metres, is done in the Tristaina Lake (2305m). It lasts for 5.5 hours and takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m and costs €295.

The starting point is the La Coma Restaurant in the Arcalís sector and there are three ways to reach the lake: by helicopter, with snowshoes, or using a good off-piste track. A minimum of three people are needed to carryout the activity.