
That little yellow capsule is a submarine powered by a human who is sealed inside, a competitor in the International Human-Powered Submarine Races. Navy divers are on hand above and below. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

A Navy diver readies a sealed submarine for the race. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

Navy divers wait at the finish line to slow the vessel and unseal the hatch. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

At the finish line, Navy divers help the pilot out of the sealed submarine. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

A human submarine pilot climbs out of the David Taylor Model Basin after his race. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

The starting line of the Human-Powered Submarine Races. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

Judges and officials watch and record the races from a battery of monitors along the course. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

The scene inside the David Taylor Model Basin as competitors wait to race in the International Human-Powered Submarine Races. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

A racer climbs out of his submarine. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

The submarines are big enough to hold only one or two pilots. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.

One of the 20 submarines competing in the human submarine races at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Carderock, Maryland. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.