The Dedicated Woman Who Rehabs Old Submarines to Let Herself and Others Find Joy in the Submersible Life

Wired visited with the dedicated Shanee Stopnitzky, a marine scientist, artist and founder of the Community Submersibles Project. Stopnitzky finds, raises money, purchases and rehabs old submarines, giving them new life as instructional tools for submersible operation and safety. So far she has amassed two subs – Fangtooth and Notiluca.

Stopnitzky shared that she is far more comfortable submerged than on land.

As soon as I’m under the water I go from being a little bit nervous to having just this total profound calmness and contentedness. So as soon as we’re submerged, as soon as you know the hatch is underwater I transition from feeling you know, anxious about what’s going on and worrying about all the controls to just feeling this extreme
sense of peace.