Richard Branson’s firm may be looking to launch people into the stratosphere with Virgin Galactic, but this latest toy is a new way for the super-rich to get their kicks without having to leave Earth’s atmosphere.
The Necker Nymph is effectively an underwater plane, using wings to provide downward pressure that pulls it beneath the surf and then allows for a 2 hour journey around the aquatic realm in a way that few will have experienced before.
If you have £204,000 lying around then you can book a place on the Necker Nymph for yourself and a passenger, with a pilot being the only other person present in the three seater craft that is named after Mr Branson’s private residence in the British Virgin Islands.
The Necker Nymph will make its first commercial trip on the 20th of February and with panoramic, uninterrupted views its passengers are likely to have their minds blown ever so slightly.
The Nymph has been a project of Hawkes Ocean Design and a spokesperson for the firm said that the transition from aquaplaning along the surface of the ocean to underwater cruising was seamless and simple to control. He also said that any passengers would be required to have undergone SCUBA training.
Virgin has said that the Nymph will cause virtually no damage to the environment, with minimal emissions of light or sound to worry the life underwater and a clever system that, fortunately, allows it to avoid crashing into any reefs or the bed of the sea.
