NEVER mind the mile high club. The latest adventure for well-heeled travellers seeking the ultimate romantic destination is the mile below club – with membership restricted to passengers in private luxury submarines.

Manufacturers of some of the world’s most exclusive underwater conveyances are boasting of the sexual possibilities of submersible cabins equipped with “large panoramic viewports” that allow exhibitionists to indulge their fantasies in front of an audience of dolphins and lobsters.

Tucked away in a routine interview with the Bloomberg news agency last week was a startling claim by one of the submarine world’s best known designers that some of his clients may be more interested in what goes on inside the sub than the view through the acrylic portholes.

According to Bloomberg, Hervé Jaubert, a former French navy commando who founded Exomos, a Dubai-based company that builds personal submarines, “says he has clients who wrestle with how to conduct a deep-sea love affair in front of an observation window without creating an underwater incident”.

Jaubert did not return calls to comment last week but Bruce Jones, president of US Submarines, a Seattle-based luxury builder, said he had heard of underwater romance being interrupted by curious dolphins.

“Dolphins are easily excited when they sense people making love,” Jones said. “They get jealous and bang their noses on the windows.”

There are estimated to be at least 100 mini-submarines in private hands, ranging from small one-man submersibles to 200ft floating palaces that can dive to 1,000ft. That’s a long way short of a mile, but members of the mile below club are unlikely to quibble.

The identities of the submarine owners are a closely guarded secret. “If I told you, I’d have to shoot you,” said Jones, whose submarines sell for up to £39m.

Several billionaires have reportedly added a sub to their super-yacht collections, among them Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, and Roman Abramovich, the Russian owner of Chelsea football club.

Earlier this year Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the Hollywood mega-couple, were reported to be shopping for a 280ft yacht that comes with a glass-fronted submarine stowed in its hull.

Of course, there is no suggestion that any of these reputed buyers have ever joined the mile below club.

As for the overexcited dolphins, Jones seems to have discovered an easy solution. He suggests that members of the mile below club hang some curtains.

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