Old Submarine Scores a Hit on the Internet

A Confederate submarine nearly sank a Web site when tickets to view it went up for sale on the Internet.

Keith Cutler, database administrator for etix.com, a Raleigh, N.C.-based ticket seller, said his company’s Web site drew 2 million hits in the first 20 minutes on Oct. 2 after it began selling tours to view the H.L. Hunley, the first submarine ever to sink an enemy warship. The Civil War-era Hunley was raised from its watery grave off Charleston, S.C., in August and went on display this weekend.

Frustrated visitors to the etix Web site, which lets you print your own tickets, mistakenly ordered multiple tickets when they could not get a response from the overloaded site, Cutler said.

As of press time last week, the company was still trying to sort out the ticket inventory. Cutler said tours were sold out this weekend and Oct. 21 and 22, but there may be tickets for the following three weekends. Tour organizers were considering whether to add dates.

The 20-minute tours allow visitors to view the submarine in a tank of water and hear a program on its history. Tickets cost $10. Call (888) 202-3849 or visit the Internet site https://www.etix.com.