Underwater robot to be used in advance of deep Tahoe dive

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2000 | 9:19 a.m.

In early March, the Reno-based team will use a remote-controlled submersible vehicle to survey the wreck of the SS Tahoe hundreds of feet deep off the shoreline of this eastshore Tahoe community.

Equipped with a video camera, the miniature unmanned submarine will travel to the sunken steamer, which lies at an angle on the lake bottom roughly 325 feet deep at the bow and 425 deep in the stern. The remote-operated vehicle, or ROV, will record the precise depth and location of the SS Tahoe and provide critical details the diving team will need to make their venture as safe as possible.

"That will give us a picture of the entire site," said Martin McClellan, a Reno financial adviser and expedition coordinator. "We'll know exactly how deep it is and exactly what we have to do to get to that point."

Planning is critical because of the dangerous nature of the dive. While a dive 400 feet deep would be hazardous anywhere, Tahoe's 6,229-foot altitude sharply limits the time divers can safely spend at that depth. The SS Tahoe divers will be using cutting-edge technology and breathing mixtures of oxygen, helium and nitrogen.

Time at the wreck will be limited to 12 minutes, but the return to the surface will take two to three hours with divers making periodic stops to decompress and avoid the bends.

Next month's robot survey will allow the team to examine hazards at the wreck site, including metal snags that could tear a dry suit and force a highly dangerous emergency ascent.

"This recon will give us the information to plan our dive in a manner that will reduce the risks to the divers," McClellan said. "We will not be going down there blind. We will be able to set up our dive environment for maximum safety."

Jimi Quinn, a safety diver for the expedition, agreed the survey would play a critical role. During the summer expedition, Quinn will be among a team of divers on the surface or waiting in shallow depths in the event of an emergency among the wreck divers below.

"This is going to be great information," said Quinn, who bristles at any suggestion team members could perish on the dive to the SS Tahoe.

"Nobody's going to die if the safety team has anything to say about it," Quinn said.

The SS Tahoe was launched in 1896 and for nearly a half century circled the lake delivering cargo and mail and providing sightseeing trips. It was scuttled Aug. 30, 1940.

This summer's series of dives is set to commence on the 60th anniversary of the vessel's scuttling.

The dive group's website is www.diverssupport.com/sstahoe.htm