New Millennium Dive Expeditions [NMDE] was formed in the living room of team member, Martin McClellan, back in 1999 by a dynamic group of "budding" technical divers wanting to organize and formulate a team diving approach with a specific project/mission in mind. Little did we know where it would lead to but we knew that Lake Tahoe, as well as the Pacific Coast, held an incredible opportunity for training and experience providing us the chance to enhance our "team" diving abilities and share a dynamic, historic and exciting underwater realm with the world. We also came to realize that there were many historic diving opportunities that would push our technical diving and research activities to the limit, at the same time, providing a rich content, historically, scientifically and humanistically (?) to our expeditions that we could share with others in an intense and exciting manner.
Where did it lead? First and foremost, to the formation of a Nevada Non-Profit corporation that is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and a "team" of divers that were instrumental in 1) securing the listing of the SS Tahoe as a historic landmark on the USA's National Register of historic landmarks, 2) assisting the National Park Service in the creation of the historic B-29 Bomber dive site in Lake Mead, and 3) establishing procedures and protocols for conducting archaeologically sound dive expeditions both at sea level and specifically, altitude.
NMDE's "team" diving approach evolved from a desire for quality technical diving education and a need to be trained in a safe and competent manner providing a sound base for our activities. This allowed our projects to represent this aspect of diving in a responsible and professional manner; we strive to be outstanding role models for others contemplating this avenue of diving. Throughout our 10 years of work, we have adopted a very strict code of diving practices and procedures that allow us to spend 4 to 5 hours underwater exploring distances of up to 3 to 4 miles with the use of underwater dive propulsion vehicles. These disciplines have been honed over thousands of dives and countless hours of training by some of the best dive instructors the world over.
Our present (2009) project will focus upon the completion of our work began back in 1999 on the shipwreck of the SS Tahoe in Glenbrook Bay, Lake Tahoe-Nevada. This was our founding project and due to many personal scheduling conflicts, we have been inactive since 2004. We are now set to reinvigorate our efforts and endeavor to complete our work on the Tahoe and bring back to the surface an education of this Maritime Icon that rests stoically 400 feet below the surface of her sapphire waters.
