'A Million Miles Away'
By Don Campbell

PHILIPPINE SEA, Aug. 21 -- The robotic submarine was supposed to be on the sea floor three days ago, visually searching for the wreck of the USS Indianapolis. Instead it spent most of the weekend on deck.

On Saturday morning, 94 minutes into its first dive, a ground fault killed the ROV's power as it neared the ocean bottom, and the technicians had to bring it back to the surface. After all the delays of the past two weeks, the news was almost heartbreaking.

"This is getting pretty old," said expedition leader Curt Newport, frustrated by problems with the high-tech submersible. "I mean it just shouldn't be happening. ... Ten or 15 years ago this was pretty much expected, but the technology has been around for a while now. (Yet) somehow it always comes down to chewing gum and baling wire."

Back on deck, the problem was clear: One of the vehicle's "outrigger" light booms was torn loose and had smashed through the Plexiglas cover on the transformer box. Seawater had flooded in and shorted out the power supply.

After six hours of emergency repairs, the Remora 6000 was again ready for the water. Unfortunately the water wasn't ready for the ROV. A line of squalls passing over the search site had stirred up whitecaps and 6-foot swells. With the boat pitching side to side, the launch was postponed. And by Saturday night a tropical depression to the northwest had turned into a tropical storm. Even with the eye of the cyclone more than 200 miles away, it stirred up high winds and rain here at the search site.

So we've waited. The ROV technicians headed for the showers and a well-earned rest. The rest of the passengers and crew looked for ways to pass the time, which included – rather oddly -- a video screening of the movie "Jaws".

Finally, this morning, the weather cleared. The ROV was launched again, and the search team gathered in the cramped confines of the aboard-ship control van: a soundproof, air-conditioned cubicle in a converted freight-container, packed with sonar and video monitors.

Technician Dave Yole called out the depth: "Five-hundred meters. ... 750. ..."

Then, 824 meters down, the ROV experienced another ground fault. The voice of Steve Saint Amour, who is in charge of the ROV, came over the intercom, terse and tired: "Start recovery."

Out on the deck, Curt stared at the winch as it hauled in cable. If he's right, we should be sailing directly over the wreck of Indianapolis. One good dive, and the answer is just two hours away. But for now, as Curt says, "Indy might as well be a million miles away."