weekend at a Saltus Association fund raiser.

Dr. Joe MacInnis, who has spent the last 30 years studying human performance in high risk environments, will be the guest of honour at Saturday's Undersea Odyssey at Saltus Grammar School in Pembroke.

Since the early 1960s, Dr. MacInnis has been involved in some of the longest and deepest dives made by man and thanks to his work in decompression, new records in dive depths and duration have been made possible.

In addition to being the first man to dive under the North Pole, Dr. MacInnis also designed and built the first arctic dive station which made exploration below the polar icecap possible.

As a consultant to the Titanic discovery project, Dr. MacInnis became the first Canadian to explore the ill-fated ship lying on the bottom of the icy north Atlantic.

The "unsinkable'' ship struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912 after setting sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York four days earlier.

In 1991, Dr. MacInnis co-led a $7 million deep diving expedition to film the Titanic in the IMAX format which debuted in Toronto's Festival of Festivals this month.

Currently he is working on a science education project to accelerate the cleanup of the Great Lakes with the International Joint Commission.

Daniel Blagg, director for development at Saltus, said Dr. MacInnis had an interest in education and as a board member of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, would be in Bermuda this weekend.

"He's really interested in education, he likes turning young people on to science,'' Mr. Blagg said. "He was going to be down here for a weekend board meeting and he offered to do a lecture as a donation to the school. And we decided to build a dinner-dance around the lecture.'' Saltus' Undersea Odyssey will feature Dr. MacInnis recounting his experiences with the Titanic and other explorations in the Junior School's Hall.

"We will have a 12-by-12 foot television and a sound system to show Dr.

MacInnis' personal films of the Titanic,'' Mr. Blagg said. "We'll have a Bermudian version of the doctor's IMAX film.'' Mr. Blagg added that guests would enjoy a complimentary Pimm's Cup and other refreshments before the doctor's 45-minute lecture.

The presentation will be followed by champagne, aperitifs and starters -- accompanied by a pianist -- on the Woodlands terrace.

"We are going to put a tent on the top of the terrace roof top,'' Mr. Blagg explained. "All the hors d'oeuvres are being donated by the best places in Bermuda. And we're going to light the building with blue-green lights and fairy lights. The new addition has all sorts of terraces and arches, it should be very interesting. We're going to try to make the court yard look like its underwater.'' Mr. Blagg said the guests will then move into the courtyard for a buffet dinner, which will include steamed ship of beef, salmon, salads and desserts made by the Princess hotel's pastry chef.

"The Princess' pastry chef is making a cake in the form of the Titanic when the ship hit the iceberg,'' he added. "It's being donated by the Princess.'' Musical entertainment will be provided by the six-piece band Tom Ray who will play throughout dinner till midnight for those who wish to dance under the stars.

MacInnis gives talk The event will also feature a silent auction for donated gifts which are reminiscent of articles that could have been carried aboard the Titanic .

A snorkelling trip for two, four airline tickets to Boston and a Crisson's jewellery chest filled with jewels donated by other local jewellery stores are just some the items on the auction block.

"Sealed bids are being accepted,'' Mr. Blagg added. "And that night, all the items will be showcased by our students in the Young Investors Club, who will also be helping with the auction. It will be a learning experience for the club.'' Tickets for the dinner dance are $75 and can be bought in advance from the school.

"We've already sold about a third of the tickets to corporations,'' Mr. Blagg said. "Anyone interested in attending should purchase theirs quickly since the maximum we can host is 300 due to the size of the hall.''