The most popular boat dive in San Diego, the HMCS Yukon was an 8 deck high Canadian destroyer.
| Name Dive Site: | HMCS Yukon |
| Depth: | 72-104ft (22-32m) |
| Inserted/Added by: | ken, © Author: Channel Islands Dive |
| Rated: | Rated not yet |
| Specifications: |   |
| GPS: | N32°46.80', W117°17.12' |
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The HMCS Yukon (DDE 263) was launched in North Vancouver on July 27, 1961, commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on May 25, 1963. She was a 366ft Mackenzie-class destroyer that first served in the RCN and later in the Canadian Forces. She was the first Canadian naval unit to carry this name. She was assigned to the Pacific Fleet and served largely as a training ship with the RCN and later in the CF under Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC). She underwent the Destroyer Life Extension Project (DELEX) in 1983 and eventually decommissioned from Maritime Command on July, 31 1992.
The Yukon's hulk was purchased by the San Diego Oceans Foundation which towed her from CFB Esquimalt to San Diego, California in 2000. She was gutted and cleaned before being scuttled as an artificial reef. The Yukon now sits in 105 feet of water off Mission Beach, San Diego in the Northern area of Wreck Alley. She lies on her port side with average minimum depth from bow to stern about 75 feet along the starboard side. Visibility can run between 10'-50' plus depending on conditions and water temperature usually is in the 50's to 60's also depending on the time of year.
She was prepared for divers and an abundance of entry and exit holes were cut into her to increase accessibility and diver safety. Penetration is readily available for those with the proper training, as well as plenty to see on the exterior by less experienced divers including forward and aft gun turrets. The Yukon has something to offer for almost every diver from the novice to the 'Techie'.
More about California wreck diving, please visit the California Wreck Divers (CWD) website along with another excellent resource, the book Shipwrecks of Southern California by Bonnie J. Cardone and Patrick Smith.
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