Female Diver Missing on The Yukon, San Diego

[wedivebc]

It is intact. It was prepared to be sunk as an artificial reef but sank unintentionally the night before the planned sinking due to high seas. It sits on its port side.

Is that an actual intact wreck that can be penetrated or is it just a "boat shaped blob" that divers look at from the outside?

Did the deceased (or the rest of the class) enter it?

flots.

 

[Slater]

Is that an actual intact wreck that can be penetrated or is it just a "boat shaped blob" that divers look at from the outside?

Did the deceased (or the rest of the class) enter it?

flots.

"The Yukon is California’s latest and most popular wreck, both in and outside of diving circles. It is different from nearly all other wrecks as it is completely intact, which also makes it potentially one of California’s most dangerous wrecks to dive.
Unlike most ships with large open holds for cargo, the Yukon was designed to carry a crew—its bulkheads and low decks form a maze of narrow passages and small compartments, some of which are over 50’ from the nearest exit. To compound the potential danger, the ineffectual sinking of the Yukon left it on its portside, allowing sand and silt to fill the hull and block off several exits. The orientation of the ship is now offset by a strong list, increasing the depth from what was originally planned and the depths listed on the maps of the wreck.
Divers should be advised that entering the Yukon is no different than penetrating other wrecks or caves. Diving below an overhead environment is a technical dive and should only be attempted by those properly trained and equipped.
The Yukon nearly experienced its first fatality on the day it was opened to the public when an instructor nearly lost his life. After 30 minutes of being trapped inside, he finally found his way out of the wreck and onto the sand. At 100 feet deep and 100 psi left in his tank, he dropped his weight belt and shot for the surface, negating his 10 minute decompression stop.
As a corporate sponsor of Project Yukon, the California Wreck Divers encourages and supports the use of shipwrecks for artificial reefs. However, we condone diver safety above all. When diving the Yukon or other wrecks, please exercise good judgment and caution."


I can only imagine that this is going to be a senario of seperation / lost the group & couldnt find an exit, in result O.O.A...
Speculation on my part at this point, hope we get some answers so we can all learn from this.

 

[MrNatural]

The yukon is a destroyer class boat lying on its side with holes cut in it for penetration. Conditions had to be very poor today..Swell models said 6- 8..There is slmost always surge on the yukon and today it must have been really crazy and I cant imagine that the viz was better than 5 feet..My first thought is to pray for her family. My second is what ghe hell were they doing out there.

 

[Melicertes]

My sincere condolences to her friends and family. This is truly a tragedy.

"Lifeguards received a call from a vessel offshore that a diver, who was a student in an advanced class with an instructor, had failed to surface at a designated time and was missing."

I am sure there will be a good explanation still to come but according to the press release (see the snippet above) she was a student diver on an advanced training dive (unless I am misinterpreting it) - I wonder where the instructor was when things obviously went wrong and why they did not know anything about her whereabouts, hence the search? Accidents happen but I hope this is not going to turn out to be yet another fatal accident because of something irresponsible or negligent.

My prayers are for this girl's family and friends tonight.

 

[antattack]

Do check out the link that Heavierthanlead added above- but yes, the Yukon was prepared for divers before it sunk and it is in good shape. There are three decks that can be penetrated easily.

With the proper training, the Yukon about as save as a wreck dive can get. It has big open spaces, lots of openings... It's well mapped and it rests well within the sport limits of diving. The Yukon is an excellent place for wreck divers to train- I've made four dives on the Yukon and enjoyed every one of them. Bring a camera if you have one.

Very sorry that an avid diver lost her life and my condolences go out to her family and friends. Let's see if we can learn how to be better divers out of this.

 

[wedivebc]

The yukon is a destroyer class boat lying on its side with holes cut in it for penetration. Conditions had to be very poor today..Swell models said 6- 8..There is slmost always surge on the yukon and today it must have been really crazy and I cant imagine that the viz was better than 5 feet..My first thought is to pray for her family. My second is what ghe hell were they doing out there.

Actually she was a destroyer escort. I sailed in her for seven years

 

[MrNatural]

My mistake. I had always understood she was a destroyer. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Ayisha]

Everheart said the divers were underwater together, and when they came up, one woman was missing. She was reported to be an advanced diver.

That part concerns me on the part of her buddy and especially her instructor who should have had "care and control" over the student. They didn't know she was missing until they came up. Since she was still on/within the wreck when found deceased, she had presumably never even begun the ascent with them...

 

[jridg]

I have many dives inside and outside the Yukon. She's a fantastic dive for wreck and non-wreck divers alike. Plenty of life and the ship remains in excellent condition. Having moved to San Francisco 18 months ago, I miss the opportunity to dive on this wreck.

All of that said - we just don't know what happened here. Any number of factors and incidents could be at play and we may never know.

 

[Slater]

That part concerns me on the part of her buddy and especially her instructor who should have had "care and control" over the student. They didn't know she was missing until they came up. Since she was still on/within the wreck when found deceased, she had presumably never even begun the ascent with them...

x2
Couldnt find her way out on her own or entangled, result o.o.a.
Speculation on my part at this point but think I know who the cert. shop is going to be at this point & have seen sometimes odd # of divers so sometimes the third wheel is suppose to tag along with another buddy system & thats not how it plays-out.
That diver may have been solo most of the time or not been watched that closely especially if there were other elements as others have stated, the local swell conditions right now are crazy & they shouldnt have been out there to begin with.
Not putting blame on the instructor, dm, or shop, just saying theres only a couple ways this went down!
Sad to say the least, rest in peace..