Posted by SLANG on September 06, 2000 at 15:18:06:
In Reply to: The Yukon( again) posted by JR Gordon on September 05, 2000 at 15:18:49:
Hey JR -
As you know, I was out to the YUKON with the LOIS ANN on Sunday. What a great day. Just did two afternoon dives on her, but was able to get a pretty good feel for the wreck.
The viz was not too great (maybe 30 ft.), and the temp according to my computer was in the 50's on the bottom. I don't have my log book or my computer here so I can't tell you exactly, or which specific portions of the wreck I ventured into. We were moored on the very last buoy on the aft portion of the wreck. On the first dive I was able to get a quick glance at the bridge, the forward guns and enter that forward compartment through the port side where the bow comes up off the sand like you suggested. Very enjoyable. The second dive focused more on the aft portion of the vessel, the cargo deck, the engine room and the underside of the ship.
After all the discussion (or maybe in spite of it), I was actually surprised by a number of things on my dives:
- one you already mentioned - the surge/current when you are near most of the ship's external openings (and even sometimes the internal ones - which means care is required when passing through, since some of the edges are rather sharp);
- the amount of light that penetrates the wreck (at least the more starboard sections on a sunny day - I didn't even turn on a light on my second dive);
- the amount of SCUBA graffiti where people often went to great lengths to "write" something less than memorable in the algae beginning to cover the hull and bulkheads;
- the monumental amount of work that was undertaken to prep the YUKON prior to her sinking (the acetylene alone must have cost a fortune, not to mention the hours spent cutting her up).
If you have the underwater map and with all the signs posted at each opening, it's pretty easy to determine your exact location at any point. I did not see all of the wreck of course, but much of it was very accessible to experienced divers (whether or not they have OE training). That's not to say this should be considered just another dive, but with a certain level of experience, adequate planning, and a good deal of common sense, there's no reason that this should completely off-limits to divers unless they have "tech" training. As JR also said, I ran into very few people inside the wreck. For the most part, I think people give the interior a very healthy respect. again, these are just my personal opinions based on my first-hand observations and discussions with others on the boat.
SLANG