Diving Yukon/RubyE and experience!

[C2001]

I would say you need a 7mm with a hood. I had never been below 60ft when i dove the Yukon. I went with my dive buddy who happens to be a DM and I am very comfortable with. I had no problems with the dive and felt comfortable with doing it and felt it was easy. So long as you have a thicker suit and have a good dive buddy you should have no problems with it. I chose to decend and ascend using the line to help me feel safer. I didn't make down to the Rudy E because my dive buddy go sick 30ft on the decent so I had to bring him back up. I am told the Rudy E is much easier then the Yukon. I dive in san diego off the Lois Ann and i think the staff is great.

 

[scubadada]

I've always been interested in diving these wrecks, but have been a little put off by all the boat charter website warnings about experience.

I was certified in soCal winter water back in '95 and have done perhaps 70 dives since then, but mostly on vacations from central america to asia in warmer water....not much around here but the occasional Catalina dive every 5 years.

Done plenty of current, surge, deep dives, but not sure what to expect here.

My question is how much I should heed these warnings or are they aimed at beginners?

They also recommend a dive master if not experienced in the area...given the viz and the cold water is this recommended or necessary for me?

I also dive a 5mm wetsuit no hood with a rash-guard underneath...is this enough?


Thanks

Hi lijewski,

I grew up in LA and did all my early diving in the 70s in SoCal in a 7mm with hood. I didn't do any cold water diving again until 2006 on a visit to San Diego. I now have just over 30 dives in the San Diego area including 9 on the Yukon and 5 on the Ruby E.

In my opinion, the dive on the Yukon varies from an easy novice dive to a moderately advanced dive depending on the conditions. In my few dives, the visibility has been as low as about 10 feet and as good as about 50 feet. I have dived there with no current up to a fairly brisk current. The dive with 10 foot vis and brisk current was modestly challenging whereas 50 foot vis and no current was a piece of cake. The Yukon is a big ship at 366 ft. It is not difficult to navigate but, lying on it's port side, in poor visibility, it can be somewhat disorienting. You can always orient yourself to the starboard rail. Your experience may also be affected by your buddy situation. Diving with someone you know of equal or greater proficiency would be quite different than diving with someone not known to you who might be struggling under the conditions. The profile of the Yukon runs from about 65 to just over 105 ft. My max depths have run from 95-105 ft with average depths at about 65-70 ft. I've only dived it on air with dive times 35-45 minutes

The Ruby E is a reasonably easy dive. It is a smaller ship of only 165 ft and lies upright. Navigation is nothing. It's profile is about 55-85 ft. My dives have had max depths of 75-85 feet, avg depths of just under 60 feet, and dive times on air of 35-40 minutes. I think these have always been 2nd or 3rd dives after a dive or a double on the Yukon.

I have visited San Diego at various times of year. Bottom temps on the Yukon and Ruby E have varied very little from 49-53 degrees, most commonly at the higher end. I wear a 7mm with a 5/3mm hooded vest. I do just fine on multiple dives per day except when the water is below 50, then I tend to get cold towards the end of the 2nd or subsequent dives. I don't think I would recommend doing these dives in a 5mm without a hood to anyone. Even with a hooded vest, I think I would be cold in a 5mm and I tend to dive warmer than many. If I lived in San Diego or otherwise did more cold water diving, I would definitely invest in a good drysuit.

Of course, when I visit San Diego I also enjoy diving in the kelp forests and off the Coronado Islands. Bottom temps in the kelp seem pretty similar to the wrecks whereas the Coronados alway seem a bit warmer.

I'm partial to Marissa Charters but have also had great dives with Lois Ann and Waterhorse Charters. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these operators.

Enjoy your dives in Wreck Alley,

Craig

 

[drbill]

I dive SoCal wet (even in my drysuit) and highly recommend a 7mm full plus a hooded vest for these dives. Although I've been diving longer than most members here have been alive, I was somewhat intimated the first time I dove the Yukon and Ruby E. The first dive there was under far less than optimal conditions (swell, vis) but it was not a difficult dive at all. Of course there is only one thing I penetrate, and ir has nothing to do with wrecks. If you're not planning any entry, I see no reason to worry excessively about simply diving the outside of the Yukon if conditions are reasonable.

 

[lijewski]

Thanks everyone. Super informative postings about your experiences. I will not worry and will plan to dive this area later in the summer/fall when viz improves!

 

[fnfalman]

Don't wander too far from the descend line, or at least remember where it's at and you'll be fine.

Water there tends to be colder than other places, so unless you're a very hardy individual, 5mm wetsuit isn't going to be enough. The area could be surgey at times, but if you don't have any problem dealing with currents and surges, then it doesn't matter.

 

[emoreira]

I went to the Yukon last May. The day was not cold, some 73F air temperature, though cloudy. Water temp was 61F at the surface, but dropped to 48F by the wreck at 100 ft.
I was using a 7 mm jump suit and 5 mm hood, 5 mm boots and 3 mm gloves. Not enough.
The rest of the divers were using, most of them drysuit, and the rest 2 pieces 7mm wetsuit (Farmer John + shorty + hooded vest).
I dove with WaterHorse charters. Good, in every aspect, except that they should have recommended me more wet protection (the wetsuit was rented there).
That day, visibility was great, some 40ft with no current.
Though you should be certified and have experience to penetrate the hull, as the Yukon is an artificial wreck, it has been prepared for that with wide openings and no free things inside.
The Yukon was a big ship, you will need 2 tanks to see it all, at least with detail.

 

[Hatul]

I've always been interested in diving these wrecks, but have been a little put off by all the boat charter website warnings about experience.

I was certified in soCal winter water back in '95 and have done perhaps 70 dives since then, but mostly on vacations from central america to asia in warmer water....not much around here but the occasional Catalina dive every 5 years.

Done plenty of current, surge, deep dives, but not sure what to expect here.

My question is how much I should heed these warnings or are they aimed at beginners?

They also recommend a dive master if not experienced in the area...given the viz and the cold water is this recommended or necessary for me?

I also dive a 5mm wetsuit no hood with a rash-guard underneath...is this enough?

Thanks

To dive in S. Cal you need a 7mm suit with hood, boots and 3mm gloves. I would do some kelp dives first if you've not used a thick suit like this, to get used to it and get your buoyancy right. Then pair up with someone who's dived there before and you should be fine.

Adam

 

[seansrs36]

The Yukon is usually cold and viz is not that great.

 

[Kevrumbo]

I've always been interested in diving these wrecks, but have been a little put off by all the boat charter website warnings about experience.

I was certified in soCal winter water back in '95 and have done perhaps 70 dives since then, but mostly on vacations from central america to asia in warmer water....not much around here but the occasional Catalina dive every 5 years.

Done plenty of current, surge, deep dives, but not sure what to expect here.

My question is how much I should heed these warnings or are they aimed at beginners?

They also recommend a dive master if not experienced in the area...given the viz and the cold water is this recommended or necessary for me?

I also dive a 5mm wetsuit no hood with a rash-guard underneath...is this enough?

Thanks

Heed the warnings. They're there for all levels of recreational diving.

To get out of the surge, you either have to get in the lee of the wreck --especially on the Yukon, which is the deck side often near the bottom near max depth 30m/100' (remember, Yukon is laying on her port side) --or penetrate and traverse the entire length (in the corridor called "Burma Road"), which would take about 15min continuously finning a good pace at around 24m/80' to 27m/90' range of depths. Be advised though, if you use these strategies to explore the entire length of the ship at the stated depths, you should have double manifolded tanks (at least AL80's); be trained in advanced nitrox and decompression procedures; and have training in wreck penetration.

Otherwise, if on single tank, just pick one section of the wreck to explore externally (i.g. the Bridge and the commemorative mounted plaques for instance), stay within your computer's NDL's, know where & how to get back to the upline/mooring line to the boat, and be especially aware of yourself & your buddy's breathing rate & gas consumption.

I was there last week, and the surface temperature down to 9m/30' was 17deg C/64 F; at the bottom around 27m/90' it was 10deg C/50 F:shocked2: . . .I was using a drysuit with 200gm insulation undergarments, and was still cold after a total dive run time of an hour. . .

 

[Rainer]

Otherwise, if on single tank, just pick one section of the wreck to explore externally (i.g. the Bridge and the commemorative mounted plaques for instance), stay within your computer's NDL's, know where & how to get back to the upline/mooring line to the boat, and be especially aware of you & your buddy's breathing rate & gas consumption.

Why stick to one section when you can scooter around the entire thing several times (footage from two weekends ago).

[vimeo]12757917[/vimeo]

I was using a drysuit with 200gm insulation undergarments, and was still cold after a total dive run time of around an hour. . .

Wearing a 200g in SoCal for longer dives at depth is crazy. I was cold in a 400g.