Is nitrox worth it on the Yukon?
Updated September 2026 · Marissa Charters, San Diego
For most nitrox-certified divers, yes. The HMCS Yukon is a repetitive deep dive, most of it between 60 and 100 feet with a second dive to follow, the profile nitrox was made for. We blend it onboard at 22 to 40 percent, $16 a single tank and $28 doubles. Nitrox extends your no-decompression limit. It does not change your depth limit.
What nitrox changes on this wreck
Nitrox replaces some of the nitrogen in your breathing gas with oxygen. Less nitrogen going in means a longer no-decompression limit at a given depth and less nitrogen to shed between dives. On a reef at 40 feet that hardly matters. On the Yukon, where the decks most divers swim sit at 65 to 75 feet and the sand is at 102, the no-stop clock on air is what usually ends the dive. Nitrox pushes that clock back and leaves you fresher for the second dive of the day.
What it does not change
Nitrox does not make the dive shallower or safer at depth. Oxygen becomes toxic under pressure, so every mix has a maximum operating depth. At a working partial pressure of 1.4 atmospheres, 32 percent has a maximum operating depth of about 111 feet, which covers the Yukon's sand with a small margin. Thirty-six percent has a maximum operating depth of about 95 feet, which the sand is past. Pick the mix for the plan. Plan the dive, watch your MOD, dive the plan.
Nitrox also does nothing for gas volume. An aluminum 80 at 90 feet empties well before a nitrox no-stop limit for many divers. On this wreck the tank, not the table, is often the real limit, and no mix changes that.
Why blending onboard matters
Most boats sell nitrox as pre-filled tanks you arrange the day before. We blend it on the boat, continuous-blend, from 22 to 40 percent, the only San Diego dive boat that does, so there is no shop run the night before and no wondering whether the fill is right for the sites the crew chose that morning. Nitrox-certified divers only.
When to skip it
Skip it if you are not nitrox certified, because you need that card to use it. Skip it if your day is the Ruby E and a shallow second site, where the profile does not reach the depths that make nitrox pay. And if you are diving air for any reason, dive air with a plan: the Yukon on air is the dive thousands of people have made since July 2000.
Booking it
Nitrox is an add-on to any Wreck Alley trip, $16 single and $28 doubles, for nitrox-certified divers. The Wreck Alley trip page has the trip price and what the ticket covers. Boarding is 8:00 am at Mission Bay Sports Center, 1010 Santa Clara Place, San Diego. Bring your nitrox card with your Advanced Open Water card.