Est. 2009 · USCG certified · Mission Bay, CA
Wreck diving San Diego
Nine wrecks between 65 and 180 feet: a Canadian destroyer, a Coast Guard cutter, a kelp harvester, a sailboat, two aeroplanes, a Navy missile platform and a barge. Ten divers a trip, and nitrox blended on board.
What San Diego actually has
Most of it sits in Wreck Alley, a patch of sand off Mission Beach where six vessels were sunk on purpose as artificial reefs. The Yukon is the one people come for, a 366-foot Canadian destroyer lying on her port side. Near her are a Coast Guard cutter sitting upright and intact, a collapsed kelp harvester now buried in growth, and a sailboat that sank on her own and has since been reduced to a debris field.
Then the bottom drops away and the rotation gets stranger: a 1919 destroyer, two P-38s, an F-4 Phantom and a Navy missile platform between 110 and 180 feet. Those are technical dives and we run them as such.
Wreck Alley, recreational depths
A 366-foot Canadian Mackenzie-class destroyer, San Diego's signature wreck dive. She rests on her port side, and large cutouts let trained divers penetrate.
A 166-foot US Coast Guard cutter and the second ship sunk in the Alley. She sits upright and intact, completely covered in anemones, with good beginning-penetration opportunities.
A 100-by-32-foot kelp-harvesting vessel turned artificial reef. Her wooden hull and superstructure have collapsed over the decades, and she now hosts dense marine growth.
A fibreglass-hulled sailboat, abandoned at anchor off Point Loma for weeks before she sank. Swells have since reduced her to a debris field.
Booked as a Wreck Alley trip. The Yukon has a page of her own covering her history, her layout and what you can expect to see. Barge #1 and Shooter’s Fantasy belong to the Alley too, but neither is on our regular rotation.
The deep rotation, technical trips
A Wickes-class destroyer launched in 1919, originally 314 feet long and now resting in about 125 feet south of the Point Loma peninsula, far enough out that most San Diego boats never go.
A sunken barge off Point Loma, dived and modelled by the local tech community.
Two of them: the well-known one off Torrey Pines at about 130 feet, and a deeper, more intact one off Solana Beach at about 180. We sometimes run them as a double P-38 day.
A jet sitting around 150 feet off Torrey Pines, very close to the P-38. It is often dark down there with limited visibility. Found in 1994 during a sonar search for a different aircraft.
A former US Navy platform for Trident missile test launches, about 60 feet high and 25 feet square with a catwalk around it. It rests on its side, covered in Metridium.
Booked as tech days, which run twice monthly with no recreational divers mixed in. Site choice is made on the day, because at these depths swell and current decide whether the drop is clean.
How we dive them
Ten divers, so the wreck is not crowded
Every trip caps at ten. On a wreck the size of the Ruby E that is the difference between a dive and a queue, and it is why the silt stays down long enough to see anything.
Nitrox blended on board
The Alley sits deep enough that the second dive is where a richer mix pays. The Marissa is the only San Diego charter that blends nitrox on site, from 22% to 40%, usually around 32%.
Live-boat drops on the deep wrecks
On tech days teams go in on a marked shot line with engines off and are recovered at the buoy after ascent. Captain Lora places the line near — not on — the wreck, so the line is a reference and the wreck stays intact.
The wreck picks the day, not the calendar
Deep wrecks are far more sensitive to swell, current and visibility than the shallow ones, so the Captain chooses the site on the day. No named deep wreck is ever pre-sold as a guarantee.
Briefed on that wreck specifically
A site-specific briefing before every wreck, because the layout changes the dive plan: where the line lands, where the openings are, and what the day actually allows.
Aircraft and a missile tower, not only ships
Two of the wrecks are aeroplanes and one is a Navy missile platform. San Diego's bottom holds more than hulls, and the deep rotation is where the odd ones live.
Wreck diving questions divers ask
Can you dive wrecks in San Diego?
Yes. Wreck Alley off Mission Beach holds the HMCS Yukon, Ruby E, El Rey and Chelsea Lee between 65 and 105 feet, and a deeper rotation runs from the USS Hogan at 110 to 130 feet out to the Missile Tower at 160 to 165 feet.
What is Wreck Alley?
Wreck Alley is a group of six vessels intentionally sunk as artificial reefs off Mission Beach, San Diego. The HMCS Yukon is its centrepiece at 65 to 105 feet, alongside the Ruby E and El Rey. Barge #1 and Shooter's Fantasy are also part of the Alley but are not on our regular rotation.
How deep is the HMCS Yukon?
The Yukon lies between 65 and 105 feet. She is a 366-foot Canadian Mackenzie-class destroyer resting on her port side.
Can you go inside the wrecks in San Diego?
On the Yukon, large cutouts allow trained divers to penetrate. The Ruby E sits upright and intact and offers good beginning-penetration opportunities. Penetration needs training appropriate to the wreck, and the briefing before each dive covers what the day allows.
Do I need to be an advanced diver to dive San Diego wrecks?
It depends on the wreck. Certification requirements are stated on each trip when you book. The deeper wrecks run as technical trips with their own requirements, and the Wreck Alley wrecks suit divers comfortable at recreational depths.
Which San Diego wrecks need technical certification?
The USS Hogan at 110 to 130 feet, the Point Loma Barge at 130, the P-38 Lightning at 130 to 180, the F-4 Phantom at 145 to 155, and the Missile Tower at 160 to 165 all run as technical trips.
Is nitrox available on a wreck trip?
Yes. Nitrox is blended on board from 22% to 40%, usually around 32%, for nitrox-certified divers. A two-wreck day is where the mix pays most.
Book a wreck
Wreck trips run most weeks. Check the schedule, or reach Captain Lora to talk through a deeper trip or a full-boat charter.