1986, Yukon was one of three Canadian vessels that took part in the Royal Australian Navy's 75th anniversary celebrations. She was decommissioned from Maritime Command on 3 December 1993. As an artificial reef The ship was initially purchased by the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia anchored on the New Westminster docks for almost a year before it was bought for $250,000. Yukons hulk was purchased by the San Diego Oceans Foundation which towed her from CFB Esquimalt to San Diego, California in 2000. She was gutted and cleaned before being scuttled in of water in the Pacific Ocean at Sunken Harbor off Mission Bay in San Diego as an artificial reef on 15 July 2000. However the day before she was to be scuttled, she flooded in rough weather and sank at the site on 14 July. The explosive charges intended to sink her were still intact on board, and United States Navy SEALs were sent in to remove the charges. The wreck was off limits for weeks while this was being done. The ship ended up lying on her port side, with her masthead lying below the water instead of the planned . This made recreational diving on the wreck much more difficult. By December 2012, five people had died while diving on Yukons wreck. The ship's bell of Yukon is currently located in the Yukon Legislative Building. References Notes Citations Sources External links Yukon Mackenzie-class destroyers Cold War destroyers of Canada Shipwrecks of the California coast 1961 ships