Andrew McCredie Editor a ndyew@nsnews.com ON a recent morning uncer battleship grey skies, the old girl looks like she’s seen better days. Her skin is mottled and burnished trem decades of salt-water abuse. Her once sharp features are worn smooth from the ravages of the salvaver's welding torch. Her innards are stripped bare of the hardware and wiring thar sustained her lite —~ said welder’s torch giving no quarter to the array of brass, aluminum and steel fittings that have been cut trom her, cart: ed off and sold at market. Hardly the kind of shape you'd expect a Navy warship to be in as she prepares for what will be her final, and longest, duty station. Atanage when most Canadian warsnips are unceremoniously cut apart, melted down and stamped into razor blade molds, the 38-vear- old HMCS Yukon is about to get her second wind. Sn four months she'll be towed due south along the North American’ continent, posi- tioned about three kilometres off San Diego, and sunk in 35 metres of water. While her contemporaries exist only in the faded photographs and fading memories of the men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy, the Yukon will live on for hundreds of years as an artificial reef off the Sourhern Californian coast. The HMCS Yitkon was built by the Burrard Drevdack Co. mere metres from where she is docked today. The 2,890-ton MeKenzie class destrover was commissioned on May 25, 1963, the third of her class and the first Canadian Navy ship named after the northern territory. On July 16, 1963, she passed under the Lions Gate Bridge for the first time, bound for Halifax, with stops in San Diego, Mexico and Jamaica. During her seagoing lite the Yirkow covered 792,18! nautical miles and made parts of call in over 30 countries, On Dec. 3, 1993, after more than three decades of distinguished ser- vice, she was decommissioned. The HMCS Yukon is many things to many people: To the hundreds of men and women who built her in’ North Vancouver nearly four deeades ago, the Yakou was a labour of love thar also happened to pay the bills. At a time when the shipbuilding industry was alive and well on the Lower Lonsdale waterfront, the construction of the Yuken represented the Canadian Navy’s commitment to anti-subma- rine warfare as she was one of 20 destrover- escorts built between 1950 and 1965. According to Burrard Drydock invoices, the Yukon was built in [447,000 manhours for a cost to the Canadian) government of $9,881,368, The Yiskon was the fifth, and last, destrover-escort: built by Burrard. To the hundreds of men and women who served on her during her distinguished 30-year career in the Canadian Navy, the Yiskon was a Phato courtesy of North Vancouver Museum & Archives IT was a dressy affair on the evening of June 27, 1961, for the launching of the HMCS Yukon from the Burrard Dry Gock shipyard on the Lower Lonsdale waterfront. forias SUNDA Sunday. Decembur 20. 1996 — North Shore News - 3 FOCUS 7 NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge ARTIFICIAL Reef Society of B.C. president Jay Straith stands dockside by the HMCS Yukon. The non-profit society is preparing the 38-year-old Canadian destroy- er, built within metres of where she currenitly sits, for sinking off San Diego. floating home, a steel and aluminum shelter from the raging seas and foreign ports of call. “Foam hoping to be at the sinking off Mission Point, San Diego, and you can bet there will be tears in my eves as there are now because the Yukon was a great part of my fife and I will never forget any of rhe times spent aboard her,” says Reginald ‘I. ‘Todd Sr. of East Sooke, B.C. Todd heiped ready the Yukon for commis- sioning in 1963 and served on her asa ship's cook and as the sergeant in charge of the galley for 17 years. To the Artificial Reef Society of B.C. (ARSBC), the Yukon is the fifth ship the decade-old society has bought to create artiti- cial reefs. The four ships already sunk by the society are in’ waters off Sydney, Sechelt, Naraume and Campbell River Sean president fay Strath, a North Vancouver laweer reports the nen prom ARSBC paid S$$50,000 tor the Yasem and as sold it to the San Diego Oceans Foundatier for $350,000, “Tn the great Canadian tradition, the what: th of the society that today is considered the elobal expert on sinking large batdeships to make artificial reets. “What really motivated us originally was that the historic shipwrecks around British Columbia people didn’t know how to dive around them. This is an indestruc- tible dive site to train people on.” To the thousands of men, women and chil: dren who will poke around her off Afission Beach in San Diego, the Yuden will be a much cherished artificial reef) Ino just months after being submerged among the smaller ships that comprise Wreck Ailey, she will become hone to marine life, giving scuba divers and oceanog- raphers a sate place to explore and study. ‘To the people of the North Shore the Yekou represents a means to an end, as the profits from her sale will go, Straith hopes, to buy the Cape Breton, one of the last Victory ships built in] North Vancouver. The Caje Breton is currently at CFB Esquimalt, where it was used for vears as a base maintenance build- ing. Though the ship is well past saving, Straith believes a section of her could be cur away and converted into a maritime muscum exhibition ta be located in the soon-to-be developed Versatile shipvards ar the foot of Lonsdale. IF Straith and his society have their way, the Cape Breton will be just one piece ofa historic mar. itime museum on the Lower Lonsdale water- front. In addition to being ene of the fast Victory ships built at Burrard, the Cape Breton has unique uiple-expansion engines, which Straith savs are the last of their kind in’ the Pacitic. “We're making enough money to keep the program voing.” Straith says. “We make no seerets thar the Yakow project will end up pav- ing for what we hope to be the Cape Bretui project.” And his vision doesit end there. “This dock is physically in great) chape except the plankimg’s rotten, bur the conerete’s bombproot,” he saves standing on the old Burrard shipyard pier. “There's no proper visit- ing vessel pier for naval ships, so ifwe rehab the pier and build the muscum down here, then we can have a historical ship pier and a visiting ship pier, Everybody can win if we do this the right way,” And to the 16 men who have been stripping anvthing of value from her, the Yukew repre- sents more than a year's worth of work. Straith said in addition to creating jobs, the salvage operation employed men who were on welfare. In this age when destruction of great machines is more prevalent than their con- struction, the AMCS Yuken is, and will always be, a lasting legacy to all these people. For more information on the HMCS Yuken project check out