The Wreck of the Diamond Knot

Description The Diamond Knot was a large, 360' cargo ship that sank in a 2-boat collision in 1946. The actual collision occurred out in the Straights of Juan De Fuca, but in the process of attempting to tow it into shore, the Diamond Knot (conveniently) sank in diveable waters. The significance of this wreck was that it contained 10% of the 1946 Alaska's canned salmon production. Something like 2 million dollars worth of salmon! This produced Washington States largest wreck salvage operation at the time. The salvage team cut huge (10' by 50') plates out of the port and deck of the ship, and basically sucked out all the cans of salmon. The Diamond Knot rests on her starboard side, facing East. The large plates now gently rest on the bottom of the Sound in around 140 fsw, with the top of the port side in around 70 fsw. The above image is one of the more "famous" inhabitants of the Diamondknot. This wolf eel, and his mate live in a boom down near the bottom (starboard side), in around 100 fsw. As far as most people know, they have been there for 10+ years. MAJOR KNOT UPDATE, June 1998. Parker dove the Knot in early June and is sad to report that the mid-section of the Knot has collapsed on to itself and is nothing more than a massive junk pile sitting on the bottom. Although this can not be confirmed, Parker would estimate that approx 200' of ship has collapsed to the bottom, leaving the stern, superstructure and possibley the bow. Parker never made it to the bow of the ship to confirm this. Due to the collapse of the ship's midsection, Parker will guess that most divers will dive the stern/superstructure portion of the wreck from now on. The rubble pile is deeper than most people will be willing to travel when diving the Knot. Only the brave will attempt trips from the stern to what remains of the bow. More details on the history of the greatest dive site in Washington can be found at the Diamond Knot Brewery webpage. Location The Diamond Knot rests in the Straight of Juan De Fuca, approximately 15 miles west of Port Angeles, and approximately, 500 yards off shore. It is a boat dive, only. Many boats charter to the wreck. Feel free to write me for references. GPS Coordinates: Note: These were provided by Joel Clark (joel@SSD.intel.com), much thanks for them! N 48° 10.298' W 123° 42.576' Comments The Diamond Knot is by far, the best non-technical wreck dive the Puget Sound has to offer. The ship is completely covered in invertebrate life, and is home to many large wolf eels, lingcod, rockfish, cabezons, warbonnets, eelpouts, sculpins, king crab, metridium, soft corals, and much, much more. Because there are large holes in the ship where the plates were cut out, it makes penetrating the cargo hold easy. As in, unless someone were to point it out to you, I seriously doubt you would realize that you were inside the ship, because of the loss of the overhead environment. The superstructure is still somewhat penetrable, and is a favorite location for local wreck penetration courses. And, with the booms still attached and hanging in the water, no matter how many times you've dove the wreck, you still have not seen it all. Personally, this dive site is my absolute favorite dive site in NW. Feel free to contact myself or Eric for more information on the wreck and charters. If you have the time, and want to do a priceless wreck in the NW, this is for you. I really give this two Thumbs Up on the Parker Scale!