Uyak Bay extends south-southeast for 40 miles (65 km) from Shelikof Strait on the northwest coast of Kodiak Island, about 59 miles (95 km) west-southwest of Kodiak, Alaska. The Alutiiq name for the bay was first recorded as “Bay of Oohiack” in 1805 by Yuri Feodorovich Lisianski of the Imperial Russian Navy.

On the morning of May 26, 1929, the SS Aleutian was carrying mail, 115 tons of freight, 39 passengers, and 114 crew members as it steamed south into Uyak Bay. Sea conditions were calm, and visibility was good. The Aleutian was traveling at 14 knots (26 km/h) and drafting 21 feet (6.4 m). Without warning, a tremendous shudder reverberated through the hull from below the waterline. The Aleutian had struck a submerged rock pinnacle and sank just seven minutes after impact. All but one crew member escaped and survived.

Shipwreck historian Steve Lloyd revived the story of the lost Aleutian in 1998. A chart of Uyak Bay indicates depths approaching 400 feet (122 m) near the reported site of the sinking. In 2002, Lloyd organized a search team that located the wreck of the Aleutian and sent divers to explore it on the seafloor. Read more here and here. Explore more of Uyak Bay and Kodiak Island here: