HMCS Mackenzie was a destroyer scuttled in Haro Strait, between Cornet and Gooch Islands in the Southern Gulf Islands, approximately 18 miles (29 km) north-northeast of Victoria and 5 miles (8 km) east-northeast of Sidney, British Columbia. The vessel was launched in 1961 and served in the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces until 1993. Today, the artificial reef is a popular recreational dive site. The Southern Gulf Islands and much of eastern Vancouver Island are composed of sandstone, mudstone, shale, conglomerate, and coal from the Late Cretaceous period. These are part of the Nanaimo Formation. Differential erosion of the bedrock has created north-to-south ridges and narrow valleys. Weaker shale and mudstone formed the valleys and channels, while resistant sandstone and conglomerate formed the ridges and islands. The landscape was further shaped by glacial erosion, particularly during the Fraser Glaciation‘s last major ice advance.

Mackenzie was built at Canadian Vickers Ltd., in Montreal, launched on May 25, 1961, and assigned to the Atlantic Fleet based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Mackenzie-class vessels measured 366 feet (112 m) in length, with a beam of 42 feet (13 m) and a draft of 13.5 feet (4.11 m). They displaced 2,880 metric tons (2,830 long tons) when fully loaded and had a crew complement of 290. The destroyer was powered by two boilers connected to steam turbines, generating 30,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 kW). This propulsion system allowed for a maximum speed of 28 knots (52 km/h).

In 1963, the HMCS Mackenzie was transferred to the Pacific Fleet as part of the Fourth Canadian Destroyer Squadron. She primarily served as a training vessel within Training Group Pacific but was also deployed for surveillance along the west coast. In March 1973, she intercepted drug smugglers off Quatsino Sound. In July 1982, the Mackenzie shadowed the Soviet spy ship Gavril Sarychev, which was monitoring the North American west coast for new American submarines. In 1995, the Mackenzie was purchased by the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia. She was stripped of environmental contaminants before being scuttled in Haro Strait. Read more here and here. Explore more of Cornet and Gooch Islands here: