The Wreck of the Rhone
The RMS Rhone is an epic ship wreck that has actually given birth to a beautiful aquatic park. It is one of one of the most popular dives in the Caribbean. Its unfortunate story remains to captivate and astound us.


Captain Woolley selected the closest path to open sea with the channel between Dead Chest Island and Black Rock Point on Salt Island. As Rhone occurred to come close to the factor the tail end of the cyclone threw her onto the rocks.

The History
Throughout the yellow fever epidemic of the 1860s, transatlantic guest ships stopped regularly at Roadway Harbour, Tortola and Great Harbour on Peter Island to move travelers and freight between them. Master Frederick Woolley of the Rhone had actually been warned by a going down barometer that a tornado was coming, yet believing that the storm season mored than, he decided to remain at Great Harbour for the transfer with another RMS ship, Conway.

Just as they were passing Black Rock Factor between Salt and Dead Breast islands, the weather all of a sudden transformed direction. The preliminary stumble caught the Rhone on her side and she wrecked against the rocky coral reef. Legend has it that Captain Wooley was utilizing a silver tsp (which remains encrusted in the reefs today) to stir his cup of tea at the time. The wreckage is now a prominent dive website, home to a remarkable array of marine life. Lots of people concur that a complete expedition of the website requires two separate dives, as the bow and stern sections are spread apart at different depths.

The Wreck
The Rhone rests below the warm clear waters of the Caribbean Sea and is a renowned dive website today. Site visitors can check out the incredibly undamaged bow area, see where scenes from the 1977 movie The Deep were fired, and swim under the demanding near its big 15 foot prop. This bursting aquatic park is a tip of the fragile equilibrium between guy and nature.

On 29th October 1867 as Captain Wooley was preparing to anchor the Rhone in Road Harbor, the wind and waves shifted and he chose to try to beat the approaching storm out into the open sea. He steered the ship to Black Rock Factor in between Dead Upper Body and Blond Rock, a set of rough peaks rising up from the water. The ship struck the rocks and sank in two sections with the cold water of the incoming trend speaking to the hot boilers causing an explosion and sinking the vessel with all 123 passengers still tied to their beds.

Snorkeling
Among one of the most well-known wreck dives in the Caribbean, snorkelers can easily explore much of the Rhone by merely drifting on a mask and breathing via the sea. The much deeper bow area is especially well-preserved, a kaleidoscope of orange cup corals teeming with yellowtail snapper, sennets and jacks. It's also where scenes from the 1977 flick The Deep were recorded.

The strict and stomach are a lot more broken up, but they offer a haunting glimpse of a previous period. Divers ought to plan on at the very least 2 dives to completely experience the Rhone, particularly since visibility can occasionally be difficult. Highlights include the fortunate porthole, which scuba divers rub for good luck, and the renowned bronze prop. The rusting skeleton of the Rhone is an iconic view in the BVI and is a must-see for any type of diving or boating enthusiast. The ship is open to the general public for exploration, and many local dive watercrafts go to daily. The Rhone is protected by the National forest Solution, and entrance is free of charge.

Diving
Among the Caribbean's most well known wreck dives, Rhone is a desirable website for its historical attraction and brimming marine life. It's open and reasonably safe, making it ideal for scuba divers of all experience levels.

The tale behind the wreck is tragic: as she was moving passengers to an additional ship, Conway, at Road Harbour on Tortola, Rhone rounded Black Rock Factor and encountered it at full speed. Hot central heating boilers smashed versus cold salt water and blew up, sending the Rhone collapsing into the rocks and sinking in mins. Only 23 of the 146 individuals aboard survived. Their bodies were hidden best time to sail bvi on Salt Island.

The accident split in two when it sank, and the bow area drifted to much deeper waters, while the demanding resolved at regarding 80 feet. Both are swallowed up in coral reefs and inhabited by aquatic life, including colleges of yellowtail snappers, sennets, jacks and grunts. It takes a minimum of two dives to check out the whole accident, however, because the bow and strict sections are divided by about 100 feet of water.