The Accident of the Rhone
The RMS Rhone is a fabulous ship wreckage that has actually brought to life a lovely aquatic park. It is among the most preferred dives in the Caribbean. Its unfortunate tale continues to captivate and captivate us.


Captain Woolley went with the closest route to open sea via the channel between Dead Upper body Island and Black Rock Factor on Salt Island. As Rhone came around to come close to the factor the tail end of the hurricane threw her onto the rocks.

The History
During the yellow high temperature epidemic of the 1860s, transatlantic guest ships stopped on a regular basis at Roadway Harbour, Tortola and Great Harbour on Peter Island to transfer travelers and freight in between them. Master Frederick Woolley of the Rhone had been cautioned by a going down measure that a tornado was coming, but believing that the cyclone period was over, he chose to stay at Great Harbour for the transfer with one more RMS ship, Conway.

Equally as they were passing Black Rock Factor between Salt and Dead Breast islands, the weather condition instantly changed direction. The preliminary lurch captured the Rhone on her side and she wrecked versus the rough reef. Legend has it that Captain Wooley was utilizing a silver tsp (which stays dirtied in the reefs today) to stir his cup of tea at the time. The wreck is now a prominent dive website, home to a remarkable selection of marine life. Many people concur that a full exploration of the site requires two separate dives, as the bow and demanding sections are spread apart at different depths.

The Accident
The Rhone relaxes underneath the cozy clear waters of the Caribbean Sea and is a popular dive website today. Site visitors can discover the extremely undamaged bow area, see where scenes from the 1977 movie The Deep were fired, and swim under the strict near its huge 15 foot prop. This teeming marine park is a reminder of the delicate balance in between male and nature.

On 29th October 1867 as Captain Wooley was preparing to secure the Rhone in Roadway Harbor, the wind and waves changed and he determined to attempt to defeat the coming close to storm out right into the ocean blue. He guided the ship to Black Rock Point between Dead Breast and Blonde Rock, a pair of rocky pinnacles rising from the water. The ship struck the rocks and sank in 2 areas with the cold water of the inbound trend calling the hot boilers causing an explosion and sinking the vessel with all 123 passengers still tied to their beds.

Snorkeling
One of one of the most renowned wreckage dives in the Caribbean, snorkelers can conveniently check out much of the Rhone by just floating on a mask and breathing through the sea. The deeper bow area is specifically unspoiled, a kaleidoscope of orange cup corals reefs teeming with yellowtail snapper, sennets and jacks. It's also where scenes from the 1977 flick The Deep were recorded.

The demanding and stomach are much more broken up, but they supply a haunting glance of a previous age. Divers should intend on a minimum of two dives to fully experience the Rhone, specifically given that exposure can in some cases be challenging. Highlights consist of the fortunate porthole, which divers massage forever luck, and the popular bronze propeller. The rusting skeleton of the Rhone is a legendary view in the BVI and is a must-see for any diving or boating fanatic. The ship is open to the general public for exploration, and many neighborhood dive watercrafts go to daily. The Rhone is protected by the National Park Service, and entryway is at no cost.

Diving
One of the Caribbean's most well known wreck dives, Rhone is a desired site for its historic appeal and teeming all-inclusive yacht charters caribbean aquatic life. It's open and relatively secure, making it appropriate for divers of all experience degrees.

The story behind the wreckage is heartbreaking: as she was transferring guests to one more ship, Conway, at Road Harbour on Tortola, Rhone rounded Black Rock Factor and ran into it at full speed. Warm boilers wrecked against cold salt water and exploded, sending out the Rhone crashing right into the rocks and sinking in minutes. Just 23 of the 146 people aboard endured. Their bodies were buried on Salt Island.

The wreck split in two when it sank, and the bow area drifted to much deeper waters, while the stern resolved at about 80 feet. Both are swallowed up in coral reefs and lived in by marine life, consisting of institutions of yellowtail snappers, sennets, jacks and grunts. It takes at least two dives to discover the entire accident, though, considering that the bow and stern areas are separated by regarding 100 feet of water.