The RMS Rhone is a famous ship wreck that has brought to life a beautiful aquatic park. It is just one of the most popular dives in the Caribbean. Its terrible story remains to interest and mesmerize us.
Captain Woolley selected the closest route to open sea with the network between Dead Breast Island and Black Rock Factor on Salt Island. As Rhone occurred to approach the point the tail end of the storm tossed her onto the rocks.
The History
Throughout the yellow high temperature epidemic of the 1860s, transatlantic passenger ships stopped consistently at Road Harbour, Tortola and Great Harbour on Peter Island to transfer travelers and freight between them. Master Frederick Woolley of the Rhone had been alerted by a going down measure that a storm was coming, but believing that the cyclone period was over, he chose to remain at Great Harbour for the transfer with an additional RMS ship, Conway.
Equally as they were passing Black Rock Point between Salt and Dead Chest islands, the weather condition instantly changed direction. The preliminary stumble captured the Rhone on her side and she wrecked versus the rocky reef. Legend has it that Captain Wooley was utilizing a silver tsp (which stays dirtied in the reefs today) to mix his cup of tea at the time. The wreck is now a prominent dive website, home to an interesting selection of aquatic life. Most people agree that a full exploration of the site needs two separate dives, as the bow and demanding sections are spread out apart at various midsts.
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 bristling aquatic park is a suggestion of the fragile equilibrium 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 moved and he made a decision to attempt to beat the approaching storm out into the open sea. He steered the ship to Black Rock Point between Dead Chest and Blonde Rock, a set of rough peaks rising from the water. The ship struck the rocks and sank in two sections with the cold water of the incoming tide contacting the hot central heating boilers creating a surge and sinking the vessel with all 123 travelers still connected to their beds.
Snorkeling
One of the most famous wreck dives in the Caribbean, snorkelers can conveniently discover much of the Rhone by merely drifting on a mask and breathing with the sea. The deeper bow section is specifically unspoiled, a kaleidoscope of orange mug corals reefs teeming with yellowtail snapper, sennets and jacks. It's also where scenes from the 1977 movie The Deep were recorded.
The strict and stomach are much more broken up, but they offer a haunting glance of a previous age. Divers should intend on a minimum of two dives to fully experience the Rhone, especially given that presence can often be challenging. Highlights consist of the fortunate porthole, which divers rub forever luck, and the popular bronze propeller. The rusting skeleton of the Rhone is a legendary sight 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 boats visit daily. The Rhone is shielded by the National Park Service, and entry is cost free.
Diving
One of the Caribbean's most celebrated wreckage dives, Rhone is a desired site for its historic appeal and teeming aquatic life. It's open and relatively secure, making it appropriate for divers of all experience degrees.
The party yacht rental georgia story behind the wreckage is awful: as she was transferring guests to one more ship, Conway, at Roadway Harbour on Tortola, Rhone rounded Black Rock Point and ran into it at full speed. Warm boilers wrecked against cool seawater and took off, sending 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 wreckage split in two when it sank, and the bow section wandered to deeper waters, while the strict worked out at concerning 80 feet. Both are engulfed in reefs and occupied by aquatic life, including colleges of yellowtail snappers, sennets, jacks and grunts. It takes a minimum of 2 dives to explore the whole wreck, however, since the bow and demanding sections are divided by about 100 feet of water.
