The Accident of the Rhone
The RMS Rhone is a famous ship wreckage that has brought to life a beautiful aquatic park. It is just one of the most prominent dives in the Caribbean. Its unfortunate story continues to interest and captivate us.


Captain Woolley went with the closest course to ocean blue via the network in between Dead Breast Island and Black Rock Point on Salt Island. As Rhone came around to approach the point the tail end of the hurricane threw her onto the rocks.

The Background
Throughout the yellow high temperature epidemic of the 1860s, transatlantic traveler ships stopped frequently at Road Harbour, Tortola and Great Harbour on Peter Island to transfer passengers and freight in between them. Master Frederick Woolley of the Rhone had actually been alerted by a dropping barometer that a storm was coming, yet thinking that the cyclone season was over, he decided to stay at Great Harbour for the transfer with an additional RMS ship, Conway.

Equally as they were passing Black Rock Factor between Salt and Dead Chest islands, the weather instantly transformed instructions. The preliminary lurch caught the Rhone on her side and she wrecked versus the rocky reef. Tale has it that Captain Wooley was making use of a silver tsp (which stays encrusted in the reefs today) to mix his cup of tea at the time. The wreck is now a preferred dive website, home to an interesting array of aquatic life. Most individuals concur that a full exploration of the website needs two separate dives, as the bow and strict sections are spread apart at various midsts.

The Wreck
The Rhone rests under the warm clear waters of the Caribbean Sea and is a celebrated dive website today. Site visitors can check out the remarkably undamaged bow section, see where scenes from the 1977 film The Deep were fired, and swim under the demanding near its large 15 foot prop. This bursting marine park is a reminder of the fragile equilibrium between man and nature.

On 29th October 1867 as Captain Wooley was preparing to secure the Rhone in Road Harbor, the wind and waves shifted and he determined to attempt to beat the coming close to storm out into the open sea. He guided the ship to Black Rock Point between Dead Breast and Blonde Rock, a set of rough pinnacles rising from the water. The ship struck the rocks and sank in two areas with the cold water of the inbound tide speaking to the warm boilers creating an explosion and sinking the vessel with all 123 passengers still connected to their beds.

Snorkeling
One of one of the most popular wreck dives in the Caribbean, snorkelers can conveniently explore much of the Rhone by merely floating on a mask and breathing through the sea. The much deeper bow section is specifically well-preserved, a kaleidoscope of orange mug corals reefs teeming with yellowtail snapper, sennets and jacks. It's likewise where scenes from the 1977 movie The Deep were recorded.

The demanding and waistline are a lot more broken up, yet they provide a haunting glance of a past period. Divers need to intend on at least 2 dives to fully experience the Rhone, particularly since presence can in some cases be complicated. Highlights consist of the lucky porthole, which scuba divers rub forever luck, and the well-known bronze prop. The rusting skeleton of the Rhone is a famous sight 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 lots of neighborhood dive boats see daily. The Rhone is safeguarded by the National forest Service, and entryway is for free.

Diving
Among the Caribbean's most all inclusive sailboat bvi celebrated accident dives, Rhone is a coveted site for its historic allure and bursting aquatic life. It's open and fairly secure, making it suitable for scuba divers of all experience degrees.

The story behind the accident is tragic: as she was transferring guests to another ship, Conway, at Roadway Harbour on Tortola, Rhone rounded Black Rock Factor and ran into it at full speed. Warm central heating boilers shattered versus cool seawater and took off, sending the Rhone crashing right into the rocks and sinking in mins. Only 23 of the 146 individuals aboard endured. Their bodies were buried on Salt Island.

The accident split in two when it sank, and the bow area drifted to deeper waters, while the strict settled at regarding 80 feet. Both are swallowed up in coral and occupied by aquatic life, consisting of schools of yellowtail snappers, sennets, jacks and grunts. It takes a minimum of 2 dives to explore the entire accident, however, since the bow and demanding areas are divided by about 100 feet of water.