Holiday in the BVI: Day 7 & The Rhone shipwreck

On day 7 the divers dived the wreck of the RMS Rhone off Salt Island. The water was so clear that we were able to see the shallower parts of the wreck from the boat. Colleen and I snorkeled above it and still had a great view of the wreck beneath us. It was amazing seeing what's left of this big steam boat now lying under water. (Again, click to enlarge the pictures and get a better view of the wreck.)

The RMS Rhone was a huge royal mail steam ship, 95 m long and the fastest ship of its time, holding the record as the first steel-hulled, propeller driven ship to cross the Atlantic. It took mail and passengers from Southampton, England to the British Virgin Islands.

In October 1876 the Rhone pulled alongside the RMS Conway in Great Harbour, Peter Island to refuel. The storm worried the captains even though they believed the hurricane season was over. They decided to transfer the passengers of the Conway to the "unsinkable" Rhone.

The Conway then headed for Great Harbour and the Rhone for the open sea. As was normal practice at the time, the passengers in the Rhone were all tied down in their beds to prevent them being injured in the stormy seas. 

But the Rhone struggled to get free as its anchor was caught. In the end it was ordered to be cut loose and still lies in Great Harbour to this day, a century and a half later - the reason why the Rhone's main anchor will not be found at the site of the wreck.

Just as the Rhone was passing Black Rock Point, less than 230 m from safety, the second half of the hurricane struck them. The winds shifted to the opposite direction and the Rhone was thrown directly into Black Rock Point. 

It is said that the initial lurch of the crash sent Captain Wooley overboard, never to be seen again. Local legend says that his teaspoon can still be seen lodged into the wreck itself. Whether or not it is his, a teaspoon is clearly visible firmly stuck in the wreck's coral.

The ship split in two, the boilers exploded and the ship sank swiftly. 

Of the original 146 aboard, plus an unknown number of passengers transferred from the Conway, only 23 people, all crew, survived the wreck.

One of the ship's portholes

One of the smaller anchors, not the main one.

The Rhone has received a number of awards over the years as one of the top recreational wreck dives in the Caribbean, both for its historic interest and teeming marine life, and also because of the open and relatively safe nature of the wreckage.

Fang, the local barracuda

The sea urchins who attacked Simone's toe.
I think they just wanted to go to California.
A piece is still stuck in her toe... ouch!

Angelfish

*History of the Rhone as told by my dad, but due to my poor memory of details, with some help from Wikipedia.

Another of the smaller anchors.

An amazing experience being able to dive/ snorkel at a shipwreck. Not something I ever thought I'd do!

More photos from other sections of the Rhone will be on Madiba's facebook page soon.
The rest of Day 7 will continue in the next post as I have too many pictures to show you!