The Wreck of the Rhone
06 February 2019 | British Virgin Islands
George Stonecliffe
One of the classic diving sites in the Caribbean is near Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands. Sue and I joined up with Mike Smith, a guest of Craig and Barbara Johnston on sv Sequoia from Portland, Oregon. Underwater Safaris from Cooper Island led two dives, back-to-back, of the Wreck of the R.M.S. Rhone, an unsinkable steam ship which was hit by a hurricane within the BVI. The wreck has attracted large communities of reef fish, sponges and coral. The site was visited by a green turtle, a couple reef sharks, southern sting rays, spotted eels, and a myriad of fish that we enjoy seeing. Rare or new sightings included a sand tilefish, a hogfish, a highhat drummer, a tiger grouper, and angelfish including queen and gray. The wreck was spread out in huge pieces over several acres from 35 to 80' deep. Seeing the huge propeller, we were intrigued that it was solid bronze, but jammed into rock so hard that it couldn't be salvaged. Visibility was about 60 feet, and with sunny weather, we had variable color through the dive site.