Wing and Wing News

The highlight of the diving portion of the trip was the wreck of the RMS Rhone. Built in 1865, the 300+ foot steamship was one of the first two ships to use a propeller instead of a paddlewheel. She did the mail run from Britain to the Americas and back, using the Virgin Islands as a hub. In 1866, the island of St. Thomas went under quarantine because of an outbreak of yellow fever. As a result, the Rhone began stopping at Peter Island and using a tender boat called the Conway to deliver to St. Thomas and refuel the Rhone with coal.
In 1867, on October 29th, the Rhone and the Conway were anchored in Great Harbor on Peter Island when the barometric pressure began to drop, indicating a severe change in weather. The captains of the two ships had to decide what type of storm was approaching, and they agreed it was an early season norther, which made a run north to Road Town on Tortola the prudent choice for shelter.
What the captains did not know (nor could they have) was that the pressure was dropping because of a category five hurricane! The Conway, a paddleboat, barely made it across the Sir Francis Drake Channel to safety. The circumstances for the Rhone are less certain. What is known is this: the Rhone’s anchor, and all the chain rode, are on the floor of Great Harbor. In such violent conditions, abandoning the anchor would have been safer than attempting to free it from the coral heads. After cutting free, she ran for the safety of open water through the Salt Island channel.
The fact is that as the eye of the hurricane passed overhead, the Rhone was dangerously close to Black Rock on the western tip of Salt Island. As the eye continued on, the wind shifted and drove the RMS Rhone onto the rock, piercing her hull and exposing the overworked boilers to the relatively cold sea water, causing an explosion which tore the ship in two.
Of three hundred passengers and crew ( over one hundred passengers were transferred to the Rhone from the Conway because the Rhone was one of two ships deemed “unsinkable” by the British Royal Navy (the other was the Titanic)) only 26 survived, some by clinging to the aft mast of the ship, which settled in shallow water. Of the survivors, only one was a passenger, and it is his account which most often quoted. In those times, it was standard practice to tie passengers into their bunks in rough weather to prevent injuries which may cause complications while at sea with limited medical help available.
Today the Rhone is remarkably well-preserved. Her bow section lies on its starboard side in 80 feet of water. Divers surround the ship during daylight hours, and you can swim through the breached hull in numerous places. There are the resident barracudas Fang and Fred as well as numerous other fishes and animals. The scale of the early design of the propeller and rudder are enormous.
The Rhone is considered the most spectacular wreck dive in the Caribbean, and her story, to me, is one of the most compelling. Unlike the bucanneers of old, the Rhone remains to tell her story, incomplete as it may be.
Q

Check out this you tube video tour of the site

Another day in paradise – we went easy on the painkillers in light of the fact that 75% of the crew went scuba diving this morning (my first time diving in salt water for pleasure). We dove twice, the first in “Alice’s backside”, the second in “Coral Gardens”. Beautiful coral covered in fans and mullosks. There were BIG lobster, and eels, and the water temp was 84 on the bottom!!! We finish up with Spanish Town tomorrow: one more set of dives in the AM, then we rent scuba gear for the next four days and head down to Norman Island (supposedly the inspiration for “Treasure Island”, by Robert Louis Stevenson).

I have had some issues with the boat, namely the shore power system. So here we sit at the dock, generator humming (A/C is a luxury we just cannot seem to let sit idle). On the upside, I have no plans to tie up at any more marinas along the way, so in the end, it’s a small problem. Although I would hope it has some effect on the final charges associated with the charter.

We’re lounging this afternoon: a couple more painkillers, some snorkeling on the beach near the marina, and going out to eat at “The Mine Shaft”, a local restaurant with all-you-can-eat on Fridays.

side note: i had no idea when i booked our scuba that i would be breaking my scuba virginity on Friday the 13th!

I gotta get out of this air conditioned cabin and go lie on the beach…

Cap’n Q

ps – here’s a look at the blogging station on the boat, in the main saloon at the coffee table