alashas
Contributor
The wreck of the Rhone is widely recognized as one of the best wreck dives in the Caribbean, and even one of the best in any ocean in the world. The Rhone went down on October 29, 1867, and Ive been doing a bit of research about the ship. There are some variations in the story, or stories, that are told about the Rhone, in the written literature, the websites, and the oral tradition. The primary reference materials for the Rhone are "The Royal Mail Steamer Rhone," by George and Luan Marler (no ISBN #, but found in many dive shops in the BVI), "Diving British Virgin Islands," by Jim & Odile Scheiner, and "Lonely Planet: Diving British Virgin Islands," by Mauricio Handler.
Here is what we know about the basic facts about the ship. Built by the Millwall Iron Works of England, the Rhone was launched by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company on February 11, 1865. The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was the pioneer steamship company on the West Indian and South American routes. A coaling station was built in 1841 on St. Thomas, and St. Thomas was also a transfer station for cargo and passengers, who were placed on smaller schooners in routes to many other Caribbean islands. In the early 1860s, Millwall Iron Works employed approximately 5,000 men, but the company and others in London suffered severely from the financial collapse of May, 1866, and never fully recovered.
Weighing 2,738 gross tons, the Rhone was 310 feet long, and had a beam of 40 feet. She was part of a network of ships that transported mail, supplies, and passengers between England and the West Indies, as well as South America, and she accommodated her passengers in 253 first class, 30 second class, and 30 third class cabins.
What set the Rhone apart from every other ship of her day was her power. Instead of being paddle driven, she was a full sailing twin-masted schooner that also had a huge 500 hp compound steam engine that drove a single, massive 15ft propeller, enabling her to travel comfortably at 14 knots.
The Rhone had already made 9 successful transatlantic voyages, and she embarked on her 10th and last trip from Southampton on Oct. 2, 1867, under the command of Capt. Robert Wooley. A yellow fever epidemic had claimed many lives on St. Thomas in the mid-1860s, and the transatlantic ships were using Road Harbour, Tortola, and Great Harbour, Peter Island as their transfer and re-coaling stations.
On Oct. 29, 1867, the Rhone was anchored at the mouth of Great Harbour, Peter Island, beside the R.M.S. Conway, a paddle driven interisland steamer that was commanded by Captain Hammock. The day began with clear sky and calm seas and the Rhone was transferring cargo to the Conway and taking on passengers and supplies for the return crossing. At mid-morning, the captains noticed the barometer falling, indicating the possibility of deteriorating weather conditions. The seas were still calm when the captains conferred and they agreed that work should continue.
When a storm was observed in the distance, the captains spoke again and, since it was so late in the season, they eliminating the possibility that the storm was a hurricane, surmising that a northerly was brewing. Captain Wooley instructed Captain Hammock that they should head to the safer northern anchorage of Road Harbour. At approximately 11 a.m., before they were able to weigh anchor, the barometer fell to 27.95 degrees, and a fierce storm came howling out of the north from over Tortola, confirming the captains mistaken and fateful decision that the storm must be a noreaster. The ships rode the storm with engines at full speed in Great Harbour.
There was a lull in the storm around noon, and the captains decided to head to Road Harbour. Since the Rhone was larger, safer, and more seaworthy, it is believed that many passengers from the Conway were transferred to the Rhone before the Conway weighed anchor and headed for Road Harbour.
The Rhone attempted to weigh anchor, but was not able to do so. There are several versions of the loss of the Rhones anchor. Some speculate that the anchor was embedded in a coral head and a decision was made to cut it loose. In the story that comes from an eyewitness, Captain L Vessey of the Royal Navy reported on Nov. 3, 1867, that he interviewed a surviving crew member, John Metcalfe, who claimed that when the Rhone attempted to weigh anchor, the shackle of the cable caught in the hawse pipe and parted, dropping the 3,000 lb anchor and approximately 300 feet of chain to be bottom of Great Harbour (the full text of Capt. Vesseys fascinating report can be found here Aquaventurebvi.com - Come and scuba dive the warm caribbean waters of the British Virgin Islands).
Regardless of how of the Rhone lost its main anchor, Capt. Wooley was now forced to change course and head for open sea to try to weather the storm, instead of embarking to Road Harbour without tackle. In order to travel south down the Salt Island Passage to the Caribbean Sea, he had to veer a wide birth around the rocky coast of Dead Chest and Blonde Rock, whose two rocky pinnacles rise to within 15 feet of the surface.
What Captains Woooley and Hammock had surmised was a lull in a storm was, in reality, the eye of a huge hurricane, and the stronger, back side of the hurricane began sweeping across the Virgin Islands from the south. The HMS Conways funnel and masts were ripped away, and she was blown ashore on Tortola at Baughers Bay.
As the waves increased, the passengers on the Rhone were lashed down for their own safety. With engines running at full speed, the Rhone cleared most of the rocky coast when the winds picked up in intensity and a spar fell from the top mast, killing the first officer. Capt. Wooley, who is said to have been drinking a cup of tea with rum throughout much of the ordeal, went on deck and was washed overboard.
The last obstacle for the Rhone to clear was Black Rock, the furthest point on the southwest side of Salt Island. The crew struggled to keep the ship away from the rocks, but a strong gust blew the Rhone sideways onto Black Rock, cutting a large gash in her hull. Within seconds, the relatively cool ocean water rushed into the steaming hot boilers, and a massive explosion blew the ship in two. The stern sank immediately in 20 to 30 feet of water, and the bow swung around to the north and sank on its starboard side in 65 to 80 feet of water.
The lashed down passengers were instantly doomed and only one, an Italian, survived. 123 passengers and crew were killed, and 22 crew members survived. Some of the crew were washed ashore on Salt Island, and others were washed all the way across the Channel to Beef Island. One survived seventeen hours by clinging to the topmast and topsail yard, which were still standing. Others clung to debris and were rescued by the residents of Salt Island. For their heroism, the residents of Salt Island were granted ownership of the island for life by the Queen of England. Their single tax is a single bag of salt.
The hurricane of Oct. 29, 1867, is considered to be one of the worst ever to strike the West Indies. 75 vessels were lost or seriously damaged and approximately 500 lives were lost. Only 18 houses were left standing on Tortola, and only five of the original 80 houses in Kingston, Jamaica, were still intact. Hundreds of homes and other buildings were destroyed and it took many years for the islands to be restored. In the sobering words of Luana Marler, the islands were swept clean.
Who knows what would have happened to the Rhone if Captains Wooley and Hammock and made different decisions, if the anchor would not have broke, if the passengers would not have been lashed down? When Capt. Vessey surveyed the wreck of the Rhone five days after the hurricane, he noted how close the ship was to steaming past Black Rock and giving her a much better chance of making it by stating in his report, in rounding Salt Island, I passed the wreck of the R.M.S. Packet Rhone. Her pooprail was close to a large boulder in the W. Point, but the hull was standing underwater the foremast was standing, but the vessel herself was broken in two and her head slewed to the North 50 yards either way would have put her into a sandy bay.
To be sure, the Rhone died a premature death by an unbelievable force of nature, but in her dying, she has also given birth to an extraordinary gift of nature. She has been reclaimed by the sea in all its beauty and majesty and mystery....
Sincerely, alashas honeymoon2's photos - powered by SmugMug
Here is what we know about the basic facts about the ship. Built by the Millwall Iron Works of England, the Rhone was launched by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company on February 11, 1865. The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was the pioneer steamship company on the West Indian and South American routes. A coaling station was built in 1841 on St. Thomas, and St. Thomas was also a transfer station for cargo and passengers, who were placed on smaller schooners in routes to many other Caribbean islands. In the early 1860s, Millwall Iron Works employed approximately 5,000 men, but the company and others in London suffered severely from the financial collapse of May, 1866, and never fully recovered.
Weighing 2,738 gross tons, the Rhone was 310 feet long, and had a beam of 40 feet. She was part of a network of ships that transported mail, supplies, and passengers between England and the West Indies, as well as South America, and she accommodated her passengers in 253 first class, 30 second class, and 30 third class cabins.
What set the Rhone apart from every other ship of her day was her power. Instead of being paddle driven, she was a full sailing twin-masted schooner that also had a huge 500 hp compound steam engine that drove a single, massive 15ft propeller, enabling her to travel comfortably at 14 knots.
The Rhone had already made 9 successful transatlantic voyages, and she embarked on her 10th and last trip from Southampton on Oct. 2, 1867, under the command of Capt. Robert Wooley. A yellow fever epidemic had claimed many lives on St. Thomas in the mid-1860s, and the transatlantic ships were using Road Harbour, Tortola, and Great Harbour, Peter Island as their transfer and re-coaling stations.
On Oct. 29, 1867, the Rhone was anchored at the mouth of Great Harbour, Peter Island, beside the R.M.S. Conway, a paddle driven interisland steamer that was commanded by Captain Hammock. The day began with clear sky and calm seas and the Rhone was transferring cargo to the Conway and taking on passengers and supplies for the return crossing. At mid-morning, the captains noticed the barometer falling, indicating the possibility of deteriorating weather conditions. The seas were still calm when the captains conferred and they agreed that work should continue.
When a storm was observed in the distance, the captains spoke again and, since it was so late in the season, they eliminating the possibility that the storm was a hurricane, surmising that a northerly was brewing. Captain Wooley instructed Captain Hammock that they should head to the safer northern anchorage of Road Harbour. At approximately 11 a.m., before they were able to weigh anchor, the barometer fell to 27.95 degrees, and a fierce storm came howling out of the north from over Tortola, confirming the captains mistaken and fateful decision that the storm must be a noreaster. The ships rode the storm with engines at full speed in Great Harbour.
There was a lull in the storm around noon, and the captains decided to head to Road Harbour. Since the Rhone was larger, safer, and more seaworthy, it is believed that many passengers from the Conway were transferred to the Rhone before the Conway weighed anchor and headed for Road Harbour.
The Rhone attempted to weigh anchor, but was not able to do so. There are several versions of the loss of the Rhones anchor. Some speculate that the anchor was embedded in a coral head and a decision was made to cut it loose. In the story that comes from an eyewitness, Captain L Vessey of the Royal Navy reported on Nov. 3, 1867, that he interviewed a surviving crew member, John Metcalfe, who claimed that when the Rhone attempted to weigh anchor, the shackle of the cable caught in the hawse pipe and parted, dropping the 3,000 lb anchor and approximately 300 feet of chain to be bottom of Great Harbour (the full text of Capt. Vesseys fascinating report can be found here Aquaventurebvi.com - Come and scuba dive the warm caribbean waters of the British Virgin Islands).
Regardless of how of the Rhone lost its main anchor, Capt. Wooley was now forced to change course and head for open sea to try to weather the storm, instead of embarking to Road Harbour without tackle. In order to travel south down the Salt Island Passage to the Caribbean Sea, he had to veer a wide birth around the rocky coast of Dead Chest and Blonde Rock, whose two rocky pinnacles rise to within 15 feet of the surface.
What Captains Woooley and Hammock had surmised was a lull in a storm was, in reality, the eye of a huge hurricane, and the stronger, back side of the hurricane began sweeping across the Virgin Islands from the south. The HMS Conways funnel and masts were ripped away, and she was blown ashore on Tortola at Baughers Bay.
As the waves increased, the passengers on the Rhone were lashed down for their own safety. With engines running at full speed, the Rhone cleared most of the rocky coast when the winds picked up in intensity and a spar fell from the top mast, killing the first officer. Capt. Wooley, who is said to have been drinking a cup of tea with rum throughout much of the ordeal, went on deck and was washed overboard.
The last obstacle for the Rhone to clear was Black Rock, the furthest point on the southwest side of Salt Island. The crew struggled to keep the ship away from the rocks, but a strong gust blew the Rhone sideways onto Black Rock, cutting a large gash in her hull. Within seconds, the relatively cool ocean water rushed into the steaming hot boilers, and a massive explosion blew the ship in two. The stern sank immediately in 20 to 30 feet of water, and the bow swung around to the north and sank on its starboard side in 65 to 80 feet of water.
The lashed down passengers were instantly doomed and only one, an Italian, survived. 123 passengers and crew were killed, and 22 crew members survived. Some of the crew were washed ashore on Salt Island, and others were washed all the way across the Channel to Beef Island. One survived seventeen hours by clinging to the topmast and topsail yard, which were still standing. Others clung to debris and were rescued by the residents of Salt Island. For their heroism, the residents of Salt Island were granted ownership of the island for life by the Queen of England. Their single tax is a single bag of salt.
The hurricane of Oct. 29, 1867, is considered to be one of the worst ever to strike the West Indies. 75 vessels were lost or seriously damaged and approximately 500 lives were lost. Only 18 houses were left standing on Tortola, and only five of the original 80 houses in Kingston, Jamaica, were still intact. Hundreds of homes and other buildings were destroyed and it took many years for the islands to be restored. In the sobering words of Luana Marler, the islands were swept clean.
Who knows what would have happened to the Rhone if Captains Wooley and Hammock and made different decisions, if the anchor would not have broke, if the passengers would not have been lashed down? When Capt. Vessey surveyed the wreck of the Rhone five days after the hurricane, he noted how close the ship was to steaming past Black Rock and giving her a much better chance of making it by stating in his report, in rounding Salt Island, I passed the wreck of the R.M.S. Packet Rhone. Her pooprail was close to a large boulder in the W. Point, but the hull was standing underwater the foremast was standing, but the vessel herself was broken in two and her head slewed to the North 50 yards either way would have put her into a sandy bay.
To be sure, the Rhone died a premature death by an unbelievable force of nature, but in her dying, she has also given birth to an extraordinary gift of nature. She has been reclaimed by the sea in all its beauty and majesty and mystery....
Sincerely, alashas honeymoon2's photos - powered by SmugMug
