View source for RMS Rhone

{{short description|Royal Mail Ship wrecked off Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands in a hurricane }}
{{Other uses|Rhone (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

{{More citations needed|date=April 2013}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= RMS Rhone 2003 12.jpg
|Ship caption= The wreck of RMS ''Rhone''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|government}}
|Ship name= RMS ''Rhone''
|Ship namesake= River [[Rhone]]
|Ship owner= [[File:Royal Mail Lines House Flag.svg|15px]] [[Royal Mail Steam Packet Company|Royal Mail Steam Packet Co]]<ref name=Wreck>{{cite web |url= http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?112551 |title=RMS Rhone [+1867] |last1=Lettens |first1=Jan |last2=Allen |first2=Tony |date=1 April 2010 |work=The Wreck Site |access-date=30 April 2013}}</ref>
|Ship operator= [[File:Royal Mail Lines House Flag.svg|15px]] Royal Mail Steam Packet Co<ref name=Wreck/>
|Ship ordered= June 1863
|Ship builder= [[Millwall Iron Works]]<ref name=Wreck/>
|Ship original cost= 
|Ship yard number= 
|Ship laid down= 
|Ship launched= 11 February 1865<ref name=Wreck/>
|Ship completed= 
|Ship acquired= 
|Ship maiden voyage= 9 October 1865
|Ship in service= 
|Ship out of service= 29 October 1867<ref name=Wreck/>
|Ship registry= {{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} [[Southampton]]
|Ship identification= 
|Ship route=*'''1865–67:''' [[Port of Southampton|Southampton]] – [[Port of Rio de Janeiro|Rio de Janeiro]]
*'''1867:''' Southampton – [[Caribbean]]
|Ship fate= Sunk by Hurricane<ref name=Wreck/>
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= 
|Ship type= [[Ocean liner|passenger liner]]<ref name=Wreck/>
|Ship tonnage= {{GRT|2738}}{{sfn|Nicol|2001a|p=226}}
|Ship displacement= 
|Ship length= {{convert|310|ft|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Nicol|2001b|p=58}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|40|ft|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Nicol|2001b|p=58}}
|Ship draught= 
|Ship power= 500 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]<ref name=Wreck/>
|Ship propulsion= [[Marine steam engine#Compound|compound steam engine]];<ref name=Wreck/> screw
|Ship speed= {{convert|14|kn|km/h}}
|Ship capacity= '''Passengers:''' 253 1st class, 30 2nd class, 30 3rd class{{sfn|Nicol|2001b|p=58}}
|Ship crew= 
|Ship boats= 
|Ship notes= [[sister ship]]: {{RMS|Douro|1865|2}}
}}
|}

'''RMS ''Rhone''''' was a UK [[Royal Mail Ship]] owned by the [[Royal Mail Steam Packet Company]] (RMSP). She was wrecked off the coast of [[Salt Island, British Virgin Islands|Salt Island]] in the [[British Virgin Islands]] on 29 October 1867 in a [[hurricane]], killing 123 people. She is now a popular [[Caribbean]] [[wreck diving|wreck dive]] site.<ref name="Rhone">{{cite web |url= http://www.bviguides.com/Domains/bviyachtguide/featured_article/editorial/the_rhone.html |title=The Rhone |work=British Virgin Islands Property and Yacht |first=Owen |last=Waters |date=2 July 2009}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:RMS Rhone Royal Mail Ship.gif|thumb|left|RMS ''Rhone'']]
RMSP ships carried mail, passengers, horses, and cargo on regular scheduled routes. Its first services had been between [[Port of Southampton|Southampton]] and the [[Caribbean]], but in 1851 it added a new route between Southampton and [[Port of Rio de Janeiro|Rio de Janeiro]].{{sfn|Nicol|2001a|p=62}} This growing trade, and a number of ships lost at sea, created a need for new ships.

In June 1863 RMSP ordered ''Rhone'' from the [[Millwall Iron Works]] on the [[Isle of Dogs]], London and her [[sister ship]] {{RMS|Douro|1865|2}} from [[Caird & Company]] in [[Greenock]].{{sfn|Nicol|2001b|p=58}} The pair was initially to work the Rio de Janeiro route. They were similar but not identical. Both were handsome ships, but ''Rhone'' was considered to have slightly finer lines.{{sfn|Nicol|2001a|p=76}}

At this time the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] supervised Royal Mail Ship contracts. During building the Admiralty [[Marine surveyor|surveyor]] criticised ''Rhone''{{'}}s [[Bulkhead (partition)|bulkheads]] and [[Compartment (ship)|water tight compartments]]. Revisions were made, and the ship was completed to the surveyor's satisfaction.{{sfn|Nicol|2001b|p=58}}

''Rhone'' had an iron hull, was {{convert|310|ft}} long, had a {{convert|40|ft|adj=on}} beam and {{GRT|2738}}. She was a sail-steamer, rigged as a two-masted [[brig]]. Her [[Marine steam engine#Compound|compound steam engine]] developed 500 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]] and gave her a speed of {{convert|14|kn|km/h}} on her [[sea trial]]s.{{sfn|Nicol|2001b|p=58}} In her contract the ship cost £25 17s 8d per ton and her engine cost £24,500.{{sfn|Nicol|2001b|p=58}}

[[File:Pedro II 1865 01.jpg|thumb|left|[[List of monarchs of Brazil#Empire of Brazil (1822–1889)|Emperor]] [[Pedro II of Brazil|Pedro II]] in 1865, the year he visited ''Rhone''{{'}}s engine room]]
''Rhone'' was an innovative ship. She had a [[bronze]] [[propeller]], which was only the second ever made of this alloy.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}} She had also a [[surface condenser]] in order to save and re-use water in her boilers and steam engine. She was the first ship so equipped to visit Brazil, so in port in 1865 the [[List of monarchs of Brazil#Empire of Brazil (1822–1889)|Emperor of Brazil]], [[Pedro II of Brazil|Pedro II]], came aboard and visited her [[engine room]] to see it.{{sfn|Nicol|2001a|p=74}}

''Rhone''{{'}}s passenger capacity was 253 first class, 30 second class and 30 third class.{{sfn|Nicol|2001b|p=58}} On 9 October 1865 she left Southampton on her maiden voyage to Brazil. At first she suffered from overheated bearings, but once this was resolved she became a fast and reliable ship.{{sfn|Nicol|2001b|p=58}} Her next five voyages were also to Brazil.

''Rhone'' proved her worth by weathering several severe storms. One storm in 1866 destroyed the [[Cutter (boat)|cutter]] and two [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]] on her [[Port and starboard|port]] side, damaged the cutter and the [[mail boat]] on her starboard side, damaged much of her deck furniture, killed two horses and broke one sailor's leg.{{sfn|Nicol|2001a|p=74}}

In January 1867 ''Rhone'' made her final voyage to Brazil, after which RMSP transferred her to the Caribbean route, which at the time was more lucrative and prestigious.{{sfn|Nicol|2001a|p=74}}{{sfn|Nicol|2001b|p=59}}

==Sinking==
{{location map|Caribbean|width=304
|lat= 18.369
|long= -64.536
|caption= Position of ''Rhone''{{'}}s wreck in the [[British Virgin Islands]]
|relief= yes
}}
On 19 October 1867 ''Rhone'' drew alongside RMS ''Conway'' in Great Harbour, [[Peter Island]] for bunkering. The original coaling station they needed had been moved from the then Danish island of [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas]] due to an outbreak of [[yellow fever]].

On the day of the sinking, ''Rhone''{{'}}s [[Sea captain|Master]], Frederick Woolley,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Law of Storms: The true story of the RMS Rhone and the great Virgin Islands hurricane of 1867|last=Martelli|first=Joan|year=2017|location=Amazon|pages=47–61}}</ref> was slightly worried by the dropping barometer and darkening clouds, but because it was October and hurricane season was thought to be over, ''Rhone'' and ''Conway'' stayed in Great Harbour. The storm which subsequently hit was later known as the [[1867 San Narciso Hurricane|San Narciso Hurricane]] and retrospectively categorised as a Category 3 hurricane on the [[Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale]]. The first half of the storm passed without much event or damage, but the ferocity of the storm worried the captains of ''Conway'' and ''Rhone'', as their anchors had dragged and they worried that when the storm came back after the [[Eye (cyclone)|eye of the storm]] had passed over, they would be driven onto the shore of Peter Island.

They decided to transfer the passengers from ''Conway'' to the "unsinkable" ''Rhone''; ''Conway'' was then to head for Road Harbour and ''Rhone'' would make for open sea. As was normal practice at the time, the passengers in ''Rhone'' were tied into their beds to prevent them being injured in the stormy seas.

''Conway'' got away before ''Rhone'' but was caught by the tail end of the storm, and eventually foundered off the south side of [[Tortola]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Law of Storms|last=Martelli|first=Joan|year=2017|page=113}}</ref> But ''Rhone'' struggled to get free as her [[anchor]] was caught fast. It was ordered to be cut loose, and lies in Great Harbour to this day, with its chain wrapped around the same coral head that trapped it a century and a half ago. Time was now critical, and Captain Woolley decided that it would be best to try to escape to the shelter of open sea by the easiest route, between Black Rock Point of Salt Island and [[Dead Chest Island, British Virgin Islands|Dead Chest Island]]. Between those two islands lay Blonde Rock, an underwater reef which was normally a safe depth of {{convert|25|ft}}, but during hurricane swells, there was a risk that ''Rhone'' might founder on that. The Captain took a conservative course, giving Blonde Rock (which cannot be seen from the surface) a wide berth.

However, just as ''Rhone'' was passing Black Rock Point, less than {{convert|250|yd}} from safety, the second half of the hurricane came around from the south. The winds shifted to the opposite direction and ''Rhone'' was thrown directly into Black Rock Point. It is said that the initial lurch of the crash sent Captain Woolley 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 entrenched in the wreck's coral. The ship broke in two, and cold seawater made contact with her hot [[boiler]]s which had been running at full steam, causing them to [[Boiler explosion|explode]].

The ship sank swiftly, the bow section in {{convert|80|ft}} of water, the stern in {{convert|30|ft|0}}. Of the approximately 145 crew and passengers on board, twenty-five people survived the wreck.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Law of Storms|last=Martelli|first=Joan|year=2017|pages=82–120}}</ref> The bodies of many of the sailors were buried in a nearby cemetery on Salt Island which remained relatively unchanged until being destroyed by [[Hurricane Irma]] in 2017.<ref name="October 07">{{Cite web|date=October 7, 2020|title=10 Places Jacqueline Bisset scuba dived on RMS Rhone while filming The Deep|url=http://www.thedeepfilminglocations.com/2020/10/10-places-jacqueline-bisset-dived-on.html|access-date=2020-10-29}}</ref> A long-held belief that due to her mast sticking out of the water, and her shallow depth, she was deemed a hazard by the [[Royal Navy]] in the 1950s and her stern section was blown up, was refuted by ''Twice She Struck'' author Dr. Michael D. Kent. Kent's research indicated that ''Rhone'' was blown up during salvage by hardhat diver Jeremiah Murphy and that the bow section, made famous by Jacqueline Bisset,<ref name="October 07"/> had probably rolled during another hurricane in 1924.

==As dive site==
[[File:Diver exploring RMS Rhone.jpg|thumb|Diver exploring the ''Rhone'']]
[[File:RMS Rhone National Park sign on ocean floor.jpg|thumb|Sign on the ocean floor, 25 metres deep, at RMS Rhone National Park]]
''Rhone'' is now a popular [[scuba diving|dive site]], and the area around her was turned into a national park in 1980.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bvitourism.com/activity/rms-rhone-marine-park |title=RMS Rhone, off of Salt Island, BVI &#124; BVI Tourism |access-date=2015-07-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711182236/http://www.bvitourism.com/activity/rms-rhone-marine-park |archive-date=2015-07-11 }}</ref>

''Rhone'' has received a number of citations and awards over the years as one of the top recreational wreck dives in the Caribbean, both for its historical interest and teeming marine life, and also because of the open and relatively safe nature of the wreckage. Very little of the wreckage is still enclosed, and where overhead environments do exist, they are large and roomy and have openings at either end permitting a swim through, so there is no real [[penetration diving]] for which divers usually undergo advanced training.

Her bow section is still relatively intact, and although the wooden decks have rotted away, she still provides an excellent swim-through for divers. Her entire iron hull is encrusted with coral and overrun by fishes, and the cracks and crevices of her wreckage provide excellent habitats for lobsters, eels, and octopuses. Her wreckage was also featured in the 1977 filming of ''[[The Deep (1977 film)|The Deep]]'', including the scene of [[Jacqueline Bisset]] diving in a T-shirt.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 1, 2020|title=Jacqueline Bisset's famous wet t-shirt as film marketing strategy; how it happened and where it was filmed.|url=http://www.thedeepfilminglocations.com/2020/10/where-was-jacqueline-bissets-wet-t.html|access-date=2020-10-29}}</ref>

The wreck has been well treated over the years. There used to be a full set of wrenches (spanners), still visible on the deep part (each wrench being about {{convert|4|ft}} long and weighing over {{convert|100|lbs}}). In recent decades the largest of these were stolen by a collector, leaving only the smaller wrenches. Also remaining are a few brass portholes and even a silver teaspoon. The remaining wrenches are under {{convert|55|ft}} of water. Similarly the wreck features the "lucky porthole", a brass porthole in the stern section which survived the storm intact and remains shiny by divers rubbing it for good luck. This porthole is considered "lucky" because the glass still survives. For many years a popular resident of the wreck was a {{convert|500|lb|adj=on}} [[Atlantic Goliath grouper|Goliath grouper]], but two ex-pat fishermen with spear guns killed it despite spear guns being illegal for non-nationals and the area being a national park. Today the wreck is visited by hundreds of tourists every day, most of whom are more circumspect in their treatment of the site.

The wreck's maximum depth is {{convert|85|ft}} of water.

The Rhone National Park was closed for a short time from 29 August 2011 because the container ship ''Tropical Sun'' had run aground on rocks near Salt Island very near the wreck.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ship Runs Aground at Wreck of the Rhone; Site Closed |url=http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?page=Article&articleID=1314632892 |access-date=30 August 2011 |date=29 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928224812/http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?page=Article&articleID=1314632892 |archive-date=28 September 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>{{Portal|Underwater diving}}

==Pictures==
{{Gallery
| width  = 160
| height = 140
|File:RMS Rhone 2003 4.jpg|Wreck of the ''Rhone''
|File:RMS Rhone 2003 2.jpg|Wreck of the ''Rhone''
|File:Coral growth on RMS Rhone.jpg|Coral growth on the ''Rhone''
|File:General View RMW Rhone & RMS Wye Memorial.jpg|Memorial to the sailors of Southampton who perished aboard the RMS ''Rhone'' and RMS ''Wye'' which both sank during the same hurricane
|File:RMS Rhone Detail.jpg|Detail of the bas relief illustration of the ''Rhone'' from the memorial in Southampton Old Cemetery
|File:Family grave in Highgate Cemetery of Henry Arthur Sanderson, officer in charge of mails on RMS Rhone.jpg|Family grave in [[Highgate Cemetery]] of Henry Arthur Sanderson, officer in charge of mails on ''RMS Rhone''
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Nicol |first=Stuart |year=2001a |title=MacQueen's Legacy; A History of the Royal Mail Line |volume=One |place=Brimscombe Port and Charleston, SC |publisher=[[The History Press|Tempus Publishing]] |isbn=0-7524-2118-2 |pages=74–76 }}
* {{cite book |last=Nicol |first=Stuart |year=2001b |title=MacQueen's Legacy; Ships of the Royal Mail Line |volume=Two |place=Brimscombe Port and Charleston, SC |publisher=[[The History Press|Tempus Publishing]] |isbn=0-7524-2119-0 |pages=58–64 }}
* Martelli, Joan (2017) ''The Law of Storms: The true story of the RMS Rhone and the great Virgin Islands hurricane of 1867''. {{ISBN|978-90-827838-1-0}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Rhone (ship, 1865)|RMS Rhone}}
{{Wikivoyage|Scuba diving in the British Virgin Islands/RMS Rhone|RMS Rhone}}
* [http://british-virgin-islands.greatestdivesites.com/salt_island/rms_rhone The R.M.S. Rhone is an old cargo vessel that wrecked in 1867 at a reef at Salt Island], greatestdivesites.com
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNS9Vr4RlEY RMS Rhone BVI 2000], wreck dive video at YouTube
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u7El3mHd8g RMS Rhone, Salt Island, British Virgin Islands], wreck dive video at YouTube
* [http://www.thedeepfilminglocations.com/2020/10/10-places-jacqueline-bisset-dived-on.html The Deep Filming Locations] exactly where on RMS Rhone the 1977 movie [[The Deep (1977 film)|The Deep]] was filmed.

{{1867 shipwrecks}}
{{Recreational dive sites|wresit}}
{{coord|18.3687|N|64.5356|W|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhone}}
[[Category:1865 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1867]]
[[Category:Ships of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the British Virgin Islands]]
[[Category:Wreck diving sites]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1980]]
[[Category:1980 establishments in the British Virgin Islands]]
[[Category:1867 in the British Virgin Islands]]
[[Category:Underwater diving sites in the Caribbean]]