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SALT ISLAND The Wreck of the RMS Rhone is one of the most popular and highly rated shipwrecks in all the Caribbean. This wreck is situated on the lee side of Salt Island, spread out over a couple of acres, parts of the wreck are shallow enough so that they can be enjoyed by snorkelers and scuba divers at the same time. The Royal Mail Steam Ship Rhone, a 310-foot iron-hulled steam-sailor, was built in Southampton, England in 1865 and was sunk by a hurricane a mere two years later on October 29th, 1867. Constructed at the height of the Industrial Revolution, the Rhone was of a hybrid technology Ç powered by both sail and one of the earliest steam driven propellers. In the almost 130 years it has been underwater, the Rhone has been transformed by the sea and is now as much a natural reef as it is a wreck. The Rhone is a spectacular dive, worthy of its considerable reputation. It looks exactly like people expect a historic shipwreck to look like. The long sleek lines of the intact bow section, lying on her starboard side in 78 feet of water, are clearly visible. The pointed bowsprit, the long iron mast, the crow's nest, the lifeboat davits and even a signaling canon are easily spotted. Inside the wreck schools of fish flow around the support beams, shafts of light penetrate the gloom through portholes. On the "ceiling", a liquid mercury-like layer of trapped air cascades past beams covered with brilliant orange cup coral. The stern section lies in the shallows against Black Rock Point. Snorkelers floating on the surface above can easily see the huge propeller, the aft mast and a line of portholes. This section of wreck lies between 65 and 25 feet. The Rhone's long standing popularity is due to the fact that it is reasonably intact and physically beautifulÇ complete with encrusting marine life, friendly fish, green moray eels, and the occasional black tip or whale shark. The Rhone is also a film star - she was the filming location for Columbia Pictures' treasure diving epic, The Deep, starring Nick Nolte, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Shaw. |