Underseas Treasure: Yachting To Submerged Wrecks in the
British Virgin Islands
With over four hundred years of ocean traffic going through
its balmy waterways, it would be remarkable if the waters around the British
Virgin Islands did not hold some. Fortunately for the devoted diver, you'll find
several charming old wrecks here, filled with darting fish and crusted with
corals and barnacles. The Wreck of the Rhone Off Salt Island, the RMS Rhone went down in 1867 during a
terrible hurricane. This beautiful ship was one of the first iron ships, and was
outfitted with both sails and steam for power. She lies on her side in twenty to
eighty feet of water, making exploration possible for either snorkelers or
divers. After more than a century below the sea, the Rhone is
covered in barnacles, corals, and sponges, giving her a colorful, almost jaunty
appearance. Schools of fish dart in and out of her body, and she's now the home
of a vibrant ecosystem that has developed around her different parts. The Rhone is famous as the set for many different
movies, including The Deep. It's easy to find the hatch that was featured
prominently in this film, and swimming through it gives divers access to the
fascinating and well-lit interior of the ship. A little distance away, the
Rhone's gigantic propeller sits in about twenty feet of water, easily
discernible from the surface but harder to recognize from up close. The Chikuzen Not as venerable as the Rhone, the Chikuzen was sunk in
1981. This ship was part of a Korean fishing fleet ported out of St. Maarten,
but was damaged in a storm and moored at a port. When she caused damage to
the docks, the owners decided to tow her out to sea and set her on fire in an
attempt to scuttle. But the Chikuzen did not scuttle easily. Instead, she
drifted for miles out to sea, finally coming close to beaching herself on Marina
Cay. Towed away from this little island, she finally sank about
12 miles northwest of Virgin Gorda, and today represents an excellent dive,
though in 75 feet of sometimes-rough water it is unwise to attempt the dive
alone. If you're diving to the Chikuzen with a good dive guide or instructor,
you'll get to enjoy the many shoals of fish who congregate to this, the only
cover on the ocean bottom for miles: stingray, eagle ray, barracuda, snapper,
nurse sharks, and many others. It's also fun to watch the slowly-developing
coral and sponges as they begin their inexorable colonization of the shipwreck,
turning it from something made by man into a living and breathing ecosystem. The Reefs Around Anegada Island Near Anegada Island, a horseshoe of reefs have contributed to dozens of shipwrecks throughout the years. You'll find wrecks such as the Rocus, sunk in 1929 and now little more than a bonelike frame; and the Paramatta, an old paddlewheel sunk in 1859, throughout the area. These reefs are a bad, bad place to sail your charter ship, but you can set anchor a short distance away or sail into the island's harbor and explore the remarkable wrecks more safely, using a dinghy for easy access. Most of these wrecks will require full diving gear, not simply snorkeling, due to their depth and complexity, but they're well worth it.
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