TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Today's date, Oct 29th, in BVI history

Ok - What important BVI historical event happened on today's date, Tuesday, Oct 29th?

Interestingly enough, the event occurred on a Tuesday.

RMS Rhone sunk in a hurricane killing 123 people. I actually had to look up how many died. I couldn't remember.

That's a late hurricane!

October 29, 1867 - The RMS Rhone came to rest just off of Salt Island, BVI during the San Narciso hurricane, the 9th and last hurricane of the ‘67 season. The captain and crew assumed it was an early season cold front as it was too late in the year to be a hurricane. Battered again by Hurricane Irma in 2017, the RMS Rhone is still one of the premier wreck dive sites in the world. She holds a special place in all of our hearts, and we hope that you can come experience her mystery and beauty one day with us.
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The Old Southampton Cemetery in the UK has a dedicated memorial to the Rhone and her passengers. This was a national tragedy and was suitably marked as such. Make sure to check it out if you are in the area.

For more info - visit https://divebvi.com/rms-rhone/

Cheers!

A trip to the Rhone is a memorable and sobering experience.I have snorkeled the wreck..and Iatrip to see the resting place of the passengers on the island should be part of the trip.This was a tragic twist of fate..just another mile and the Rhone would have been in open ocean and could have (probably) survived the storm instead of being pushed shore and her steam engines exploding..very sad.

My wife and I listened to the book "Law of Storms" while cruising in the area... The scene at Black Rock is almost beyond imagining.