Island Times Blog

Day 17 / July 2 – Today we were up bright and early to get underway and dive one of the Caribbean’s very best wreck dives, the stern section of the R.M.S. Rhone. The site is also important because it helped to establish sport diving in the BVI.  It was also declared the Virgin Islands’ first National Marine Park in 1967. Artificial reefs like the ones at this site are important for both historical and ecological reasons. The conditions were excellent, especially the visibility. The wreck sits in 60 ft. of water, but we could easily see it from the surface. The students had been learning about the wreck as part of their two specialty dive courses—scientific diver and heritage awareness—so they were very excited to be diving this unique and memorable site. In addition to numerous and diverse corals and fish, the highlight of our dive was seeing two spotted eagle rays and a huge green moray eel. For many of our students, this was their first encounter with these cool creatures. After our dive we headed to another one of SeaTrek’s favorite spots, Salt Island, where we went on a long hike that included beautiful views of the surrounding islands and the salt ponds that give the island its name. After a quick snack, we were back in the water for a tour of the seagrass beds and patch reefs of the island’s Salt Pond Bay. The area was teeming with juvenile fish and invertebrates. We also collected some algae samples and investigated them back at the boat with our microscopes. Before we knew it we were eating dinner and heading out for another night snorkel. At dinner we couldn’t help but think that we only have a few days left together…what a great adventure it has been!