R.M.S. RHONE
of Great Harbour, Peter Island. About 11 a.m. the barometer fell to 27.95, the
sky darkened and a fearful hurricane blew in from the North Northwest. She
rode the storm. During a lull in the storm about noon, the Rhone tried to weigh
anchor, but the shackle of the cable caught in the hawse pipe and parted,
dropping the 3,000 pound anchor and about 300 feet of chain. With the engines
running at full speed, Captain Robert F. Wolley headed the Rhone towards open
sea to weather out the second onslaught. She negotiated most of the rocky
channel and was rounding the last point when the hurricane, blowing from the
South Southeast struck, forcing the Rhone onto the rocks at Salt Island where
she heeled over, broke in two and sank instantly, taking most of her company
with her. Today, the Wreck of the R.M.S. Rhone lies beneath the surface, where
she is protected as the R.M.S. Rhone National Park.
