Pirates, the Rhone and the Queen’s Table Salt

Pirates once frequently visited these waters that I now sail. I can see why they would choose this place as their residence over other places with similar waters. The beauty of this environment is hard to beat, and the islands provide many little bays in which one could hide treasure. Today we sailed past Dead Chest Island. As the tale tells, the mighty pirate Blackbeard worried that his crew were scheming mutiny told his crew that he once had hid a treasure on this island, and that he needed help to retrieve it from it’s hiding place. All the disloyal crewmembers jumped at the opportunity to get a piece of the treasure for themselves, and were brought into land by a rowing boat. The captain made sure that only his most loyal crewmembers remained on the large ship. As soon as the mutinous pirates had been dropped off the pirate ship sailed away into the distance leaving the greedy pirates to their fate. In these days, it was a bad omen to have anyone aboard that could swim, because it meant that you someday would need to. Just opposite of Dead Chest Island lays a picturesque white beach within swimming distance as if its only purpose is to mock those who would try to swim across without the knowledge of how it’s done. The beach was named Dead Man Bay after all those pirates who tried to swim across floated up dead on the beach.

Just next to Dead Chest Island is Salt Island. It got it’s name from the salt ponds in the center of the island. The RMS Rhone was a Royal Mail Steam packet ship that transported cargo between England, Central and South America and the Caribbean. She was one of the first iron-hulled ships, and was powered by both sail and steam. On October 19th in 1867 the captain of the Rhone was worried about his barometer dropping distressingly fast and decided to leave for Road Harbour. Before they left all of the passengers of a neighboring ship, the Conway, was transferred onto the unsinkable Rhone to make sure that they were safe. The storm that subsequently hit became known as the San Narciso Hurricane and was rated as a category 3 hurricane. The ship ended up hitting the rocks of Salt Island, and sunk to the bottom with many of its passengers. It is said that the spoon that is still attached to the transom of the boat was one of the crewmembers attempts to save his life as he fell over board. The residents of Salt Island immediately upon realizing the tragedy that was happening went out in rowing boats to try to save as many as they possibly could. They did save a lot of the passengers, but far from all of them. The queen of England, when she heard about the residents’ bravery, decided that no one on that island would ever have to pay taxes again. Instead they would send her three bags of salt from the salt ponds. The salt from Salt Island was long used at the royal dinner table.

It is quite the story. Today the area around the Rhone is a protected marine conservation area, and we were lucky to go and visit it today.

Current location: Great Harbour of Peter Island, BVI: 18°19’75’’ N 64°33’77’’W