ReefSeason BETAPrologue
RMS Rhone National Park sign on ocean floor
A dive briefing · British Virgin Islands

RMS Rhone

Dive site in the British Virgin Islands. Here's what has been recorded at this site month by month, how the region’s reefs have weathered ocean heat, and how to prepare.

British Virgin Islandswreck
At this site RMS Rhone National Park sign on ocean floor · O'Dea · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
RMS Rhone 2003 1
Chapter I · Arrival

RMS Rhone: dive site in the British Virgin Islands.

~18.369° N~64.536° W · Wikidata
224open records · GBIF
66species recorded
At this site RMS Rhone 2003 1 · Gareth Richards · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
II

Entry

RMS Rhone 2003 1

Shore and boat entries vary by site. We list only rules we can cite from official sources; entry points, depths and currents will be added once we can verify them.

Approximate positionThese coordinates come from a crowd-sourced map or Wikidata item, not an official mooring list. Use them for orientation only.
To verifyDepth range, entry points and current notes. We publish them only with a citation. The coordinates mark the site in general, not a mooring or entry point.
Local rules (cited)

At this site RMS Rhone 2003 1 · Gareth Richards · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

RMS Rhone National Park sign on ocean floor
Open media · At this site RMS Rhone National Park sign on ocean floor · O'Dea · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then RMS Rhone rises to meet you.

RMS Rhone National Park sign on ocean floor
IV

What lives here, by month

Pick a month. These are the species most often recorded within about a kilometre in that month, from open survey records.

Oct
October · 0 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Squirrelfish
Gray Snapper
Trumpetfish
Sergeant Major
Blackbar Soldierfish
French Grunt
Yellow Goatfish
Smooth trunkfish
Blue Tang
Common Lionfish
Caesar grunt
Tomtate

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Trumpetfish (4)
  2. Gray Snapper (4)
  3. Sergeant Major (4)
  4. Squirrelfish (4)
  5. Blackbar Soldierfish (3)
  6. French Grunt (3)
  7. Yellow Goatfish (3)
  8. Smooth trunkfish (3)
  9. Blue Tang (3)
  10. Common Lionfish (2)
  11. Sharknose Goby (2)
  12. Caesar grunt (2)
  13. Smallmouth Grunt (2)
  14. Tomtate (2)
  15. Bluestriped Grunt (2)
  16. Porkfish (2)
  17. Bluehead Wrasse (2)
  18. Schoolmaster Snapper (2)
  19. Dog snapper (2)
  20. Horse-eye jack (2)

GBIF.org (2026-10-15), occurrence records within ~1 km, licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0 only. Birds and land animals are excluded. Counts reflect survey effort, not abundance. 224 qualifying records. See them on GBIF. Common names: Wikidata (CC0) / GBIF. Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species.

V

Forty-one summers of heat

Each stripe is one year since 1985, colored by its peak heat stress across NOAA's “Virgin Islands” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026
Reef health report · Virgin Islands

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-139.5°C-weeks · NOAA status: Alert Level 2

NOAA CRW virtual station “Virgin Islands”. NOAA's alert thresholds are 4 °C-weeks (Alert Level 1) and 8 °C-weeks (Alert Level 2). Station page · Method. Credit: NOAA Coral Reef Watch.

Peak per year · dashed lines at 4, 8 and 16 °C-weeks
The past twelve months
VI

Conditions

Average sea temperature through the year. Check the live readings before you go.

Average sea surface temperature by month: NOAA CRW “Virgin Islands” station climatology (monthly means).

NWS San Juan · marine forecasts (Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands) →NDBC 41052 · South of St. John, USVI (~29 km, open ocean) →

Buoy readings are measurements; forecasts are models. Use them for planning only, and assess conditions on site. Depth and visibility data aren't listed until we can cite a source.

VII

Plan & prepare

  1. Read the official marine forecast the night before.Offshore, wind and sea state decide the day.
  2. Check the cited local rules above and pay any park fee before you dive.[Placeholder: verified operator list to come]
  3. Study this month's species above.You'll recognise more when you know the names.
  4. Hands off, fins up, buoyancy dialled. Log what you see.Your sightings can become tomorrow's open data.

Credits

Coordinates
Wikidata Q1664018 (CC0). Wikidata (CC0) items for the RMS Rhone and HMS Astraea wrecks and for named islands, rocks and points; most mark the nearby island or point, so treat them as approximate.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 212, CC0_1_0: 12
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (112 records) · GBIF
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (96 records) · GBIF
Dataset
CAS Invertebrate Zoology (IZ) · doi:10.15468/tiac99 (10 records) · GBIF
Dataset
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Division of Reptiles & Amphibians · doi:10.15468/g3bard (4 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Delaware Museum of Nature and Science – Mollusks · doi:10.15468/lfwzak (2 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=18.3587,18.378700000000002&decimalLongitude=-64.54560000000001,-64.5256&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&taxonKey=44&taxonKey=206&taxonKey=229&taxonKey=136&taxonKey=225&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&limit=0
Heat stress & SST
NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 5 km Regional Virtual Station “Virgin Islands”
Hero photo
At this site RMS Rhone National Park sign on ocean floor · O'Dea · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Arrival photo
At this site RMS Rhone 2003 1 · Gareth Richards · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Gallery
7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources