The dates for this year’s British Virgin Islands Wreck Week have been announced.
The week, which is a celebration of the history of the BVI, will take place from June 15-21, 2025. The week, however, is about much more than diving, and it is interspersed with beach bonfires, beach parties, live music and much more. The event is a tour de force of some of the best wreck diving sites in the Caribbean.
The must-visit wreck of the week is the iconic 19th-century Royal Mail Steamship Rhone, which rests at Salt Island. The wreck was immortalized in the film “The Deep.” Stretching 90 meters/295 feet, the Rhone was a marvel of its time, designed to carry mail and passengers from England, and was powered by both sail and steam. Tragically, it met its demise in a hurricane in 1867, claiming 123 lives in the process.
Also, the islands are home to unique “art reefs” like Sharkplane at Virgin Gorda, where three derelict aircraft have been transformed into imaginative half-plane, half-shark sculptures by the Beyond The Reef group.
Another fascinating dive is the Kodiak Queen, a World War II Navy fuel barge that is adorned with a striking 24-meter/79-foot kraken sculpture.
During the week, divers will visit Wreck Alley, a site that features four wrecks close together. These include the Island Seal, a cargo shipwreck from 2006, which was towed to Cooper Island to join another cargo boat, Marie L, along with two tugboats, Pat and Beata. Interestingly, you can explore all four wrecks in a single dive, which makes Wreck Alley a must-see destination for wreck lovers.
Heading a little further afield at Tortola, divers will have the opportunity to explore the Chikuzen, a 74-meter/243-foot Korean refrigerator ship that sank during a hurricane in 1981. Although the ship’s owners tried to dispose of it by setting it ablaze, this did not work.
Today, the Chikuzen is an artificial reef and is home to an incredible range of marine life, including sharks, rays, turtles, barracudas and vibrant reef fish.
You can find out more about BVI Wreck Week here.
