RUM CAY (Bahamas)
Rum Cay is a small island, only four miles long by nine miles wide,
with
a population of less than a hundred. This island is not a busy,
partying
vacation spot. Instead, Rum Cay is a quiet, secluded, friendly
island. In fact,
there is only one paved road, 100 yards long on the island, and Rum
Cay
is rarely visited by more than 40 tourists at once. The name Rum Cay
derived
from a wrecked East Indian boat that lost its cargo of rum to the
island's
reefs.
Aside from the wreck we have listed, Rum Cay also offers divers many
miles
of shallow wall dives which are great for the novice as well as the
more
experienced diver.
For more information about the Bahamas visit the Bahamas Board of
Tourism’s official website –
www.bahamas.com
H.M.S. CONQUEROR
The H.M.S. Conqueror was a 101 gun, screw line battleship. She was
built
in 1855 at the Davenport Dockyard, weighed 3,265 gross tons, was 240
feet
long, and 55 feet wide. The Conqueror had 800 nhp steam engines that
could push her at speeds of up to twelve knots. She was commissioned
in
1856 for the Baltic Fleet and later the Mediterranean Fleet. She was
armed
with 36 eight inch shell guns, accurate to 1200 yards, 36 thirty two
pound
cannons, accurate to 2,000 yards, 28 thirty two pound upper deck
guns
which were less powerful than her other artillery but faster firing,
and one
68 pound, ten foot long, eight inch bore pivot gun which was the
most
powerful gun of her day.
on December 12, 1861, while steaming from port Royal, Jamaica to
Bermuda, under the command of Captain E.S. Sotheby, she was carried
20 miles off course by a strong current. She ran aground and became
stranded on Rum Cay. Fortunately, there was no loss of life. Her
officers
and crew made it safely ashore and constructed canvas shelters in
which
they lived until they were finally saved by a rescue ship. While the
captain
was acquitted of any blame, it was later attributed to the
navigator.
Today, the wreck is located on the southeast side of Rum Cay, close
to the
entrance of Old Salt Lake, and lies in 15 to 25 feet of water. On
this site,
divers can find cannons, an anchor, a pile of lead bullets, and
cannon balls.
Artifacts cannot be taken from the wreck since she is protected by
the
Bahamian government.
According to Joe Koppelman, an instructor and experienced
photographer,
this wreck is surrounded by a forest of elk horn coral, and is often
visited
by a nurse shark and a black tip reef shark (carcharhings Limbatus).
Basic shipwreck
information and images for the Bahamas section of this site was
taken with permission from the book Tropical Shipwrecks by Daniel
and Denise Berg. You are invited to submit your shipwreck related
articles, images and information. As long as the text, photographs,
sketches etc are of professional quality we will showcase them. Full
credit will be provide and a same page link to your web site can be
arranged.
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