The Wreck /Racket of the RMS Rhone Salt Island British Caribbean

A New York/ Salt Island/British/ Caribbean Nautical Tale

I am in Sin City Nevada with my crew aka buddies , John Boy, Fat Philly, Cousin Eddy, and Freddy DeFilip, we are thanks to John Boy's casino executive contacts staying fully comped, room, food, booze and babes at Caesars Palaces, and are holed up in their Fantasy Suites accommodations

.Our first night there we are in front row seats to see Sinatra's show , this because Fat Philly had been Sinatra's bodyguard for a few years ,and he had earned Franks respect for breaking the camera of an overly eager photographer at a press conference..

Sinatra stopped his act during the show to say hello to all of us, it made our days to say the least.

So now its been almost a month of outrageous first class all the way partying, winning and losing money, more losing than winning as usual of course, (someone has to pay for those chandeliers in the lobby).chasing women and dreams and the like, now we need a vacation!

So I invite the crew to my current home town, Charlotte Amelia on St. Thomas Island, in my Caribbean dreamworld. St. Thomas

We are only in St Thomas for a few days before heading on our way to a chartered sailing trip in the British Islands. where we have chartered a fully crewed 40 foot Swan sailboat on Tortola and are in Road Town Charters office where we are being briefed by our Captain as to our coming sea adventure. The Captain is English with all the pomp and circumstance to the core as I recall, besides his cockney accent was his cocky attitude.

That attitude was put to the test just after he finished his fifteen minute description of all the wonders to come: crystal clear water, uninhabited Islands, shell white sandy beaches, nature at its finest. Sounds wonderful, but ? Fat Philly has a question for our Captain', Philly interrupts the Captains final words by raisin his hand to ask a question: Cap , Cap, one thing I need to ask, the Captain says of course fire away I am here for you, Philly then in his exact words asked the Captain, “one question Cap, where are the fn broads? we have not seen one decent looking one since we landed here!

This Island has no hookers at least?

Two very serious questions in Philly's mind.

The Captain is to say the least taken back a bit and hesitates way too long to not reflect on this question, he turns English beet red, and asks if there anymore questions, without answering Philly's original question.

Briefing over, but our laughter was far from brief at this briefing.

So the excursion on the sea blue proceeds.

Our first stop is to be at the 'Wreck of the Rhone' on or near Salt Island, it is a long time mandatory plunge into the sea on these Islands to view an 18th century shipwreck located near Salt Island.

Upon arrival at the site of the wreck, we put on our scuba equipment and join other tourists in the water, Philly, snorkel and fins only heads for the beach, expecting that is where the wreck is located, of course it is not, it is in 60 feet of down deep water,when I tell Philly this he is amazed , and had these questions of me:

First he asked how much the fee was for those who rented scuba tanks and went down to the bottom to inspect the wreck, when I told him about one hundred bucks more or less his eyes rolled back in his head, and he said “What a Racket”! At first I was yon sure what he meant, but he explained:

He said first of all Jeff this boat were supposed to be looking at is actually under the water, Right?

True that was I answer!Then he asks : not only that , its broken into two pieces?!? I answer yes to that also, Philly then proclaimed' “ just as I said Jeff:what a racket these guys have! A broken boat under the water? One hundred clams just to see it???

One must admit he had a point, though I was laughing so hard the point seemed trivial.

The rest of our adventure went about the same.

NY fishes 20,000 leagues out to sea and out of their element, so to speak