OLD WILLY-T IS NOW A DIVE SITE

Posted on September 24 2019.

Exciting new dive site

The original William Thornton aka ‘Willy T’, which was destroyed by Hurricane Irma on September 6, 2017 was sunk at Key Bay off Peter Island on August 7, 2019, where it has become a dive site. Divers can now encounter skeletal pirates scrubbing the decks or planning their next plundering mission when they visit the BVIs.

The sinking was done by Beyond the Reef, a locally based non-profit organization specializing in creating artificial reefs and dive sites. The volunteers of Beyond the Reef have spent several months turning the hurricane damaged vessel into a first of its kind “underwater pirate-themed shipwreck playground” for divers, complete with skeletal pirates going about their daily business, a crow’s nest and other pirate paraphernalia. It is a fun photo location for all levels of diver.

The British Virgin Islands are renowned for their excellent sailing conditions as well as the local scuba diving. Beyond the Reef’s new artistic installation joins existing dives sites such as the Kodiak Queen – a World War Two Navy barge sunk as an artificial reef in 2017 – and the RMS Rhone, a British Royal Mail steamship that sank in 1867.

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