MAILBOAT NAME: RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Conway
PAST NAMES:
DIMENSIONS: 895 gross tons, 260 horsepower, 215 feet long, 35 feet wide, 16 feet deep, two paddle wheels
BUILDER: William Pitcher, Northfleet England
YEAR BUILT: 1846
EARLY CAREER: appears to have been dedicated to the West Indies mail service 1846-1867, or at least 1852-1867 when she was wrecked
BAHAMAS CAREER: served Nassau and Inagua with international mail from UK, Jamaica, US
CAPTAINS: not known
OWNERS: West India Mail Company
FATE: Destroyed in St. Thomas US Virgin Islands in October 1867, scrapped in 1870.
1846 – 1870 RMS Conway was a wooden passenger paddle steamer. Built by William Pitcher of Northfleet and launched on 19 November 1846. Gt 895; 215′ x 35′ x 16′; oscillating 2-cyl engines, 9 kn; passengers, 40. Single funnel. Maiden voyage Southampton-West Indies 11 April 1847. She was refit and re-engined in 1862. The original two small funnels were replaced with one large funnel and feather paddles installed. On 20 Oct 1867, she was grounded during the great St. Thomas hurricane, and her masts and funnel blown off the ship. She was scrapped in June 1870. She was the subject of a Belize Stamp – #770 (1985) $3.
For a vivid account of the loss of RMS Rhone as well as RMS Conway, see http://www.aquaventurebvi.com/account-vessey.html and numerous other accounts, as the RMS Rhone has become a popular diving destination in St. Thomas USVI