Tortola, Virgin Gorda and the Central BVI

• Confirm certification, experience, medical fitness, recent diving and refresher requirements with the actual operator. Dive BVI policy.
• Choose depth and current exposure with a dive professional. The RMS Rhone ranges from 6.1 m to 24.4 m; a shallow guided snorkel is not an approved wreck penetration. NPT.
• Do not enter overhead sections without separate training, support, emergency plan and authorization. No generic endorsement of technical or penetration diving has been verified.
• For freediving, never practice breath holds alone, and confirm a competent safety buddy and rescue-equipped course leader. A snorkel excursion does not demonstrate line-training suitability. Course lead.
• Follow operator rules for current, sea state, propellers, surface signaling, oxygen equipment, departure/return check-in and diving with a companion. No current site-specific water-quality monitoring or post-storm contamination bulletin was verified for this research; check local advisories before entering after heavy rain.
• DAN flying-after-diving guidance gives minimum 12 hours after a single no-decompression dive and at least 18 hours after multiple dives or days; decompression diving needs longer. These are minimum guidance, not guarantees.
• The official Atlantic cyclone season is June-November. Monitor the National Hurricane Center and marine weather rather than assuming trip operation.

UK FCDO reports the BVI has one hospital, Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital on Tortola, with limited capacity and overseas referral of complex cases to USVI, Puerto Rico or the mainland US. BVI Health Services Authority lists community health services elsewhere, including Virgin Gorda, but do not assume advanced emergency care on every island. A 2026 DAN recompression bulletin documents a decompression-illness evacuation case and states that no chamber was available locally at that time; chamber availability and receiving country entry permission must be checked anew. Call 911 for medical emergencies or 767 for maritime rescue, then contact insurer/DAN. A decompression illness may require oxygen, rapid qualified evaluation and specialist evacuation. Never substitute anecdotal chamber location for an active medical coordination plan.

• RMS Rhone/Dead Chest Marine Park: anchoring and fishing prohibited; use authorized, permitted moorings and obey instructions. Do not remove marine artifacts, disturb archaeological features or enter overhead areas without qualification and permission.
• The Baths: respect marked access routes, boat speed guidance, no-anchor reef protection and local closures or swimming warnings.
• Keep fins and equipment clear of reef and seabed. No standing on coral, feeding/chasing wildlife or souvenir collection.
• Recognize park admission tickets and marine conservation mooring permits are different. Verify paid status with the Trust or operator; November 2026 tariffs are changing. Permit portal.
• Avoid asserting that all BVI beaches, reefs or private moorings are accessible for commercial tours, spearfishing, snorkeling or freedive training without the relevant site permission.