The Rondo was built in the USA in 1917 for the British and was at that time named War Wonder 1. She was renamed again in the early 1930's and then again in 1934, it was then that she became known as the Rondo. In early 1935 she left Glasgow to sail round Scotland to pick up a cargo in Northumberland but whilst sailing through the sound of Mull she ran into a terrible blizzard. She took shelter near Tobermory but during the night her anchor chain snapped and she drifted 10 miles driven by the howling winds. It was at this point that she ran a ground on the small island of Dearg Sgeir. Over the next few weeks several salvage attempts failed due to the bad weather. The wind and sea conditions were so bad that the 264 foot ship was pushed over the 100 foot wide island until she eventually slipped into the sea at the other side of the island.

The wreck today :The Rondo is one of the classic wrecks in the sound of Mull, she is also one of the most unusual due to her location and orientation. The bow now rests in 50 metres of water and her stern rises to within 5 metres of the surface. This is because she basically rests on a very steep cliff face. Her charted position is 56°32.3'N , 5°54.7'W but this information is not really necessary as you just drive your boat up to Dearg Sgir and stop 15m offshore west of the lighthouse. She is usually buoyed but if she is not you can put on a mask and stick your head into the water until you see the rudder post, it is as simple as that. Her stern is solidly encrusted with plumose anemones and a swim down to the bow and back makes a most impressive dive.

The photos and diagrams where reproduced with the kind permission of John Liddiard and Diver magazine.