THREE GREAT 18th CENTURY WRECKS

The Finnish coast of the Baltic Sea is truly a wreck diver's paradise. For centuries, trade ships have sailed along the coastal waters on route between Russia and central Europe, despite the Gulf of Finland being a dangerous, stormy sea filled with treacherous, often uncharted rocks that are hidden just under the surface.

Along the centuries, storms in the rocky, unpredictable waters of the Baltic have sent literally hundreds, if not thousands of ships to the bottom of the sea. In the 18^th century alone, dozens of ships were claimed by the sea near the Finnish coast. Many of the wrecks have already been found, and even more still lie at the bottom of the sea, waiting to be discovered.

Old, wooden ships are preserved remarkably well at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The water is cold and dark, and low in oxygen. Most importantly, the water in the Baltic Sea is relatively low in salinity. This accounts for the absence of the shipworm that in most other seas eats up the wooden parts of old wrecks. There are plenty of wreck dive sites in the Baltic that are suitable for divers of all levels of experience.

St Mikael – Sunken Treasure of Gold and Silver

The Russian merchant ship St Mikael was sailing the Gulf of Finland in heavy weather in late autumn of 1747, carrying cargo and passengers. She had set sail from Amsterdam and was heading for St. Petersburg when she was caught in a snowy storm that forced the ship off course towards land, and made visibility extremely poor. Late at night, the 25 meter long ship suddenly hit hard on some underwater rocks. In moments, the unfortunate ship had sunk to the bottom of the sea.

The wreck was discovered in 1953 by local fishermen when their fishing net got tangled in the masts. Underwater archaeologists dived to the wreck in the early 1960's. To their astonishment they found -among other valuable items- numerous pocket watches made of gold and silver, as well as thirty four gold, silver, and ivory snuff boxes, one with a ruby-laid lid. The skeletons of two people, a young lady and an older man, were also found in the aft quaters of the ship.

The wreck of St Mikael lies near the island of Borstö at about 40 meters deep. Her hull is almost perfectly intact, even her three masts are still standing, with their tips at about 18 meters deep.

Vrouw Maria – Empress's Art Treasure

Vrouw Maria, a Dutch two-masted trade ship, had set sail from Amsterdam to St. Petersburg in September of 1771. It was carrying an extremely valuable cargo of precious art to Catherine the Great, the empress of Russia. It consisted of valuable paintings and sculptures that Catherine's agents had bought at auctions in Amsterdam.

The ship had been at sea for almost a month when, on the evening of the 3^rd of October 1771, it ran on an underwater rock. A wave set the ship loose, only to hit another rock, this time braking the hull. Leaking badly, it eventually sank to about forty meters despite the crew's desperate efforts to pump the flooding water out. The crew and captain finally abandoned ship, and no human casualties were caused.

The Wreck was found by a search group in 1999. It lies at 41 meters deep, with the tops of the masts at 23 meters. The hull of the ship has remained remarkably well intact. It is about 26 meters long and seven meters wide. The group made over 120 dives to the wreck and took countless photos and taped hours of video from the site. They also brought up some items that helped identify the ship. The items were set on show for the public in Helsinkiin the summer of 2000.

Kronprins Gustav Adolf – The Unfortunate War Ship

In September of 1788 ,at a time when Sweden and Russia were at war with each other, the Swedish ship of line Kronprins Gustav Adolf hit an underwater rock near what is now Helsinki, the capital city of Finland ,while on a reconnaissance mission. Once the Russian navy noticed the distressed enemy ship, their troops quickly boarded it, took the crew as prisoners, and burned and sunk the ship.

The wreck of this unfortunate ship was found in 1995. It lies at about twenty meters deep near Helsinki. The remains of the burned ship include more than 70 cannons and two huge anchors.

The wreck is clearly marked and is open to all divers. At only twenty meters, the wreck is a relatively easy dive site and has become a popular dive site for local divers and dive clubs.

This is the 18^th century wreck that anyone can visit! I have written a more detailed account of my own dive there in a previous article. Click here to read it!

Wrecks and wreck diving are one of the most exiting topics of discussion when it comes to diving. Is there an impressive wreck site that you've dived or wish you could dive? I'd love to get your comments on the topic. Any comments will be greatly appreciated! Especially anyone who has dived any of the hundreds of old wrecks in the Baltic, it would be great to get comments about your experiences!