In May, we had the opportunity to explore unknown wrecks located on the approach fairway to Gdynia. Today, as we are wrapping up our report for the Maritime Office, we can finally share some insights with you.
The positions we were most hopeful about turned out to be less interesting than expected. In historical records, some were described, for example, as remains of a U-boat, but in reality, we were diving on scattered remnants of metal structures or old, trawled steamers.
An interesting find, however, was a well-preserved aircraft wheel lying among the remains of one wreck—something that certainly should not be there. It’s a mystery we’ll likely never solve.
Only when we reached deeper wrecks did we stumble upon something truly exciting. Just 2 km apart, we discovered two well-preserved wooden wrecks. Both showed visible ceramic fragments and bottles. Our trusted archaeologist identified one of the ceramic pieces as:
“Salt-glazed stoneware, decorated with applied relief and cobalt blue pigment in a checkerboard pattern. Place of origin: Westerwald (Rhineland), dating back to the second quarter of the 18th century (approximately between 1725 and 1740).”
So—an 18th-century wooden shipwreck.
The next day, we dived again and discovered another similar wooden wreck. Based on our descriptions, the archaeologist dated this one to the late 18th century.
Both wrecks lie at depths of 60–70 meters, just 5 kilometers off the Hel Peninsula.
An amazing find—it's just a shame they are located right in the middle of a busy shipping lane and will probably remain untouched for decades to come.
More news on nearby wrecks coming soon.
Best regards from the team:
Tomasz Stachura
Tomasz Zwara
Piotr Cybula
Maciej Marcinkowski
Bartłomiej Pitala
Łukasz Pastwa
Krzysztof Harbul
Wojciech Drzazgowski
