Jerzy Janczukowicz, legendary president of the Gdańsk Diving Club "Rekin", passed away

Jerzy Janczukowicz, president of the Gdańsk Diving Club “Rekin”, a wreck explorer, legend of Polish diving and a great enthusiast of sunken history, died on Monday, 27 July, at the age of 82.

He began searching for and discovering wrecks as a young boy, in the late 1950s, and over the following decades the number of his discoveries and surveyed vessels steadily increased.

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“Today Jerzy Janczukowicz, diver, prospector, legendary man, divine madman, passed away to the Land of True Treasures. Jerzy was not only a searcher, he was above all a finder. He discovered sunken planes from the Second World War, had a collection of antique cars pulled out of the water, and was the owner of the chandelier from the Wilhelm Gustloff, which caused a lot of excitement for years. A real tank stood for years at Jerzy’s house in Gdańsk-Oliwa. He wanted to go down to the wreck of Wilhelm Gustloff once again, he had many expeditions in mind. He died at the age of 82. He was a real Polish Indiana Jones. I hope that somewhere on the other side there will be treasures for him to search for.” – wrote writer Joanna Lamparska

Jerzy Janczukowicz was born on October 8, 1938 in Vilnius, but moved to Gdansk, or more precisely to Oliwa, with his family in mid-November 1945. During his studies he became one of the co-founders of the diving club “Rekin” and from 1958 he was its president.

In the common consciousness of divers, the Gdańsk-based diving club “Rekin” and its extraordinary president are best remembered for their research in the Baltic Sea, when they explored and documented the wreck of the legendary German liner Wilhelm Gudtloff. In reality, however, this is just the tip of the iceberg of all the explorations and discoveries conducted on the Baltic and inland waters.

President of the “Shark” was certainly an extraordinary figure and a true enthusiast of diving. Thanks to his activities and the club he led, he certainly contributed significantly to the development of our beloved discipline, as well as instilled in many young people a huge passion for exploring the underwater world and its mysteries.

^{Source: staraoliwa.pl
Photo: gkprekin.selim.pl}