SY Zawisza Czarny I - wreck of a pre-war sailing ship

The Swedish schooner Petrea, built in 1901, was bought by ZHP in 1934 for 29 thousand crowns. The funds for its purchase were raised entirely from social contributions. The sailing ship was soon repaired and converted into a training unit for scouts and students.

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The main originator of the purchase and ownership of this sailing ship was the head of the Scout Sailing Teams – Witold Bublewski. The post of commander was held by General Mariusz Zaruski until the outbreak of war.

The first cruise of Zawisza took place on 29 June 1935, and exactly one year later, the ship had its christening. It was attended by the then first lady Maria Mościcka, who became the godmother of the new vessel.

During these 5 years, SY Zawisza Czarny was called the biggest sailing scout ship in the world, also capable of sailing to the polar regions. It aroused admiration and envy among its peers among Polish youth, who visited 27 ports in 10 countries on its board.

During World War II, until 1943, under the name Shwarzer Husar, it was used by the Germans to train Kriegsmarine cadets. Finally abandoned and left to its fate, it deteriorated waiting to be rescued. Found after the war, it was brought to Gdynia, but unfortunately could no longer be repaired. In 1949 it was towed to the waters of Puck Bay and sunk.

Until the 1990s, the location of the schooner remained unknown. Its position was located by an underwater research vessel of the Polish Maritime Museum. The wreck of Zawisza Czarny rests at a depth of 8m, near the wreck of the popular Kujawiak.

SY Zawisza Czarny is the wreck of a wooden, three-masted gaff schooner 37.5m long and 8m wide. The average draught of the vessel was 3.1m, while the total sail area was 432m². The crew consisted of 52 people.

Source: wikipedia.org