Wrecking trips: Back to Sierra Leone

As our sources report Piotrek “General” Wytykowski together with his team are returning to Sierra Leone! Thus, the wreck, found two years ago, will await further research and perhaps accurate identification. Interestingly, we know that this time the expedition, once again conducted under the patronage of The Explorers Club, will have an international character.

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The start date is 14 February 2014. Once there, the “Sierra 2014″ project team will spend three weeks exploring the wreck found in the local waters in 2012. The expedition’s end date has been set for 7 March.

As a result of the first expedition to Sierra Leone, it was not possible to establish the name of the found vessel, nor its exact origin. However, thanks to the collected research material, we can say with high probability that the wreck is the remains of a vessel belonging to the Dutch East India Company – VOC. However, it cannot be excluded with certainty that it is not a British or Danish vessel.

What is certain is that the ship was armed with at least 28 cast-iron guns made most probably in Sweden, as indicated by the markings. The weight in Amsterdam pounds suggests that the ordering party was a Dutch shipowner. Based on the armament we can also assume that the wreck found is the remains of an Indiaman type merchant ship, characterised by a very high combat capacity.

It has also been established that the vessel probably had 5 anchors, 2 of which were armed. Thanks to the analysis of photographic material, Dr Rafał Reichert from Centro de Estudios Superiores de Mexico y Centroamerica in Mexico found that both the shape and workmanship resemble anchors found in archaeological sites in the Caribbean, dating back to the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century.

The Vanishing Dutchman – trailer for the film from the expedition Sierra 2012 made by Piotr Kardasz

As for the cargo, all or most of it was Chinese porcelain from the first half of the 18th century. This information suggests that the ship may have been on its way back to Europe from Batavia (today’s Jakarta, then a Dutch colony).

During the search of historical sources it was possible to establish the names of 4 units belonging to the VOC that fit the profile outlined during the search and survey work. These are: Enkhuizen, Maria Adriana, Drechterland and Hofvliet. Assuming, however, that we may be dealing with a British vessel belonging to the East India Company, another 2 vessels were selected: Gloucester Frigate and Normanton. Unfortunately, due to the lack of information on Danish East India Company units, other possibilities still need to be considered.

The main objectives for this year’s project are:

1. cleaning the remaining guns to confirm manufacturer’s marks and those of their user
2. a thorough search of the sandy seabed using an ejector to access the wooden remains of the hull and to locate artefacts carried on board
3. a search of the shoreline in the vicinity of the wreck site for artifacts discarded by the ocean and possible evidence of survivor activity

The coverage of this year’s expedition to Sierra Leone, you will be able to follow on home page of the project and on the pages of our portal, which has taken the whole undertaking under its patronage. As it happened in the case of previous expedition and expedition to the Turkish Gallipoli regionthere will be plenty of interesting materials and photos from under the water, which this time will be taken care of by none other than Leigh Bishop himself! More information coming soon!

Source: Organiser