SV Gaarden

Wreck length: 47m
Wreck width: 9m
Depth :21m

The three-masted schooner GAARDEN was built in 1920 at the Friedrich-Krupp-Germania shipyard. The almost new sailing ship made its last voyage in August 1922 with a load of hard coal from England to Sweden. The ship ran aground near the “Gedser Reef” buoy and started leaking. An attempt was made to reach Rostock as an emergency port, but was unsuccessful. The wreck now lies east of the Kadetrinne fairway in a water depth of 21 m on solid sandy bottom. It lists approximately 130′ to port and rests on its massive iron masts. The bow has broken off and lies directly in front of the main wreck. Here the starboard anchor, the anchor winch and two small entry hatches are well preserved. The stern is particularly nice to dive on, it shows the classic sailing ship design with the protruding clipper stern.

I dived the wreck during our Baltic tour with Ingo Oppelt and Reinhard Öser. Link

The faith of the GAARDEN

On August 9, 1922, the “Gaarden” sailed eastward through the Fehmarnbelt under full sail without an engine in a stiff astern breeze. They were on their way from Great Britain to Vestervik in Sweden with a cargo of hard coal.

The Gedser Reef buoy, which was expected to be well on the port side, was suddenly seen far to the starboard, i.e. on the wrong side. Despite an immediate turnaround, the ship immediately hit the ground several times, but without getting stuck. Since the bearings in the ship showed no water, Captain Prenzel decided to continue the journey.

After about an hour it became clear that the ship had a leak, the pumps were immediately set in motion. Unfortunately, the tireless work was unsuccessful. Now the captain tried to beach the ship. However, a heavy list prevented the ship from making any progress, and it soon laid further on its side and drifted around, leaderless, like a play of waves.
When a sudden gust hit the mainsail, the GAARDEN lay on its side and the cargo went over.

Since the ship was imminently sinking, the entire crew jumped overboard. The sea had become even higher due to the storm, and within a short time the GAARDEN disappeared into the waves. The cabin boy clung to the ship and was dragged into the depths. The first engineer had probably managed at the last moment to get out of his cabin, which was blocked by goods rolling around, and he had to force open the hatch, crushing his right hand in the process. In the water, four of the crew were able to gain possession of the rescue boat, which was released, but it drifted upside down. They held on and were quickly driven away. The first engineer swam behind, later the captain followed. The latter’s strength failed him and he went down crying for help. Nine people, including the captain, were victims of the sea. The shipwrecked people only had shirts and trousers on their bodies and of course lost everything they owned. The GRUNDNICK brought the rescued people to Sassnitz, where they were accommodated in a hotel.

During a court hearing, the Maritime Office came to the conclusion that the ship’s management could not be spared reproach. After the collision, careless maneuvering combined with improper orders caused the ship to sink and the loss of nine people. The captain was particularly blamed for not immediately going to the nearby Danish coast. The lifeboats were also not made clear and the crew did not have to put on life jackets.

I first heard about the wreck exactly seven years ago in Henrik Pohl’s seminar for underwaterarcheology in Rostock. The topic: identifying shipwrecks.
The wreck was discovered in 2000 and identified by divers, including Henrik Pohl.
Here his report: Link