Wreck diving in Holland

1. Wreck diving in Holland • My name is Sjoerd van der Wielen. I was born and raised on the small Island of Terschelling on the North coast of Holland, it is still my home today. • Terschelling has a very rich history of seafaring and was the home for many commanders from the Dutch East India Company (VOC) during the golden age, and in more recent times many of the Island inhabitants fished for Whales in the Northern regions and around Nova Zembla and the Barents sea. • My father was Captain on the legendary salvage hunter “Holland” for 30 years which had its glory period after the second world war. This was before the age of electronic navigation and traffic separation schemes when the sea in this are was full of mines. • He and his crew saved many ships from being wrecked in this part of the North Sea which is still feared and respected by all seafarers for the strong winds and shallow waters. • Even though there were many successful salvages there is a tremendous long list of ships which were less fortunate and became victim of the elements. They are now the silent witnesses of the intensive shipping in the past.

2. Shipping History • In the very early period of shipping the Vikings plundered the coast of Europe. when time went on trading became more intensive and Merchants from the early Hanze cities started their merchandizing with ships which soon ruled the waves. This marked the golden age for Holland in the 17th century. It was a time of growing international trade when Holland was competing with Portugal, Spain, England and France. The shipping trade for the Netherlands was concentrated in the Far East but also in the West Indies Dutch privateers were fighting for land and wealth. • Numerous fleets were equipped and assembled around the Frisian Islands before they set sail for the long voyages to distant coasts and if they managed to return they were often laden with exotic cargoes. • The conflict of powers took its toll and often resulted in confrontations between the Sea powers. There were several wars between Holland and Spain (the 80 years war) and 4 Anglo Dutch Wars and during this period many clashes with enemy fleets and also pirates ships sailed the Dutch coast and left their marks, but the common enemy for all early shipping in the age of Sail remained the bad weather. The Sea around the Netherlands is infamous for the fierce storms in Autumn, winter and early spring and caused many ships to become wrecked and send sailors to their watery graves.

3. Salvage & Diving • The wrecks of more recent times are comprised of the victims from two world wars. During these times many ships were sunk by battle, mines and submarines. • Wreck diving is not new. The Siebe & Gorman Standard diving helmets were used during the first commercial diving operations that took place close to Terschelling in the early 19th Century at the wreck of the “HMS Lutine”. In 1799 the Lutine, bound for Germany , grounded and was wrecked with the tressure cargo of gold and silver worth at that time 16 billion pounds. • Although some gold and silver bars and coins were salvaged during many salvage operations during the centuries even until today the hunt for the missing treasure continues. • The bell which was salvaged during one of these campaigns can be found today in the head office from Lloyds Register in London They were the insurer of the cargo. In the past when news of disaster arrived the bell was sounded

4. Dead of a ship becomes Birth of a dive club • Although Terschelling was always a popular destination for tourists who loved the beach and the sea it was only after the 1950 that tourism took off and became the most important source of income from the Island; originally a closed community for fisherman, sailors and farmers. • With the growth of the tourist industry an interest in recreational diving was born and in 1975 a few enthusiastic diving pioneers founded a dive club with the name “Ecuador” after a famous Swedish wreck from the Johnson line that hit the dangerous Terschellinger banken (sands) and after a long battle with the salvagers was lost and broke up Like many others before her this was in the year 1956 and was one of the first salvage operations for my father who just started on the Holland to become the Skipper soon after this. • Because of their involvement in shipping the seafaring residents of Terschelling Island have always been interested in wrecks. The timbers and rigging of ships wrecked on or near the beaches of the Island were used for building farm houses and barns and the rich cargoes were a very welcome complement to the Island’s inhabitants who normally lived a harsh and poor life. • During all these years many wrecks became legends due to the nature of the cargo or the dramatic circumstance under which the ships crews died. The heroic rescues which more then often cost the lives of the Islanders can be seen at the graveyards on the Island today • There are tell tale stories about the Islanders attracting ships with fake lights into a death trap and then killing the crews and stealing the cargoes • At one time a sailing ship “Wilhelmsberg” with colonists from skandinavia to the USA became victim of the waves. The story goes that the Captain had the hatches nailed shut. Later 271 bodies washed up on the beach. The island’s inhabitants carried all the bodies away by horse and wagon and burried them in the grave yard of the closest village church. The wagon track they used is to this day called “dead body road.

5. Club activities • The diving club has located many of the old Legendary ship wrecks in its first ten years. In all over 200 wrecks have been found by the diving club at or near the island • In the first years the diving took place from small boats but when the club became bigger and the voyages longer The club bought a fishing vessel which was converted for anchor salvage. Purchase and conversion cost were initially financed by the club members but these costs were quickly paid for by salvage money made clearing propellors, recovering lost fishing gear and selling recovered non-ferrous metals. These earnings allwed the club to invest in better equipment and electronic instruments such as sophisticated echo sounder and side scan sonar. A hyperbaric chamber was purchased from the Dutch Navy in case there was a diving incident.

6. Club house • During the first years when thee dive club was steadily growing there was a need for a clubhouse. Years has passed since the old rowing rescue boat from the harbour of West Terschelling had been exchanged for a motor rescue boat and the boathouse had been used for packhouse and was in a bad state, so the club rented it for a symbolic fee and touched it up and has been the home of dive team ever since. During the years it has been moved when the harbour was converted and the area around the clubhouse has become an open air museum with canons anchors and other ship rigging and cargo

7. Wreck finds • During these years there were many spectacular finds. One remarkable find was the German Steam Ship “Thassos”, which ran aground in 1897 on the way from Germany to Constantinople. She had a general cargo that contained countless items such as china and other house goods. The local museum is filled with artifacts from the Thassos • Another wreck found was the British “HMS Medusa”. She was a WW1 destroyer damaged by collision during a raid on Germany. She was taken under tow to England when she was lost and came to rest not far from the position of the “Ecuador” • The first submarine located was the wreck of the German “UB 61”; a coastal sub that ran into a mine and was lost with all hands. During this accident the patrol vessel which was leading the convoy of the “UB 61” and went to her rescue also hit a mine and was lost as well; along with much of her crew

8. Archeology • The search for salvage has resulted in the discovery of many other historic wrecks. The Dutch archeological department has worked together with the diving team to identify several finds. They have been of great assistance, providing information about the age or ship type of these wrecks. However it soon became clear that theirs was nearly an impossible task since each discovery was of such rich historical value. Archives have revealed statements of ships sunk by the hundreds during the 16th and 17th century. Many were lost while riding the anchor and waiting favorable winds. Others were sunk during action with the enemy.

9. War at Sea • On one occasion in 1666 while Holland was at war with England an English fleet under the command of Admiral Holmes entered between the islands and burned 169 ships at the roads. Afterwards they attacked and burned the Capital city of the Island West Terschelling. Of all these wrecks only 2 have been positively identified and of the all the others the remains are still buried under the ever shifting sands • As revenge for this cowardly act a Dutch fleet under the famous commander Michiel Adriaan de Ruyter sailed toward England and entered the Thames towards Chatham. Once there he burned and sank many British Admiralty ships and captured several others to take as prize back to Holland. One of the captured ships was the admiral Flag ship “Royal George”. The stern decoration from the “Royal George”is on display today the National Museum in Amsterdam

10. Cannons • Over the years there has been much improvement in navigation techniques. Using GPS and DGPS technology more and more wrecks have been located. From most of these very little is left. One wreck we found dating from the 17th century consisted of little more than a pile of canons of which 7 were made of bronze and 23 of cast iron. Some cannons carry the Spanish coat of arms while others are clearly from the Dutch Admiralty. Of these all are dated around the first decennia of the 17th century. “Dendron” testing was conducted on the wrecks remaining timber these tests found that the cutting date of the wood was approximately anno 1590

11. British Submarine E-34 • Another spectacular find of recent years was the wreck of the British E-class submarine from WW1; the E-34.The wreck was discovered after a fishing vessel had lost its net and the hydrographic service marked a dangerous wreck in this position. • The position was checked by Ecuador dive team members. A mine laying Submarine lost since 1918 was found • During the more then 75 years on the seabed the conning tower made of bronze was separated from the hull and it was salvaged by the “Ursus” from dive team Ecuador

12. The conning tower of the E-34 was made of bronze so the magnetic compass (which was still in the conning tower after the salvage) would not be negatively influenced by the steel hull • The submarine most likely had hit a mine. The bow of the wreck was blown open like a burst cigar. It is assumed that at the time she hit the mine she most likely sailing on the surface since the bodies of three of the crew were washed up on the Island Texel. One of those killed was from this Island. Commander Lt. Puleyene (Left on the picture) • This wreck is very special. Shortly before she was lost a camera crew had shot many pictures of the boat and crew; a very uncommon thing in those days well before the age of the digital camera • Another occurrence makes this wreck very special for me personally. I had the privilege to salvage the signal mast of the E-34. I placed it in my home garden on the very same day I was contacted by the old grandson of one of the lost crew members. It turned out he was the Signal man! • (to the right of the picture taken on the conning tower of E-34)

13. Story of the SS “Kerwood” Cargo • According to the archives there are still many wrecks to be found. One of the wrecks the club was after for years was very co-incidentally found by another dive club who located it in a position many miles from the location it was presumed lost. • This American wreck “SS Kerwood” was sunk when She hit a magnetic sea mine during WW1. She’s an important find since she was sunk with a cargo of copper and lead ingots • The dive club who found this wreck by accident however made one mistake and sailed to the Island Terschelling. When they showed the copper ingot the hunt was on. The Ecuador finally found the Kerwood but it took two years since her location was kept secret by the discoverers. • The secret was lost on a misty summer day when one of the fisherman from the island was out hunting for wrecks. He was heading to a charted wreck North of Terschelling when he almost collided with the diving ship Zeester (Seastar); the original discoverers.

14. When the Fisherman (Walter Bakker) returned to the Island and told the story to some of the Ecuador members the secret was finally out and the next day the Ecuador headed to the position and found the Kerwood • During two years the discoverers had salvaged several tons of copper but due the small size of their boat they could not salvage large amounts. The Ursus however, was better equipped and bigger in size; ideal for recovery of the cargo and soon the holds were filled with the precious metal. • The cargo of several hundred tons of copper and lead was huge and even for Dive team Ecuador a heavy task the reason for this is that it was all recovered by divers in 35 meters water depth and the location was not close to the home port. • The Fisherman who revealed the secret had sleepless nights thinking of how he could claim his own share of the valuable cargo. He even took a diving course in order to be able to put see the treasure himself When he could no longer make enough money from fishing he equipped his boat with a Hydraulic grabble and headed to the wreck to try his luck.

15. At first he lost his anchors and had great difficulty staying in position but after a few weeks he developed new techniques to anchor and soon the first ingots landed on his deck and the gold rush had started. • In the few remaining months before winter Walter Bakker with his ship TS-6 became a real specialist in wreck recovery. Each trip he further developed his skills and his equipment became more and more sophisticated. Eventually he had underwater camera’s and lights and accurate positioning systems. In two seasons he managed to salvage the multi-million dollar cargo up to the last ingot; this to the despair of the other diving clubs who saw their treasure earnings slowly disappear before their eyes. • But as an old saying on the island; “the sea takes and the sea gives” and in this case it was Walter bakker who took it all!

16. Treasure Hunt • After the Salvage of the “Kerwood” copper and with the continuing decline of income from fishing Walter Bakker continued in his new trade. He started to explore the North sea in search of sunken cargo and metal. This was during a period when the price of metals were up because of the new industrial boom • During His research he used charted wrecks and positions from his colleague fisherman who had during decennia built a data bank of known and unknown bottom obstructions. Although several had been explored by divers in the shallow waters near the coast the deeper and more distant waters were still virgin territory. Because of international laws these waters outside the territorial boundaries became his new fishing grounds

17. Unusual find • During his explorations Walter has found many lost wrecks whose positions were completely unknown. Once while hunting for the wreck of the British submarine L-10 that sank North west of the Island terschelling he made a very unusual find. • At the approximate position where he had hoped to find the lost L-10 he discovered what at first appeared to be just another uninteresting object. He changed course assuming he had located fouled fishing gear. Then he checked his position again and noticed a wreck on the side scan sonar. When he lowered the subsea camera the first images showed clearly a conning tower from a Submarine; but which submarine? • A container was seen lying next to the submarine hull. At first it was feared to be a explosive device but curiosity overcame caution and the container was brought to the surface. The adrenaline flowed fast while opening the container and even faster as the lid gave way and a complete dry German anti aircraft gun (FLAK c/30) was exposed .

18. German WW2 U-boot U-1 • I put on my diving gear and began the decent to 45 meters in the clear and calm North sea water. I soon found myself on a WW2 submarine; the first person there since it had sunk. The wreck was severely damaged. The damage was surely caused by an exploding sea mine. I explored the submarine from the outside. Later, using camera images and the recovered artifacts we could positively identify the Submarine as the lost WW2 Class II coastal Submarine U-1

19. 2nd Unusual find • After the discovery of the U-1 Walter steamed to another unknown contact about 2 miles distant. • While I was still exploring the recovered gun Walter located another wreck and after lowering the camera again he called me up to the bridge and said to me “you won’t believe this but I am again on a submarine”. I thought he was making a joke but when I looked at the camera I clearly saw the picture of a gun and as the camera moved back a radio direction device and conning tower with two periscopes came into view. • The unbelievable had happened, in search of the lost L-10 we had located two unknown U-boats at a distance of two miles and in a time span of less then three hours! • I had used all my dive time on the U-1 and had no time left to descend again to explore the new find. However, the water was clear and we were able to film the complete wreck. It was upright on the bottom and largely intact and we estimated its length at 75 meters. • There was a large gap on the Starboard aft side behind the conning tower at the proximity of the engine room. This also is believed to have been caused by a mine explosion. • With the knowledge gained from images and research we were able to positively identify this U-boot wreck as the WW2 U-25 lost with all hands 1 August 1940. • The boat is from the Class I. Only two were built. They were constructed before the beginning of the second word war were first used training boats and then later in active war service. The submarine was lost on the second patrol returning from the North Atlantic after sinking thousands tons of allied shipping. The U- boat still has not been dived upon by anyone. Planning has been ongoing for two years to have an expedition go down and explore the wreck further.

20. Wreck Museum • The Wreck museum is situated in an old farm of which the main structure of the barn is built from the wood of the Bark “ Cyprian” which broke in two during a severe storm and the crew was trapped on the wreck because the rescue boat could not get trough the breakers due to the floating cargo of timber which broke from the ship and only after an islander managed to get on his horse to the wreck to connect a rope which saved all of the crew • The Museum is filled with artifacts from the wrecks around the island and also hold a collection of diving helmets • The owner is Hille van Dieren and is also one of the Ecuador pioneers and has been for years the “head” man of the club