In October 1771, a merchant ship out of Amsterdam, the Vrouw Maria, crashed off the stormy Finnish coast, taking her historic cargo to the depths of the Baltic Sea. The vessel was delivering a dozen Dutch masterpiece paintings to Europe’s most voracious collector: Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. The Vrouw Maria became a maritime legend, confounding would-be salvagers for more than two hundred years. In 1999, the daring Finnish wreck hunter Rauno Koivusaari set out to find it with his team, the Pro Vrouw Maria Association.
Midsummer is the time of year when Finns get in touch with their inner pagan. Before the encroachment of Christianity, summer solstice was the high holiday of the northern Baltic. White night revels involved spring potato picnics, fermented beverage consumption, and naked dance parties (at least two of these rituals are still widely practiced). The solstice signaled the transition from spring sowing to summer growing, and the critical interlude for appeasing nature’s fickle spirits, whose mystic powers and mischievous penchants were enhanced during the midnight sun. Large bonfires were lit on midsummer’s eve to frighten off ill-tiding phantoms, who might otherwise spoil the harvest or burn down a barn. Young maidens, meanwhile, delicately tucked seven wild flowers, picked from seven meadows, under their pillow, in hopes of seeing their future mate revealed in a dream. Along Finland’s west coast and throughout the islands, revelers erected long-limbed maypoles, decorated with spruce garlands, flower-woven wreaths, and jangly trinkets. Looking like a boa-clad ship’s mast, archipelago maypoles protected fishermen and sailors against the Baltic’s spiteful water demons.
Rauno chose midsummer as the launch date for Pro Vrouw Maria’s expedition. From his many years in the archipelago, he observed that the sea was uncharacteristically placid during the fortnight which followed summer solstice. Under the best circumstances, the team would have only two weeks to find and survey the wreck. He hoped to avoid the diver’s bane of bad weather and rough water.
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Saturday, June 26th, five days following midsummer, Teredo set off from Helsinki for Jurmo Island, at the southern edge of the Archipelago Sea. A throng of friends, reporters, and well-wishers lined the waterfront. Representing the Maritime Museum of Finland was chief archeologist Sallamaria Tikkanen. The Pro Vrouw Maria Association crew impressed, donning crisp uniforms of collared short-sleeve khaki shirts and pressed navy-blue shorts, with the Honda Marine logo emblazoned on their caps. The media-savvy team organized a press conference, which drew Finland’s largest newspapers and state-run television network.
The press rallied behind the expedition. “Another search is underway for the ship that sank carrying precious artworks. For the past few summers, different dive groups have been searching for the wreck. But this year’s team possesses newly uncovered information about the location,” effused the major daily Helsingen Sanomat. The media showed particular interest in the Teredo’s high-tech system. “The crew is equipped with state-of-the-art side-scan sonar, which takes ‘aerial photos’ of the seabed,” the newspaper said. “Similar equipment is used by the special forces of the US Navy.” Rauno explained to the reporters how the search process would work: “All sightings resembling a wreck will be checked by divers. It’s not like there are huge letters on the hull saying ‘Vrouw Maria.’ Identifying the wreck requires expertise.” The press was eager to play along. Pro Vrouw Maria’s search to find Catherine the Great’s lost treasure ship was the perfect feel-good story to kick off the summer holiday season.
Read more: The Daily Beast
